Branding

When you start a business you will most likely have, even if you cannot visualise it, an idea of a logo you would like or what it would feel or convey. You might have an idea of colours you like and would like to include. So off you go and create it with, or without, a graphic designer’s help and you soon have your business cards, letters and flyers neatly stacked in your office and ready to go.

Many companies unfortunately stops there to get back to what they actually manufacturing or selling and forget about the overall Visual Concept.

Our brain processes visual information thousands and thousands times faster than text information so it is important that you take some time to reflect of how your customer/clients perceive you. If you are active on social media do you take time to pick an image to go with your post or happy to just use any old image? How is the quality? How is it cropped? Small details matters.

Consistency and uniformity is vital for new and old clients to recognise your business.

Colours – pick a colour scheme that conveys your product. If your favourite colour does not do this, pick a colour scheme that does and also harmonises with your favourite one.

Type faces – any text in your logo will most likely be customised for just your logo but you might want to consider a similar type face to be used in headers on your brochures, flyers and web-site. For any copy/text as such, whether your prefer a serif font (like Times) or sans-serif (like Arial/Verdana) pick a readable font and again, use the same font in your different medias. You should try to keep the number of type-faces/fonts to a two or three to not confuse your customers.

Graphic components – If you want a graphic component like a line, a frame, or a squiggle, pick something you can maintain and use in all your visual media.

Images – Pick a few images and/or graphics that you can use frequently beside your logo and visual frame work. Update these regularly but not too often and keep them in the same style as the ones you are replacing. If you want to have new images constantly keep the feel of the image – make the style of the image/graphic recognisable.

Once you have your visual concept stick to it. Of course you can make special “out of the ordinary” ads and flyers but it is important that you keep it all in harmony with your normal overall visual concept.

Some time down the line you may want to give it all a fresh feel. If you have the budget to splash out for a “We have a new look” campaign, go ahead. If you do not have this type of budget but you do have an established visual concept, take it in steps, small subtle changes and let them settle before the next move.

Another new season is approaching fast and you may feel the urge to renew your “look”.

If you are looking for a logo whether it be a re-design of an existing one or a completely new one it is important to take the thinking process a little further at first.

the importance of your business’ visual concept

Your visual concept as a whole is important so if you already have a recognisable brand in place that your current customers are familiar with, you should try to incorporate aspects of this in to your new logo and branding – unless you have the budget to splurge out on a complete re-branding campaign.

If you are starting a new business from scratch, take time to reflect on your branding as a whole and the image you wish to project. Your logo should reflect you and your company in all aspects and be a cornerstone in your visual concept.

Have a look at the posts below to gain a little more insight in the process and please do not hesitate to contact me for further information and pricing at jkq@jkqdesign.com.

• The importance of your business’ Visual Concept
• Sense of balance and colours