A strong brand is more than a logo…
A cohesive brand creates loyalty with existing customers while simultaneously attracting new customers. Consistent branding sets the tone for your visual messaging for the lifespan of your business. Branding can better communicate your vision, vibe, and values and prove the value of your services.
Most associate branding with a logo, but a brand is much more than just a logo. A great brand also embodies a consistent look and feel across all aspects of the business to create memorability, instill trust, and promote loyalty.
At the center of any well-established brand is a logo mark that is recognizable. This logo mark may appear in different ways - maybe it features more than one mark - like the simplified favicon, a horizontal text alignment, a vertical text alignment, like in the Salt brand guide below. But each of these items is consistent and features many of the same elements.
Consistency is key, and that means sticking to the same fonts as much as possible. This doesn’t have to be just one - but a clearly defined, readable brand font or fonts support a recognizable brand.
Brand colors are arguably the hardest to define for your brand. You may be tempted to change these often for variety, but again, a consistent color palette is necessary for a brand to maintain regularity, uniformity, and cohesion. This color palette can be extensive, featuring multiple colors in various hues, or minimal featuring maybe 1-2 accent colors and primarily relying on black and white.
The word consistent will continue to be our favorite to describe a strong brand with strong elements.
Shapes, lines, angles, and patterns are secondary optional parts of a brand that can lean into these colors, fonts, and “vibes” to support a strong brand.
Sticking to these strong brand elements should not feel like you’re boxing yourself in creatively. These defined elements create the framework and roadmap for your designs. Strong brands with consistent elements lead to a clear, compelling, and convincing brand story.
