5 tips to gain visual coherence & impact for your brand
First published 17 January 2021. Last updated 9 March 2022
How to tighten your visuals to gain coherence & impact for your brand
We wanted to start with a little quote from 'The Secret Lives of Colour' by Cassia St Clair (grab a copy and support your local bookshop) to illustrate the principle of brand impact.
For painters, mixing colours is a problem. The more colours they blend, the more likely it is that the end result will be murky. The same is true even for simple colours like green and orange: it's better to use a single pigment rather than mixtures that will inevitably absorb more of the available light, sucking the luminosity from the painting.
The more elements you add into your branding, the more they serve to reduce the overall impact of your brand, leaving you with a murky result that is not memorable or impactful.
Here are five really quick, easy and actionable tips to help you take steps to keep your branding simple, luminous and bright.
Here’s what we’ll be covering:
Use complimentary fonts
Have a consistent colour palette
Don't be a magpie
Invest in photography
Your logo is not a sticker
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1. Use complimentary fonts
In typography, a serif is the small extra stroke found at the end of the main vertical and horizontal strokes of some letters. Some serifs are subtle and others are pronounced and obvious. In some cases, serifs aid in the readability of a typeface. The term "serif fonts" refers to any style of type that has serifs. (Fonts without serifs are called sans serif fonts.)
From Definition and Classifications of Serif Fonts by ThoughtCo
Ideally pair serif and sans serif* fonts in your typography and font hierarchy within your brand guidelines.
Serifs fonts are a little more formal, which you may recognise by name or on paper, such as Times New Roman, which is typical of a traditional print newspaper.
Sans serifs more modern, such as Gill Sans, Arial or Helvetica.
Despite their provenance, they can sit nicely together giving your branding presence and balance.
*Serifs = the flourishes on the stem, and sans = no decorative strokes
How to choose fonts well
Try to look for web fonts (such as from Google) as they are free and can be uploaded to websites or designers to use
If you do decide to go for a custom font, be aware that you will probably need to pay a licence fee
Depending on how many places you need to use it (website, logo, print etc.) and on how many computers you need to install it, this can get very expensive
Be aware that if you have a high-traffic website, the you might need a more expensive licence - not necessarily a problem, but make sure you know what to expect
The more ornate and flowery the font, the quicker it will age and go out of fashion, so look for timeless classics
Serif fonts are not necessarily old-fashioned or stuffy - the key is choosing the right one and finding a good balance with the other fonts in your font hierarchy of your branding
A good rule of thumb is to go for the serif font as your main font and the sans serif as your secondary font
2. Have a consistent colour palette
Don't be afraid of sticking to a handful of elegant, well-chosen colours.
The aim here is to build brand recognition with your audience.
Too many colours or an extreme collage effect provide distractions and reasons to ignore you; less is more!
How to choose a good balance of colours
Get inspiration from interiors or gardening magazines, which often have features with colour schemes
Get on Pinterest and browse for different kinds of colour schemes or design moodboards to get a feel for what works well together
Get some paint swatches or colour booklets from your local DIY shop or a free Farrow & Ball Colour Card
Cut out the colour cards and try matching them together in different combinations and see what works
Try to think of themes, feelings or emotions when you do this to give your creations focus or direction - ask yourself what your colour combinations evoke
Cut out and arrange colours next to each other on a wall and step back to evaluate what works for you
3. Don't be a magpie
With your branding, resist the temptation to 'change it up' all the time.
You will get more traction through consistent application of fonts and colours.
People will be put off if you change your colours frequently and indiscriminately.
How to get consistency with your branding
Ask friends and people you trust for their input to gauge reactions
Equally, don’t always take feedback literally or to heart - take into account everything that you hear - good and bad - and then evaluate it to draw out the best insights to take forwards
It may take you a little while to find the right combination of design elements in your branding mix
Once you get to a place of relative happiness with your branding, you shouldn’t really be thinking of changing things for at least a couple of years
If you do feel the need to change, run a poll with your closest followers and fans to get some insight first
Ideally, get professional help from a brand designer to anchor your branding for the long term, which will give you momentum and proper peace of mind
4. Invest in photography
We mention this again from our post last time because quality visuals work so powerfully to reinforce your font and colour choices.
In addition, brand photography gives your branding a vital human edge, which is so important for building trust, which you need for making sales.
How to commission great brand photography
Think about the style you want to capture and how you want clients to feel through the imagery
Create a moodboard or notes on the styles of photo you like or the types of image composition you want to get for yourself
Talk to a trusted photographer about how best to get that vibe - he or she will be able to advise you on what is realistic or what might be more suitable for your brand
If you’ve got the budget, consider bringing in a stylist or an art director to help with setup and the wow factor
5. Your logo is not a sticker
Refrain from slapping your logo on everything.
Your logo should work alongside everything else in your branding - your colours, fonts, icons and image choices.
It is not necessarily better than everything else in your branding kit, but should complement the other elements.
Every aspects of your branding should ideally pull together to convey who and what your brand is, and a sense of the value you bring.
How to use your logo effectively
If you must, consider using an outline or transparent version of your logo as a small, subtle watermark on your brand or product imagery
As a rule of thumb, your logo is best reserved for your website, formal correspondence and profiles (among other things) where you want to make the biggest impression
The rest of your branding like images and colour choices should highlight your brand in less formal settings like social media posts
These tips should help get you started with thinking like a pro brand owner and we’d love to hear any of your thoughts or reflections.
Do head over to our post on Instagram to join the conversation and share your opinion.
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