A brands visual identity is a simple balance of three ingredients rest is using it consistently across medium. Said that it’s important for the designer to know where to stop and how tight should be the rules for the execution team to follow.

FONTS/TYPOGRAPHY

once upon a time…
we were busy branding our livestock and slaves, burn a mark of our own, typically our initials on their body to make the world understand who owns them.

Typography was probably the first step to creation of brands. Just that instead of products made in factory or a lab or a corporate office the early days of typography was taking place in farms or maybe in a slave market. where people (the influential rich lot) would use a hot iron with their initials on it and mark the cattle, even slaves would receive the same fate and live with those burnt mark given by their owners.

So the logic was simple the more number of cattle or slaves a person could mark with their initials the more power he may command in his social and economical circle. Things have not changed much since then. TYPOGRAPHY still plays an extremely important role in the making of a brand identity. Though the role of typography is not limited to the logo but each and every written word which represents the brand. The brand custodian should be extremely aware of the meaning each and every font brings forth.

COLOUR

the advantage of scale.
What was the single most important thing the roman army had when they would march towards scattered smaller bands of the enemy?
What made the roman army look like a single large unit and not just a big bunch of soldiers?

The key to creating this illusion of strength and making the individual numerous soldiers as a single machinery of mass destruction was C O L O U R. Modern armies are a bit different, brands are the ones fighting wars across the globe for dominance. The REDs of Coke vs the BLUES of Pepsi is what the roman army represented hundreds of years back. Not just that colours had always been a symbol of power since some of the pigments were available to the rich and the famous only.
It is said a small quantity of Tyrian Purple was produced from thousands of snails of murex brandaris only to be able to dye the trim of a single garment. This process made tyrian purple extremely expensive and available only to the royalty, hence it became a symbol of royalty and power.
Brands consciously use colours to connect to the subconscious of the consumer and get across the right emotion. Starbucks uses green to give a calming effect. Facebook’s blue gives a sense of security in the wicked cyber world. The flashy red of Ferrari pumps up the adrenaline. The list is long and never ending. Colour plays a critical role in a brands dominance in a market.

SYMBOL

while driving fast on a highway what is that one thing which gives you a sense of joy ‘M’ of McDonalds isn’t it. Symbols are recognisable from a distance and are the best tool to get across an emotion to customer. Unlike typography and colours, symbols make people think.

Every symbol has something to say. People try deciphering symbols everywhere around them. It’s the only part of branding where there is a conscious engagement from the customer’s end. If the relationships are good the customer would like to wear the symbol of the brand around his neck and make it a part of their life. A marketeer can’t get a better opportunity to have the customer as the brand ambassador than by creating a meaningful brand symbol. If they love the brand they would love to flaunt the symbol. Symbols may live much longer than any other component of a brand identity.

We have three different components on a brands visual identity, but how to use them is completely up to the brand and the designer. Some brands may only be about typography, while others may be a combination of colour and symbol, yet another one may have used all the 3 ingredients in perfect harmony to make the brand stand out and become a part of the customers life. There are no fixed rules, but surely development of a brand identity needs a lot of observation. One needs to empathise with the customer and all other stake holders before jumping into a design project for a brand’s visual identity.