5 branding tips to make your visual identity shine

Many factors can make your brand feel outdated, including time, business evolution, a merger, or a repositioning. Reinventing your brand image can give your company a fresh start, but it’s also easy to fall into common traps.

What is a company’s visual identity, and why does it matter?

A company’s visual identity is a set of design and graphic elements that express its essence, set it apart from competitors, and create a consistent image across all communication channels. This includes the logo, colour palette, typography, imagery style, and graphic elements.

It’s a critical part of any brand strategy—it communicates your values, personality, and message to your audience. Your visual identity is the visual language that connects you with clients, partners, and the public. A strong identity enhances brand recognition, fosters credibility, and improves the overall customer experience. It’s not just about aesthetics—it also needs to reflect your company’s strategic goals and values.

How do you define visual identity, and what does it mean?

Defining your visual identity means creating a consistent set of design elements that accurately represent your brand and make it recognizable across platforms. This usually includes your logo, colour palette, fonts, imagery, and design elements used across your marketing materials, regardless of the format.

Begin by clarifying your brand’s core values, target audience, and unique selling proposition. Your visual identity should reflect these foundations and express your brand’s personality.

Then, choose your colours carefully. Each colour evokes different emotions—your palette should align with your brand message. Same goes for fonts: choose ones that express your brand’s character, whether it’s modern, classic, playful, or refined. The key is visual harmony across your style guide.

Consistency is everything. Every visual element must follow the same design logic across all brand touchpoints, including your website, app, social media, and printed materials. That’s how you build recognition, visibility, and professionalism.

And don’t forget: a good visual identity isn’t just pretty. It should be an effective tool for communicating your brand’s story and values. Continue to review and fine-tune it as your brand evolves.

Now let’s get to it—here are our 5 expert tips to make your branding shine!

1. Stand out from the crowd, on purpose

Before you even open your design software, audit your competition. Do you see any common themes? One of the biggest mistakes you can make is blending into the market.

Your identity should align 100% with your positioning strategy. Your logo, colours, and marketing tools should express what matters most to you—whether that’s leadership, innovation, sustainability, or just plain fun.

2. Think ahead (yes, that matters!)

Timeless branding may be a myth, but don’t base your design choices on what’s trendy today. If you follow the fads too closely, your branding will feel dated fast. Choose a style that suits your personality. Jumping on trends is the fastest way to get overlooked.

Your visual identity is more than just a logo—it’s the aura that surrounds your brand. And it’s also a toolkit for the people creating content in your name.

3. Design with depth (aka graphic layering done right)

The golden rule of branding (and marketing in general) is consistency. But that doesn’t mean your identity should be one-dimensional. A strong brand can exist across multiple platforms in various forms while remaining coherent. Think of your identity as a system—a visual language that expresses your essence to clients, leads, and employees alike.

That means: even if your logo is monochrome, your identity should include a full, dynamic colour palette. Play with contrast, shapes, and patterns. Just don’t overuse one concept—plan for versatility without mixing styles.

4. Stay accessible

Your brand should be unique, but also understandable. This is especially true for fonts and icons. They need to be readable and relevant to your audience. Ensure your choices (colors, shapes, typography) evoke the emotions you want people to feel. Ensure your brand remains consistent across all platforms, particularly on mobile devices. Bonus tip: your logo should be responsive.

5. Build a clear graphic standards guide

Last but not least: your brand guide can be your best friend—or your worst enemy. If it’s vague or overly rigid, your teams will be confused, and your brand will lose consistency. Your guide should be transparent and flexible. It should empower your people, not stifle them. And don’t forget: it’s for everyday use, not just designers. Include every variation of your logo, your complete font system, your colour palette, your patterns, icon styles, illustration, and photo guidelines—everything that defines your brand visually.

Creating or reinventing a company’s visual identity is a significant undertaking, but one that’s well worth it. Want to do it right? Call in Bang!