The Power of Branding: Creating a Strong Visual Identity For Your Organisation 

Brands are so much more than a name, logo, or label, however having a strong visual brand has a profound impact on organisations, cementing a place in the mind of their target audiences. They’re an effective and efficient way to communicate goals, vision, and values, and can dictate the perceived overall experience a person may have when interacting with an organisation. 

Your visual brand should is distinguishable, builds customer loyalty, and is ultimately the core driver of organisations. Creating a strong visual identity for your organisation should be a priority, because your brand will exist in everything from social media captions to email signatures and brochures. 

So, where should you start when thinking about branding?  

 

Create a recognisable identity to increase recognition and recall 

To create a well-crafted and recognisable visual brand, attention should be directed towards a consistent logo, colour pallet, typography and design elements. 

 Take SoCo for example, when we rebranded from Hayto & Co just over a year ago, we had several workshopping sessions with the team to whiteboard names, values, pillars, logos, and everything in between. In this process it is important to be patient, attentive, and to test your ideas. If you’re in the process of developing your brand, rebranding, or even trying to re-align your organisation with your brand, this cannot be rushed! The most powerful and recognisable brands in the world did not become so overnight – Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was Coca Cola. Workshop ideas with your team, test them with your friends and colleagues (bonus points if they share similar traits to your target audience!).  

Be open to being challenged on your ideas, remember that your brand identity is going to be a deciding factor in customer decisions and how they relate to your organisation. Identify your goals and values and craft a visual identity that aligns.  

There are a huge range of resources online to guide your efforts. Check out this colour emotion guide for example, which can be useful for setting direction in your brand colours! 

Connect with your audience and create loyalty 

It’s not new news that visual elements can evoke feelings and emotions, and branding is no different. Using imagery that resonates with the values and goals of both your organisation and your target audience is a great way of creating an emotional connection. When people feel connected to a brand on a deeper level they are more likely to become loyal customers. This means that they will not only choose your organisation over and over again, but also advocate for your brand within their circles, generating additional leads and conversions without any additional investment. 

Keep it consistent = maintaining credibility and professionalism 

Consistency in design and branding will create a sense of reliability and stability (ahem, see above why it is important that you take time to fully consider your visual branding choices – you don’t want to be rebranding every other week!). A polished and consistent brand demonstrates an organisation that is credible and established. In a competitive market environment, this perception may be a deciding factor for customer decisions.  

Having a differentiated brand will help your organisation stand out in a competitive and crowded marketplace. Strong visual branding will communicate unique selling points and qualities that elevate your organisation in the minds of your target audience. Though it requires careful planning and consideration, a strong visual brand will effectively communicate your organisation’s values and contribute to long-term organisational growth and success. 

If you’re in need of some direction to kick-start your branding journey, get in touch with our team here. We’d love to chat to you about all things visual and strategy, and set you on the right path to build a rock-solid brand.