Designing Brand

Identity Systems
A session with Paul Kelly, in
collaboration with The Hive.

Designing Brand Identity Systems 1

Introduction
In today’s session, we would discuss brand identity,
what it entails, brand identity systems, and how to
appropriately build one for a business.

We would define what brand identity is, what makes up a

brand’s identity, visual identity and building a visual language.

Designing Brand Identity Systems 2

Brand, Branding
& Brand Identity
What is a brand? What is brand identity?

“a brand is a person’s gut Brand identity is the

feeling about a product, component of a brand that
service, or organization” - represents the larger ideas,
Martin Neumeier story and personalities.
What is branding?

Branding is the continuous,

conscious process of shaping
a company/brand/product’s
perception in the mind of a
consumer.

Designing Brand Identity Systems 3

Brand Identity Visual identity is the part of brand identity
that focuses on the physical aspects of a
brand’s identity. It focuses on appealing to
the eye and feelings above other senses.

But brand identity is beyond

“Visual identity is the visual aspect of
the visual. A brand’s identity is
branding the business and trying to evoke
deep-rooted in the strategy that
certain feelings in the consumer through
helps create the brand.
visuals. It conveys symbolic meanings that
cannot be imparted through words alone”
A brand’s identity is beyond the
(Nikolaeva, 2017).
logo, colours and typography.
It also involves how the brand
speaks, reacts, thinks, sounds,
hears, and feels.

Visual Identity
Designing Brand Identity Systems 4
Advantages of a
Good Visual Identity
1. Cohesion 3. Empowering

A good visual identity helps to create a A good visual identity motivates the team to
uniform presence for the brand. preserve, protect, and extend it. Users perceive
and appreciate that level of care.

2. Speed 4. Adaptable and Fluid

When the foundations of the visual identity A good visual identity is easily adaptable as
have been laid down, the building blocks are time goes on, allowing a brand to change its
readily available and everything is easier to look and feel without changing the logo.
use.

Designing Brand Identity Systems 5

Advantages of a
Good Visual Identity
5. Consistency in Communication

A good visual identity can be adapted across various

touchpoints and it becomes easier to communicate
with the audience a service or product has been
positioned for. The most effective visual identity
systems are recognizable even without the logo.
They help bring order to complexity and differentiate
offerings.

Designing Brand Identity Systems 6

Components of 1) The Logo

Visual Identity The logo is the core of a brand’s visual identity. The

The components of visual identity differ from logo doesn’t need to literally depict what you do,

company to company, industry to industry, but it must be appropriate. The logo is the symbol

service to service. But there are some parts your product, the brand would be identified by.

that are consistent. They include:

Designing Brand Identity Systems 7

2) Colours 3) Typography

Colours play an important part in visual identity. Typography also plays an important part in visual
Every colour has meanings, most times, multiple identity. There are various styles of fonts and they
meanings, some of which depend on other cul- are chosen depending on the personalities of the
tures. brand.

Designing Brand Identity Systems 8

4) Visual Elements

Visual elements are those supporting graphic

elements used in communicating the brand/
product’s message. These include the graphic
language, icons, illustrations.

All these, when used

together, creates a
visual identity system.

Designing Brand Identity Systems 9

How To Design Visual
Identity Systems
1) Define the Brand 3) Research

What is the brand’s story? What is Research is always key. Research

the messaging? Who is the brand into the industry of the brand,
talking to? What do they like? competitors, keywords to know
How do they like to be how to provide a solution.
communicated to?
2) The Story

After defining what the brand is

about, there has to be a brand
story that will unite everything
about the brand together.

Designing Brand Identity Systems 10

How To Design Visual
Identity Systems
4) Look within and 6) Documentation
beyond the Logo
After every aspect of the visual
We have established the visual identity has been determined, it
identity doesn’t comprise only of the has to be documented, so some-
logo, but the logo is also important one can easily replicate it.
in building relatable graphic elements 5) Everything ties back to
for the brand. the story The brand is a living entity, so is
its identity, so certain aspects of
The story should inform the the identity can be adapted or
colours, typography, style of modified as time goes on.
photography. This is where the
visual identity comes through.

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Examples of Visual
Identity Systems
1) Guta Cafe 2) Arrels

Link Link

Designing Brand Identity Systems 12

Examples of Visual
Identity Systems
3) Airbnb 4) Premier League

Link Link

Designing Brand Identity Systems 13

Examples of Visual
Identity Systems
5) Indorse 6) Opera Saint-Etienne

Link Link

Designing Brand Identity Systems 14

Examples of Visual
Identity Systems
7) Hulu 8) Opera Saint-Etienne

Link Link

Designing Brand Identity Systems 15

Examples of Visual
Identity Systems
9) Awarri 10) IIDR Event and Conference Branding

Link Link

Designing Brand Identity Systems 16

 Thank You For
Attending
A session with Paul Kelly, in
collaboration with The Hive.

Designing Brand Identity Systems 17