Branding vs Visual Identity: Why I Say Branding When I Mean Visual Identity
If you're a small business owner or creative entrepreneur, you've probably heard the term branding thrown around a lot. And when people talk about their branding, what they are often referring to is how their brand looks, their logo, colours, and maybe their typography.
But that's not your brand. That's your visual identity.
So what's the difference?
Your visual identity is the visual language of your business. It includes your logo, colour palette, typography, brand patterns, icons, and any other visual elements that represent your business.
Your brand, on the other hand, is much bigger than that. It's the entire experience of your business. It's how people feel when they interact with your company.
And it can be composed of many things beyond a visual experience. Things like:
Your tone of voice on social media.
The vibe of your email newsletter.
The energy someone gets walking into your shop or visiting your website.
Your customer service.
Why do I say branding when I mean visual identity?
I love working with small, independent businesses, and most small, independent business owners refer to their visual identity as their brand. If I were talking about visual identities, I'd be attracting other people in my industry. So, firstly, it's to speak directly to my target audience.
And secondly, I never create visuals in isolation. When I design your visual identity, I'm also considering your brand, which in turn helps shape your brand.
When we meet to discuss the foundations I design from, I want to know:
What you offer
Who you're offering it to
What makes you different, and how does that relate to your competitors
What do you want people to feel when they interact with you
Then, I translate those ideas into design: your logo, your colours, your fonts, and sometimes brand patterns or icon sets.
How does this help you build your branding?
When we work together, you don't just get a logo package and a colour palette. You receive a strategically developed visual identity tailored to your actual brand.
Not only does this act as a daily reminder of who you are and what you stand for, but you also receive a referrable PDF document that breaks it down in detail.
This document is separate from your brand guidelines, which explain your visual formula.
This PDF becomes your go-to document for staying on-brand, whether you're creating a newsletter, pitching for funding, updating your website, or just planning your next piece of content.
How to start thinking like a brand
If you're reading this and wondering how to start seeing your business as a brand, here are 5 questions you can journal on to get started:
What am I offering my customers, and why should they care?
This is not just what you are offering, but the value behind it.How do I want people to feel after every interaction with my business?
Happy, more confident, empowered? Define how you can build this experience into every interaction.What unique promise do I want to make to my customers?
Now think of all the ways you will deliver on this across your business.What sets my business apart from the competition?
Is there a story or belief that really sets you apart? What is it?If my brand were a person, what voice, personality, and style would it have?
Maybe it’s you on your best day or the more confident, colourful person inside you. Have some fun with it!
Takeaway
Your brand is more than just your logo or the appearance of your business. Branding digs deep into the why, how and what you do to get to the heart of your business.
Your visual identity should effectively communicate your brand, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle; to build a successful business, your brand is something you need to build on and refine.
Come back to the questions in this post regularly to make sure your brand is growing alongside your business. And if you’re ready to bring your branding and visual identity into alignment, feel free to drop me a message, I’d love to hear from you.