Consistency in Your Visual Brand Identity

Running a business is all fun and games until you’ve got invoices to chase, suppliers to manage, customers to keep happy and a tax return lurking ominously in the background.

So we can hardly blame anyone for giving their brand identity a little less attention than it deserves.

Maybe you threw a logo together in PowerPoint years ago. It looked alright, did the job and everyone was happy.

Fast-forward a few years and it’s all gone a bit Pete Tong.

The logo looks a bit questionable on Instagram, the font hasn’t seen daylight since 2004 and someone’s gone rogue with the colour palette.

Now you’ve got a business with more logos than employees.

So, how do you get everything looking like it belongs to the same brand? And why does it matter?

Why Is Brand Consistency So Important?

So, why all the fuss about keeping your branding consistent? Surely a slightly different shade of blue here and there isn’t the end of the world?

Well, those little inconsistencies have a habit of adding up. And when your branding starts pulling in different directions, it can have a bigger impact than you might think.

1. Make Your Brand Easier to Remember

Not to state the obvious but, consistency breeds familiarity. When people come across the same colours, fonts and familiar little details wherever they see your business, they’re much more likely to recognise you the next time you pop up.

2. Look Like a Business That Knows What It’s Doing

If your branding is all over the shop, people might start wondering whether the rest of your business is too. Keeping everything looking consistent helps you appear professional, reliable and like you’ve got your ducks in a row.

3. Stand Out From the Crowd

A distinctive brand identity gives people something to remember you by. Consistency makes sure those little details stick, rather than getting lost among the thousands of other businesses fighting for attention.

4. Make Marketing a Whole Lot Easier

Nobody wants to spend half their afternoon hunting down the right logo or figuring out which font they’re supposed to use. When everyone’s got the right colours, fonts, logos and guidelines to hand, there’s a lot less guesswork and a lot less creative interpretation going on.

5. Give Your Brand Room to Grow

Business is booming, the team’s growing and you’re heading for bigger and better things.

Wonderful. But suddenly everyone’s got their own ideas about how the branding should look. A consistent brand identity keeps things from turning into a creative free-for-all.

So, keeping your branding consistent is clearly a good idea. But how do you actually go about it without making a complete meal of things? Funny you should ask…

Logo: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Your logo might look the bee’s knees on your website, but what happens when you try squeezing it into a tiny Instagram profile picture? Or blowing it up to the size of a billboard?

A cracking logo should look the part wherever it ends up.

Make Sure It Works Everywhere

A beautifully detailed logo is all well and good, but if it turns into an unreadable little blob the moment you shrink it down, you’ve got a problem.

Make sure yours works at different sizes, on different backgrounds and everywhere from your website to your packaging.

And don’t be afraid to simplify things when needed. We’ve given our own logo a bit of a makeover over the years, so we’re certainly not judging.

Have a Few Versions Up Your Sleeve

Horizontal, stacked, standalone brandmark. Different places call for different arrangements, and there’s nothing wrong with having a few options up your sleeve.

A big, beautiful logo might look right at home on your website, but not quite so comfortable squeezed into an Instagram circle. Having a few different versions gives you room to play, as long as they all look like they belong to the same business.

Keep the Right Files Handy

Nothing quite takes the shine off some lovely new packaging like discovering your company logo only exists as a tiny JPEG saved on somebody’s desktop seven years ago.

Do yourself a favour and get the right files together. Scalable SVGs, transparent PNGs, suitable print files and light and dark variations.

Because sending the printers a blurry screenshot of your logo and hoping for the best isn’t really a strategy.

Colour: Keep Everyone on the Same Palette

There’s plenty of room to have fun with colour. But if your lovely, carefully chosen palette changes depending on who’s behind the screen, things can start looking a little all over the shop

Get Your Colours Sorted

Whether your brand uses one hero colour or a whole collection of them, make sure everyone knows which colours belong where.

Have your colour values properly documented, including HEX and RGB for digital and CMYK or Pantone references where appropriate for print.

Give Your Colours a Job to Do

Not every colour needs to be fighting for the starring role.

Work out which colours are best suited to backgrounds, headings, buttons and all the other little bits that make up your branding. Give everyone some guidance on how they should work together.

That way, you’ve still got plenty of room to get creative without every new design looking like somebody’s gone a little wild with the colour picker.

Typography: Don’t Let Your Fonts Run Wild

We love a good font. Probably more than is healthy, if we’re honest. But when everyone in the office starts picking their own favourites, things can get a little out of hand.

Pick Fonts That Work Together

Your typography should feel like it belongs to your brand. Whether you’re all about big, bold personality or something a little more understated, your fonts have a part to play.

You might use one typeface or a couple that work nicely together. Just make sure they’re consistent across your website, presentations and marketing materials.

And remember, looking lovely is only half the job. People shouldn’t need a microscope to read what you’re saying.

If you’re still scratching your head over which fonts to choose, we’ve put together a handy little guide on picking the perfect brand font.

Imagery: Keep It Looking Like You

Your brand might have a beautiful colour palette and a cracking logo, but that doesn’t mean you can chuck any old photograph alongside them and call it a day.

Have a think about the kind of imagery that feels right. Bright, bold and colourful? Something more natural and understated?

Once you’ve settled on a style, carry it through your website, socials and marketing. Different photos are absolutely fine. Looking like three completely different businesses? Not so much.

Practicalities: Get Yourself a Brand Bible

Your logos, colours, typography, imagery and tone of voice. Get everything documented in one place so the whole team knows what they’re working with.

Think of it as your brand’s identity instruction manual. Whenever something starts going a little skew-whiff, you’ve got something to refer back to and get everyone back on track.

And don’t just fill it with rules. Show people what good looks like, with a few examples of how your branding should (and definitely shouldn’t) be used. Much easier than expecting everyone to become a branding expert overnight.

Keep Your Socials Looking the Part: Your Instagram and LinkedIn don’t need to be identical twins, but they should at least look related. Keep your logos, colours and imagery consistent so people know it’s you wherever they find you.

Keep Your Website on Brand: Your website should feel like a natural extension of your brand identity. Same colours, familiar fonts and imagery that looks like it belongs.

If someone’s just been admiring your LinkedIn page, they shouldn’t land on your website and wonder whether they’ve clicked the wrong link.

Give Your Branding the Occasional Once-Over

Every now and then, have a poke around your website, socials, presentations and other marketing materials. It’s surprising how many little inconsistencies can creep in when nobody’s keeping an eye on things.

Here’s a quick sense check to see how your branding is holding up:

Does your logo work across different sizes and formats?
Is everyone using the right colours and fonts?
Does your photography have a consistent look and feel?
Do your website and social profiles feel like the same business?
Can everyone find and use your brand guidelines?
Have any older marketing materials started looking a little out of place?

Spot something that’s gone a bit skew-whiff? Better to put it right now than let those little inconsistencies pile up.

And if your branding could do with a helping hand, you know who to call. Or book a chat with our fearless leader, James.

Chat to the experts