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Visual Brand Identity Design

Conference Paper · June 2017

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Borislava Stoimenova
University of National and World Economy
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 VISUAL BRAND IDENTITY DESIGN

Assist. prof. Borislava Stoimenova, PhD, [email protected]

University of National and World Economy/Bulgaria

Abstract: The competition in the 21st century is among brands. The

two conventional tools for brand management today are brand identity,
specifying the facets of brands’ uniqueness and value, and brand
positioning – a short claim that contains a set of a few differentiating
properties, communicated to a target audience. Brand identity, when
used as a source for brand positioning, helps the brand change its
communication style by different positioning strategies, yet remain
coherent, consistent and true to itself over time. This paper identifies and
explains the types of elements of a visual brand identity program such as
logo(s), typography, colour, symbols, imagery, composition, etc., used to
tangibly express characteristics and intangible added values of identity
such as personality traits, character qualities and sensations. The result
of the analysis is a framework for planning the design of visual identity
programs in order to encode and convey particular meanings and to
strengthen brands' perceptions and images.
Key words: visual brand identity, visual brand identity systems
JEL classification: M31

1. Introduction
Although a brand consists of both tangible and intangible assets,
many brand definitions equate brands with visual elements of the graphic
design and respectively brand identity – with visual identity. The
American Marketing Association (2004) defines brand as “a name, term,
design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or
service as distinct from those of other sellers”. In a world of millions of
product brands and rising consumers’ insecurity, the importance of
corporate identity has become acknowledged in the marketing literature
(Aaker 1996, Balmer 2001, De Chernatony 2010, Kapferer 2008). Today,
more companies are refusing to remain hidden behind their product
brands and develop corporate brands strategies. Corporate identity turns

346
out to be an important factor in consumer choice between products
because customers “buy the company” that makes the product, they buy
its character, its size, its processes, ethics and the confidence it inspires
(Melewar and Saunders 2000). Corporate identity is the sum of all the
factors that define and project ‘what the organization is’, ‘what it stands
for’, ‘what it does’, ‘how it does it’ and ‘where it is going’(Melewar
2003). Its visual expression can be perceived as a tangible asset of the
brand which helps different stakeholders easily understand and assess the
company and its products.

2. Methodology
The integrated design elements of CVI have rarely been studied and
the area is characterized by conceptual and methodological diversity.
Most visual identity design studies gather large samples of
advertisements and conduct content analyses to describe the frequency
with which various types of visual elements appear (McQuarrie and Mick
1999). Such studies may also report correlations between the presence of
certain elements and specific audience responses but they are primarily
descriptive and provide only weak evidence for causality. Also, the
specific visual elements investigated tend to cover a wide, unsystematic
range and are not generated by any theoretical background and
specification. Some researchers focus their attention only on brand logos
as one of the primary elements of a company’s visual branding strategy,
perceived to be highly correlated with evaluations of quality and style
(Henderson et al. 2003).
Another research method, applied in this field, is the visual audit.
The visual audit measures consistency by analysing the visual materials
used by the organizations, and the perception of external stakeholders
towards the visual identity. This makes it possible to make a distinction
between actual consistency and perceived consistency by internal and
external audiences. The problem with visual audits is that in many cases
the auditors do not exactly know what to audit as they do not have a
preliminary list of the visual brand design elements, classified in a
comprehensive and a structured way.
The purpose of this paper is to create a theoretical framework for

347
planning the design of visual identity programs by gathering and
classifying the visual brand elements mentioned in the visual brand
identity literature in marketing context.
3. Theoretical framework
Corporate visual identity (CVI) plays a significant role in the way an
organisation presents itself to both internal and external stakeholders, but
the subject of managing CVI receives little attention in the marketing and
management literature (van den Bosch et al. 2005). Theories on CVI
focus mainly on identity structures - monolithic, endorsed and branded
identities (Olins 1989) clarifying the relationships between strategy and
visual identity (van den Bosch et al. 2005) but very little research gives
directions on how to manage corporate visual identity and make it
consistent. The marketing communications and identity managers are
interested in mechanisms for enhancing the consistency of a CVI by the
use of well-structured brand guideline’s accessible for the employees who
present the organization in various touch points. The elements of a CVI
are some of the few things in a company that can be readily changed,
controlled and managed to the smallest detail. Many scholars find such a
perspective to be a highly questionable one while senior managers find
this perspective to be especially attractive mainly because it gives them
an opportunity to control and influence external perceptions and thus
leave a mark on the organization they work for (Balmer 2006). CVIs are
often changed completely or modified as a result of organisational
changes - repositioning, mergers, acquisitions, or privatisation (van den
Bosch 2005).
As described by Balmer (2008), The British Standard Institute
defines visual identity (or corporate design) as “visual expression of an
organisation’s corporate identity: the face it puts on itself, its activities
and outputs” with which the organization intends on creating certain
visual images - “sum of visual impressions and quality of the output of
an organisation built up in the minds of its stakeholders and the public”
through its visual identification system - “principal means by which an
organisation manifests visually its corporate identity”. The basic elements
of any visual identification system are lines, shapes, textures, typography,
colour, logo(s), symbols, imagery, composition, slogan, tagline and key

348
messages used on different applications in order to communicate the
corporate essence, philosophy, culture and values, personality - overall
identity (Balmer 1995, Balmer 2006, Bartholme´ and Melewar 2011,
Melewar and Saunders 2000, van den Bosch et al. 2005). Used in a
consistent and coherent way these elements help organizations to add
additional value to the products that they sell and to strengthen their
brands (Dacin and Brown 2002).
Many brand choices are made with low involvement and very little
processing of information and are influenced mainly by brand awareness,
image and/or overall reputation of the company that sells the products.
Through the quality of design, the range of its applications, and the
condition of carriers, CVI can serve many objectives mainly related to the
image and reputation management. It can support different reputation
dimensions such as visibility, physical recognition, distinctiveness,
authenticity, transparency, and consistency (van den Bosch et al. 2005),
strengthening the brands by differentiating products, making it easier for
the consumers to process information, creating loyalty, allowing for
premium pricing, cutting through clutter, and protecting against
competition.
The results of such audits often reveal weak visual identities - the
use of different styles, different renderings of the same objects such as
coat of arms, different brand names and logos and, different colour pallets
and fonts, etc. This results into an inconsistent visual and oral
representation of a company and its products (Baker & Balmer, 1997).
Such inconsistency of an organization visual identity causes confusion in
its formal communication policy and in particular the corporate and
product branding system in use (Baker and Balmer 1997), conveying
unarticulated signals, meanings and promises. Despite providing a base
for clear and consistent communications, when managed in a coordinated
way, a company’s aesthetics may enhance the appeal of the organization
and its offers (Melewar 2008). Extrinsic visual attributes can help
consumers to recall intrinsic product quality (van den Bosch 2005). A
distinctive design, that is emotionally appealing and of good quality, can
create perceptions of higher quality products, can generate free publicity,
can influence the consumers goodwill and differentiate the company and

349
its products (Aaker 1996, Balmer 2006, Henderson et al. 2003). Visual
stimuli may be effective because they are learned faster and remembered
significantly longer than verbal stimuli (Henderson et al. 2003).
The design of a CVI itself has little intrinsic value and the visual
identifiers need to acquire intrinsic value over time. Therefore, the CVI
must be coherent and consistent. The quality of design requires all design
elements to connect and support one another through the same style and
character, to form some visual unity and to convey the same message
based on a similar “look-and-feel” (van den Bosch et al. 2005). The
assumption is that the consistency of the CVI depends on the way the
CVI guidelines are applied through different corporate visual identity
programs (van den Bosch 2005).
The corporate visual identity system (CVIS) is explained as the
graphic design of a firm's visual identity which provides the visual
language and discipline for the clear and consistent projection of a firm's
visual identity (Melewar and Saunders 2000, Topalian 1984). There is
little agreement within the organizations about the elements and scope of
a visual identity. The process of creating a visual identity system begins
with a visual audit - an analysis undertaken to establish how an
organization visually projects itself to its various audiences (Baker and
Balmer 1997). The purpose of the audit is to reveal the degree of
consistency across visual/tangible elements of identity (signs and
messages) and to establish specific guidelines for how the company will
be visually presented (Melewar 2008). Some design elements such as
logos, signage on buildings, interior design, uniforms and so on have a
long lifecycle and therefore remain the same for long periods. However,
applying the design to brochures and advertising requires regular
adaptation in the style of photography/illustrations, typography and
layout. The list of visual brand identity design elements outlined in Table
1 is a result of a literature review of journal articles and other papers
featuring the studied area (Baker and Balmer 1997, Gray and Balmer
1998, Karaosmanoglu and Melewar 2006, Melewar 2003, Melewar 2008,
Melewar and Saunders 2000, Topalian 1984, van den Bosch 2005, van
den Bosch et al. 2005).

350
 Table 1
Visual brand identity design elements
Basic elements Documents Advertising materials
brand name(s) business reports promotional literature
logo policy reports presentations
symbol (s) company literature brochures and
heraldry leaflets
seals Product bookmarks
lines, shapes, textures product design booklets
typography packages promotion/give-
colour pallets aways
grid navigation
slogan notebooks
tagline and/or descriptor Architecture* invitations
(key message) signage offers
layout/composition exteriors pens flags
letterhead interiors key fobs
photographs/illustrations environmental bag labels
design
Stationary (landscape)
forms exhibition boards Advertisements
envelopes (panels) video
business card decorations billboards
e-mail print ads
compliment slips Vehicles banner ads
trucks/cars/vans
cheques text ads
badges recruitment ads
Equipment
calendars posters
machines
certification direct mail ads
facilities
consumables
Corporate clothing
uniforms
t-shirts
ties
scarves
cufflinks
*Building architecture includes exteriors and interiors of manufacturing plants, premise,
offices, warehouses, showrooms, retail outlets.

The corporate visual identity structures are most often organized

around the Olins (1989) “corporate identity structure”, which consist of
three concepts: monolithic brands for companies which have a single
brand, an endorsed identity - each of the operational units has its own

351
identity but this is endorsed (visually connected) with the corporate name
and visual style, and a branded identity - different brands are developed for
different parts of an organization or for different product lines and/or
products (it excludes any reference to the corporate name and visual style).
4. Conclusion
The results of the literature review on visual brand identity design
provide a summarized theoretical classification of visual brand identity
elements. Such a classification would be helpful for the execution of
visual audits and for further planning the design of consistent and
coherent visual identity programs. These programs are meant to provide
unified brand representation at various touch points with stakeholders
which increases visibility, physical recognition, distinctiveness,
transparency and serves as a useful tool for desired image creation and
reputation management. The concept of visual brand identity design is
applied in business by marketing communications and identity managers
who coordinate the process of preparing well-structured brand guidelines
and make these guidelines accessible for the employees who represent the
organization in various brand touch points.

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