Brand Strategy
Key question
How does the brand become visible?
Corporate design translates strategy into visual design: logo, colours, typography, imagery and design language make the brand recognisable.
Learning objective: You can derive the elements of a corporate design from the strategy and verify their consistency across various touchpoints.
Design translates strategy.
7.1 / Brand elements
Every element supports the strategy.
A corporate design consists of several elements that together form a system:
01
Logo
Icon, wordmark, or both. Does it work small, large, and in monochrome?
02
Colour
Primary and accent colours with a clear function.
03
Typography
One to two fonts with a clear hierarchy.
04
visual world
Style, subjects and perspective of photos and illustrations.
05
Design language
Recurring shapes, lines, grids and patterns.
Every element should be justifiable through positioning and personality, not just taste. The impact of colour and typography is explained in Design Psychology, Module 04.
Every element needs a purpose.
7.2 / Design System
Rules make a brand scalable.
A design system describes how elements are applied: spacing, grids, components, examples, and dos and don'ts. Brand guidelines set this in stone for everyone working with the brand.
Good guidelines are concise, include examples, and explain the 'why'. This enables others to develop the brand further without diluting it.
A good rule explains its why.
7.3 / Touchpoints and consistency
Recognisable everywhere, not the same everywhere.
A brand connects with people across many touchpoints: website, social media, packaging, billboards, stores and customer service. Consistency means that the brand is recognisable everywhere.
Consistency does not mean uniformity. A system can adapt to the medium, as long as the core remains recognisable.
Consistent is what remains recognisable everywhere.
Exercise
Deriving a corporate design
Task: Translate your brand's strategy into initial design elements.
STEP 1
Derives three design principles from positioning and personality.
STEP 2
Develop a mood board with colours, typography and imagery.
STEP 3
Sketch the logo in three variations and test it at a small size and in single colour.
STEP 4
Displays the elements at three touchpoints and checks for consistency.
Evaluation: Can every element be justified by the strategy?