Brand identity
Brand identity is the whole set of consistent decisions — visual and verbal — by which an organisation is recognised.
Also known as: corporate identity · visual identity · brand system
A logo is part of it, not the whole. Colour palette, typography, the way images are treated, the tone of the writing and — on the web — the language of motion all belong to the same system.
Motion is the part most often left out. How quickly something appears, how it settles, whether it is sharp or soft: these read as character just as much as a colour does. A brand guide that stops at print leaves the site to improvise.
When to use it
When it makes sense
When the organisation is new, or when the existing identity was made for print and has never been defined for screen.
When it is unnecessary
When there is a working identity and the real problem is elsewhere. Redrawing a logo does not fix a site nobody can navigate.
How it looked in our work
For CBH we built the identity and the site together: colours and typefaces first, then the motion language, then the site itself.
Common questions
Do we get a brand guide?
Yes — colours, type scale, spacing and motion rules, written so that someone else can apply them later without guessing.
Can we keep our existing logo?
Usually yes. An identity can be built around an existing mark; it only needs redrawing if it does not survive at small sizes or on screen.
How does this term apply to your work? Let us talk.
Get in touch