When someone asks me for “a logo”, what they almost always need is something more: a complete visual identity that makes their business recognisable everywhere. I’m Irys, I work directly with each client, and I want to explain what a visual identity includes and why the logo is just one of its pieces.
What a visual identity is
It’s the set of graphic elements that make your brand recognisable: how it looks, which colours it uses, which typefaces, what style of images, how they all combine. If the logo is your signature, the visual identity is the way you dress.
A good identity isn’t just pretty: it gives you consistency. When your website, social media, quotes and posters all look like they belong to the same business, it builds trust.
The elements it usually includes
1. The logo and its variants
The main logo, of course, but also versions for different uses: horizontal and vertical, in colour and in a single ink, on light and dark backgrounds, and a reduced version for small spaces such as the website icon or a social media profile. A logo that only works in one situation will give you problems later on.
2. The colour palette
Your brand colours, with their exact codes, and a clear idea of when to use each one. There’s normally a main colour, a few supporting ones and some neutrals. What matters isn’t having many, but using them with judgement.
3. Typography
One or two typeface families, with guidance on what’s used for headings, body text and details. Typography conveys character almost as much as colour does.
4. The graphic style
This is where the elements that give personality come in: shapes, lines, icons, patterns, the treatment of images. It’s what stops a brand from looking like a collection of loose pieces.
5. Usage guidelines
A small manual explaining how to use everything above: clear space around the logo, minimum sizes, combinations that work and ones that don’t. It doesn’t need to be a hundred-page tome; for a small business, a clear mini manual is enough, and it’s appreciated when someone else has to work with your brand.
6. Applications
Examples of how the identity looks in practice: the website header, a social media profile, an email signature, a card. They help check that everything works together and serve as a starting point when you need one.
What a visual identity isn’t
It isn’t a fad or an aesthetic whim. Nor is it the same as your brand strategy: positioning, tone of voice and values are another layer (and in another post I’ll explain the differences between logo, brand and identity). Visual identity is the part you can see, and it works best when it rests on clear ideas about who you are and who you work for.
How I work on an identity
I start by understanding your business, who you’re aiming at and what you want to convey. From there I propose a direction, develop it and hand over the files ready to use, along with a mini manual. I run the whole process myself, with no intermediaries, so decisions get made quickly and you always talk to the person who designs.
My branding service costs 300 € and includes a logo, palette, typefaces and a mini brand manual, so that your business is recognisable and looks consistent everywhere.
When it makes sense to do it
- When you’re starting out and want a solid foundation.
- When your brand has grown and what you had no longer represents you.
- When you notice that each of your pieces looks like it belongs to a different business.
- Before building or redesigning your website, so you don’t have to adapt everything afterwards.
Investing in your visual identity isn’t spending on aesthetics: it’s building a base that makes everything else easier.
Shall we talk about your project?
If you’d like me to review your site or tell you honestly what I would change, tell me about it on the contact page. You write to me, I reply myself, no strings attached.
