Visual elements of branding are the crucial base of every brand development. Let’s face the fact that no matter how great you tell your brand story if the visual is not attractive, you failed to gain attention. Along with the development of the brand story, core message, personality, and more, you should always have clear and solid visual elements of branding. 

Visual impression happens within seconds since consumers are now actively seeking validation. Moreover, the marketing world and digital world are much more visual-concentrated than ever before. It’s easier to consume information and generate emotion through imagery than through words. Therefore, visual elements of branding are one of the most effective ways to capture users' attention & build awareness.

But how do we imply that effectively into our branding? Let’s find out!

What are the visual elements of branding? 

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What would you think of when seeing a swoosh, or an “M” shape golden gate? You’ll relate them all too Nike & McDonald’s, right? That’s the power of visual elements of branding going strong and impressive.

Think of your brand identity as a huge puzzle, and it requires many elements that once collide, represent the perception of your brand. Visual identity includes many smaller visual elements of branding to successfully deliver the intention behind. And let us tell you, it’s way much more than just a logo or color palette! Your visual elements need typography, images, design layouts, and many more to fully develop and pop out in every channel. Brands that are consistent with their identity will communicate and be recognized much more effectively than those that don’t. 

Additionally, visual elements of branding are the reflection of your mission, vision, and characteristics. So putting time & effort to make sure you’re doing your things right, and align that all with your written message, are absolutely vital. 

In the following part of this article, we will get right through all the most important elements of branding. And let’s not forget about how you can maximize your opportunities by using these features.

Counting all the most important visual elements of branding

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1. Logo 

If you’re wondering about the power of a brand mark, simply look at all the giants. Once you see a swoosh, you know immediately it’s from Nike. Once you see a red target sign, the first thing you think of is definitely not an archery site, but Target. That’s how powerful a logo is.

The logo is the simplest form and the most significant feature of your brand identity. It’s the most visual way to differentiate you from any other organization and should evoke emotion through every contact. It must make customers calling your name once encountering, and no matter how simple your logo design is, it should acquire all the above sayings.

Logo can appear really simple and minimalistic, yet only one who is involved in the making knows how sophisticated it is. It needs strategic planning, back and forth refine and revision, and it takes a lot of time. But all the effort would be worth it once the logo and your brand shine on the shelves and everywhere.

2. Color palette

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When looking at the world-famous brand, you can see that they all use consistent and precise color schemes. Red and yellows are always related to McDonald’s, right? Those big guys always stay true to their color palette throughout their images, graphic designs, and typography. It helps to set the mood for the entire brand and make it much more recognizable. This element of branding once doing right will make customers instantly think of your brand once they see a particular color. 

Among other visual elements of branding, choosing the color for your brand is much less complicated. Choose up to 4-5 complementary colors and apply them to everything you do, from ads to designs, to even the smallest of a business card. Those colors shouldn’t be random but must reflect the characteristics of your brand. For example, a skincare business should opt for brighter colors, while a firm or agency can choose darker tones.

Choosing the right color palette will bring some outstanding benefits that you would love to take:

It differentiates your business: 

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Always check the market to see which colors have been used by competitors, and avoid them completely. You wouldn’t want to be a duplicate version of anyone else, right? Think hard about how you can make your business stand out without using similar tones. Moreover, being unique means there are much more chances for you to command customers' attention. 

It identifies your business:

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Colors associate extremely closely with every brand, it could boost your recognition dramatically than other elements. Some customers might not be able to visualize your logo in their minds, but they can remember the colors incredibly well. 

It related to psychology and strategy of business:

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If you haven’t noticed, colors can affect people’s mood and attitude towards brands. Brand colors can intentionally affect customers' behavior and emotions. However, each region and group of the audience have a different perspective with the same colors. So you’d need to study well and adjust before adapting to all markets. 

3. Typography

Imagine you’re speaking with your customers through your visual elements of branding, then typography is your voice. By creating shape, style, and tone through text, typography can call out many different moods and impressions in customers' minds. 

The only problem is there are way too many choices when it comes to fonts. Some fonts give classic feelings, while others seem super trendy and eye-catching. Choosing the fonts that fit your brand personality is possible, but it needs some effort.

Regardless of your choices, with fonts and typos, you should have a set in hand and use it consistently throughout your designs. 

4. Imagery

One content picture speaks more than a thousand words can. It can create emotion, understanding, and care towards your brand as long as you choose carefully and intentionally. Have a look at your written tone & mood, along with your personality. All your photos and illustrations must match that exact energy. Wanna show that your brand is clean & delightful, then your photographs should express that. 

Choosing and using the correct imagery can bring out some great merits, such as: 

Become relatable: 

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Photography and images are some of the elements of branding that create a strong connection within your brand. It represents yourself, your staff, and your space to make customers feel more comfortable to be around and be involved. It relates to every aspect of your business that you can use to pull customers closer and really bond with you. 

First impression matters: 

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It is such a blast for consumers to form their first impression of you. So no matter you’re posting your photography on the website, social media, it must speak out your brand identity. Use high-quality, professional-looking, and clean pics is the best way to create a positive impression. As customers, you’d love a brand with style and aesthetically pleasing photos more, right? 

Engage more with customers:

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In the booming phase of digital marketing, visual elements of branding are the critical way to communicate with consumers. Nearly 90% of brand pages are made up of photos and videos, and customers love it. As more and more short-video-centric platforms developed like Tiktok, IG Reels, or most recently, Youtube Shorts, visuals are your key to unlock users' attention. 

5. Layouts

If you thought you’ve all the necessary elements of branding and it’s enough, well think again. Logo, fonts, images, colors are all the most important visual elements of branding, yet you’re not quite finished. How you arrange a combination of those elements is very important as well. Those must unite under a good layout and strategy to completely convince customers and make your brand recognition. No pressure, but it’s the layout that determines that you make it or break it.

6. Emotional values

As you create more and stronger emotional connections to your audience, they’ll trust you more. And you’ve already known what would happen once customers trust you, they’ll purchase from your brand. To build these values, you have to think about what would you want to leave on people’s minds when they see your products or come across your social media content? Figuring how you can fulfill this task by words, visuals, and videos, and you’ll gain much more love and loyalty from consumers.

Why are they so crucial to branding?

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Visual elements of branding could never complete without a solid guideline. These two factors must go hand in hand, yet must be developed individually. You’ve met nearly every factor of a good visual identity, but how are they important to branding in general. And most importantly, why it is a must for every brand in any market? 

Better Brand Awareness And Brand Recognition

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No matter which market you are in, or what you’re trying to sell, people always look at visual features first. The human brain will constantly be seeking images to help them process information much faster. That’s why investing in visual elements of branding is always critical. As you are trying to build a strong brand, visual elements are the brightest door leading to awareness and recognition. 

If we get a bit closer to customers' minds, you’ll see that the chances people remember verbal traits is really slim. Let make a little example, what is the slogan of Apple or Walmart? Hard to recall, isn’t it? But if I tell you to think of these brand's logos or colors, it’ll immediately pop, right?  

Bran awareness allows consumers to realize you first on the shelves or anywhere. It’s also what carving on their mind about your brand for long. The more people could remember and recognize you, the healthier your brand would be. And at first, even if they aren’t your customers, once your logo sticks to their mind, they’ll be more likely to buy from you in their next purchase. And every opportunity to increase sales is always better, keep that in mind.

It Helps Your Target Audience Relate To Your Business

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As we have mentioned earlier, audiences will engage more with brands they found relatable. It’s just like any human connection, if you sync and can vibe together, then it’s a match! Every brand has their characteristic, voices, and features that can evoke emotions and opinions. Those elements of branding make businesses appear more humane and can get closer to consumers’ minds. And let us tell you, visual will help you connect even before users read your stories or buy any products from you. Maximize your audience reach through visual elements of branding, it’s much more impressive!

It Conveys A Distinctive Feel Of Your Products/Services

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Let’s just shiver the perspective of a business owner or marketer for a while. Be a customer and look at your brand, do you have any feelings towards it? The only thing matter with visual elements of branding is not how you show it, but how people think and feel about it. So to stand out from a bunch of competitors, you should look different, feel different, and offer differences. That’s what your visuals do, to differentiate yourself from others, and convince customers that being unique also means you can solve their problems better. 

It Creates A Sense Of Business Continuity And Brand Consistency

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When you’re getting around your brand identity, it’s important to remember that while other elements of your business can be changed through times, doesn’t mean your core visual elements have to. Unity and consistency among all your products and communication channels can ensure growth and great turnover. Meanwhile changing it could flip up the situation and make things worse. As customers have been so familiar with your visual elements of branding, trying to change could lead to negative reactions. 

But keeping everything consistent doesn’t mean we eliminate all changes. You should always understand the core elements that shouldn’t switch up with others, and maintain it to keep the degree of familiarity high at a safe point. 

Moreover, some customers may even get emotionally attached to your brand visual since it reminds them of a memories or sense of belonging. We highly suggest brands stay to their core visuals and values instead of making any risky move. 

How to stand out with your visual brand identity?

Be unique:

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Your visual elements of branding should truly stand apart from the market. Don’t be the duplicate of someone else. To truly pull off this aspect, you must do a lot of market research and learn well about all of your competitors. From their visuals, to how they present on the shelves, online, everything. A deep understanding of what others have done will make you know what you should do to actually stand out. 

Be memorable:

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Your goal here is to make every visual of your brand so strong that customers immediately fall in love with it every time they see it. Regardless of context or any other reasons, your visual should be admired and understand easily. 

Make everything match:

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Each visual element of branding that sticks to your brand should complement each other and effortlessly match. Consistency and details are everything! 

Round it up

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We have just walked you right through all the necessary elements of branding, then getting deep into why they’re vital for your brand’s life. Base on this foundation knowledge, you’ll have a clearer vision of what to do to truly boost your brand awareness in the long run. Stay authentic, stay true to your core values and you’ll see the great impacts coming.