There are many ways your visual identity can be jeopardized. One of them is by not having a clear set of guidelines for it. This can cause your visual identity to be inconsistent, which can be viewed as unprofessional, confuses customers, and loses their trust.
To avoid this, be sure you have a graphic charter with your primary and secondary brand colors listed (do not forget to add the hexadecimal and RGB code). The typeface and logo(s) along with templates should also be available. This information should then be shared with every member of the company. Sometimes, it is even necessary to add descriptions on how and when to use this information so that there is no confusion at any level.
Another important element to be considered is the legality of this information. Any original work of authorship such as your logo should be copyrighted. No other company or person will be able to use or steal your unique visual identity which sets you apart.
It is important that you keep an eye on your visual identity, especially online. A great way to protect it is by monitoring it. You can set up alerts on Google which notifies you whenever you are mentioned on any of Google’s indexed pages. Take it further by using solutions like Mention that allow you to monitor over 1 billion sources across the web. You can also use the tool Image Raider to see if your images are being used online by someone other than your company. Knowing how your visual identity is being used online allows you to move quickly if an issue arises.
Your visual identity should be recognizable no matter where your customer interacts with it. One way to ensure this is to be consistent. To do this, always use the same designer when creating campaigns or use images from similar sources. You might want to even consider having a brand manager to oversee your visual identity and create procedures to best manage it. Finally, once again, be sure that your employees have access to all the guidelines and know how to properly use your identity.
The number one place where your visual identity can get out of control is in your employee emails. 30 emails are sent every day by the average employee, multiply this with the number of members at your organization, this represents a big risk for you to lost control of your visual identity.
Do these emails have your company logo? Brand color? Are their signatures all the same? If left up to the employee, your visual identity can quickly become degraded.
To ensure that it is consistent for each employee, you can use a solution like Letsignit to manage, create, and diffuse a harmonized signature branded with your visual identity.
You ensure that everyone is on the same page: they have the same logo, brand color, and correct job title displayed on this very important channel.
With Letsignit, pre-made templates are available with your brand color already integrated into them. All you must do is choose the one that best suits your company. Then, to diffuse them to your employees, it only takes one simple click. And, if there are ever any changes such as a new logo, color, or company address, it only takes one modification on the platform to implement company-wide.
“First, we want to give you a big thanks! Your tool is simply a genius!” – Alexandre Dennemont, EQUIP'oi
"Letsignit allows us to organize and simplify things. We’re able to offer an identical corporate image to everyone.” – François Simansour, RTM
Read RTM's full success story.
