Graphic design is the art of communication through the visual elements of a project. Whether involving the layout of a webpage or the contents of a magazine, this service focuses on creating and delivering a cohesive message through design. On an everyday scale, graphic design holds an influence over almost everything, everywhere – from logos, website graphics, posters, social media advertisements, and infographics, to book covers, mobile apps, software interfaces, and more.

In addition to effectively conveying a message or concept, a well-executed graphic design project can also work to inspire action – for example, convincing a website visitor to request a callback.

A strong visual identity (what your brand looks like) can be incredibly persuasive – think of a time you’ve chosen a product based on its packaging, or trusted a company based on a recognisable logo or professional-looking website.  

Branding is more than just a logo refresh – it involves crafting a consistent and memorable identity that stands out amongst your competitors, resonates with your target audience, and supports sales growth. From defining your business goals to creating or updating your visual identity, the goal of branding is to establish and amplify your brand’s unique personality.

Building a brand identity is no easy process, but really does pay off in the long run – we promise! Whether you choose to undertake this mammoth task yourself or hire an expert to do the heavy lifting, you’ll likely bear witness to at least some of the following milestones when forging your brand’s unique image:

• Colour palette selection: The colours you select at the very start of your brand-building journey will have a significant influence over every other aspect of your guidelines, so choose carefully! If you choose to work with an experienced branding agency, they should be able to fill you in on the meanings and psychology behind the swatches.
• Logo: Designing a logo suitable for use across your website, print, socials, stationary, and more is an all-important aspect of establishing or rebranding your business. Ensure it’s versatile, recognisable, on-brand, and, of course, in the right format! 
• Typography: Though frequently overlooked, your font selections are just as important as the other visual elements of your site. 

Depending on your unique requirements, factors including photography, illustration, iconography, and even data visualisation might also be considered at this point!

A strong brand identity is more than just an instant logo and colour palette. Whilst playing around with the visual elements of your brand’s image may be the most fun part of the branding process, it’s important to take into consideration every element of your brand – creating visual elements designed to amplify its story, unique personality, and offerings. 

A good brand identity can tell viewers, clients, and returning customers alike exactly who you are using no words at all where necessary. It can help your brand stand out in a crowded physical marketplace, amongst digital e-commerce listings, or when surrounded by other ads or content. Ultimately, it can make or break both your brand’s visibility and sales/conversion rates. 

A brand identity is much like your personal identity. Essentially, it’s made up of every single element of your brand that makes it uniquely itself – from colour palettes and logos to a unique tone of voice and mission statement. Your brand identity is the message your company portrays to the world in each and every way it presents itself, from packaging to advertising banners, and more. 

Whilst, as mentioned above, the term ‘brand identity’ refers to the way in which your brand is perceived by those interacting with it, the phrase ‘branding’ refers to the process of creating each and every element contributing to said perception. 

Put simply, brand guidelines are a predetermined collection of standards designed to regulate how your brand is represented – ensuring consistency across the board. Ironically, there are no set rules when it comes to the format of these guidelines – with some companies simply putting together a brief, one-page document, and others composing a booklet as long as a novel! 

However you choose to present your brand guidelines, they may include (but aren’t limited to) logos and logo usage, margins and sizing, colour palettes, file formats, tone of voice, typography, icons, photography, letterheads, and other design elements.

Composing a fully comprehensive brand guidelines document can be hugely time-consuming for business owners and employees alike – making graphic design and branding agencies a popular option.

Creating a set of brand guidelines can be a big investment – both for businesses just getting off the ground and for those retracing their steps and starting fresh. With this being said, there is also an abundance of cost-effective options on the market. Ultimately, the exact cost of branding is determined by the exact requirements of the client – with cheap options from freelance hosts like Fiverr widely available. However, our experts highly recommend consulting a professional branding agency for further security, guaranteed professionalism, and beautiful results delivered by experienced specialists.

In order to determine an approximate cost for your brand guideline document, why not get in touch with GLO for a free consultation? We can’t wait to hear your story.

A branding agency, as the name suggests, is a company specialising in branding. Typically completing branding exercises and guidelines for clients across a wide range of industries, agencies are made up of a collection of create professionals with skills from graphic design to document formatting, and more. 

Good branding agencies work hard to support brands looking to establish or refresh their identity – clarifying goals and objectives before providing a comprehensive toolkit designed to help bring your brand’s mission, values, USPs, and overall image to life at every touchpoint. 

If you’re looking for high-quality, comprehensive branding results with the added benefits of efficiency, security, ad professionalism, an agency is truly the way to go.

Projects as creative as graphic design are near boundless in terms of both project briefing and results, making it impossible to suggest even an average timescale! Ultimately, the amount of time it’ll take to get your project from idea to completion is almost completely determined by your overarching objectives and the desired result – however, factors such as the designer or design agency you select can also play a significant part in speed.

The good news, regardless of project scale or complexity, is that clients can help speed things along where needed. If you’d like to ensure your design is finished ASAP, be sure to provide your designer or agency with a full, accurate brief, and timely feedback where required.

In order to get your graphic design or branding project off the ground, you’ll most likely need to get in touch with a designer. There are a number of ways to do this – with the main two being hiring a freelancer (either via direct contact or through a freelance ‘marketplace’ such as Fiverr), or reaching out to a graphic design agency. 

Whilst individual freelancers can be highly skilled, they’re generally best suited to small, one-off projects such as logo design. On the other hand, creative agencies are highly suited to both small and large projects, working on either a one-off or repeat basis to craft high-quality projects from concept to delivery. 

Composed of a collection of industry specialists, the right graphic design agency should be able to fulfil a client’s every design requirement.