Consistency of a brand's visual identity can support its visibility, distinctiveness, authenticity and transparency (Bosch, Jong & Elving, 2005). It was found that a consistent visual identity positively impacted a company's reputation, the intention of a user to commit to a company, and their feelings towards the company compared to inconsistent visual identities - regardless of the actual reputation or credibility of the company (Kaur & Kaur, 2021).
Not only should a brand be consistent across touchpoints but consistency is also important between elements of its visual identity. For instance, the typical elements that make up a visual identity e.g. Your brand's logo must also be consistent with your brand’s personality and tone. This is supported by the research, Luffarelli, Stamatogiannakis & Yang (2018) found that a logo which is congruent with the personality of the brand is more effective than one which is not. Likewise, consumers will overwhelmingly prefer to choose a brand with a font which is appropriate compared to one which is not - and that this holds more weight than the brand's name itself (Doyle & Bottomley, 2002).
To ensure consistency as your brand grows and becomes more visible at different touchpoints have set formalised brand guidelines. These must outline your logo (correct and incorrect use), colour palette, typography system, graphical elements, and guidance on curating an image bank. These elements should be informed by a brand's values, themes and personality. Which is why at studio adare every branding project begins with an in depth discovery session.
References
Doyle, J. R., & Bottomley, P. A. (2002). Font appropriateness and Brand choice. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0148296302004873
Kaur, H., & Kaur, K. R. (2021). Investigating the effects of consistent visual identity on social media. Retrieved from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JIBR-06-2020-0174/full/html?utm_campaign=Emerald_Strategy_PPV_November22_RoN
van den Bosch, A.L.M., de Jong, M.D.T. and Elving, W.J.L. (2005), "How corporate visual identity supports reputation", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 108-116. https://doi.org/10.1108/13563280510596925
Luffarelli, J., Stamatogiannakis, A., & Yang, H. (2018). The visual asymmetry effect: An interplay of logo design and Brand Personality on Brand Equity. Journal of Marketing Research, 56(1), 89–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022243718820548
