What does a brand identity project include?

Every project starts with several in-depth conversations. I want to understand the business, its sector and its audience: what people care about, what puts them off, and what makes the business different from its competitors. One useful question is: if you could communicate just one thing about your business, what would it be?

I then map the competitor landscape, looking at where the business sits now and where it wants to be. A visual audit examines competitors’ typography, colour and imagery — what works, what doesn’t, and where there’s an opportunity to take a different approach.

I carry out this research myself and bring the findings together in a PDF presentation, with a strategic recommendation for how the business can present itself visually and verbally.

For ROKA, the concrete composites themselves provide the starting point. The identity uses a restrained palette and clear typography to give the materials, textures and sculptural forms room. That is a different direction from a specialist healthcare practice, where clarity and a welcoming tone have a different role.

I explore a broad range of ideas before selecting the three strongest to develop and present. Each route is shown in relevant contexts, such as business cards, website visuals and social media, so the client can see how the identity could work beyond the logo.

Three offers meaningful variety while allowing each direction to be properly developed. Presenting more can dilute the time and attention each route deserves.

The client then has the opportunity to respond, ask questions and provide feedback. We work through the developments together until we’re both happy with the design.

Once the design is agreed, I finalise the artwork and prepare the print and digital files for handover, refining the details to make the finished work as close to pixel-perfect as possible. Font files, patterns and colour references are included where relevant.

A wordmark or symbol needs to be recognisable and usable, including at small sizes, on different backgrounds and in a single colour. A project may need more than one arrangement of the logo, but those versions should answer real uses rather than add complexity for its own sake.

Brighton Veterinary Cardiology takes its core idea from typography that beats. The BVC lettering brings the rhythm of a heartbeat into the identity, avoiding familiar heart and paw symbols. The idea can also inform iconography and patterns; those possibilities are not the same as an agreed set of deliverables.

Typography gives the identity a voice and makes information easier to use. It includes more than choosing a font: headings, body text, spacing and hierarchy need to work together. A typeface that looks convincing in a large headline also needs to be considered in everyday documents and on screen.

Colour establishes character and helps organise information. The palette should explain which colours lead, which support them and how they work on light and dark backgrounds. Legibility matters as much as the swatches, particularly for small text and digital interfaces.

ROKA’s widely spaced wordmark and subdued palette keep attention on the products. Brighton Veterinary Cardiology pairs deep teal with warm pink, alongside clear typography. Neither approach is a formula to reuse: each responds to a different subject and audience.

Discuss font licensing and who will need access to the typefaces. For colour, agree the specifications needed for print and digital use, and check important text and background combinations for contrast.

An identity needs to work in the places people will actually encounter it. That might mean stationery, social graphics, a presentation, packaging, signage or a website. Choose the applications that matter to your organisation, rather than treating every possible format as essential.

ROKA shows how one visual language can carry across business cards, catalogue covers, social graphics and an image-led website. Its geometric R monogram also frames material photography, connecting the mark to the products rather than leaving it isolated.

Agree which applications will be designed, which need editable templates and which are examples to demonstrate the approach. Website design is not automatically website development; printed artwork is not automatically print production. Making these distinctions early keeps the scope clear.

Brand guidelines explain how the parts work together. A useful reference can cover logo versions, clear space and minimum sizes, colour values, type styles, imagery, layouts and examples of what to avoid. The level of detail should reflect who will use the identity and how much they need to create themselves.

For Brighton Veterinary Cardiology, guidelines support consistent use of the logo, type and colour across stationery and the website. They connect the visual idea to practical decisions, rather than simply recording a set of assets.

At the outset, agree the final file formats, any editable templates and who will maintain them. Vector logo files and suitable print and screen versions serve different purposes. Ask what is included in the handover, and whether your team or other suppliers will need further support.

You do not need to arrive with the design solved. A short, honest outline of the organisation and the problem is more useful than a long list of preferred styles. These are helpful starting points:

• Purpose and audience: what you do, who you need to reach and what you want them to understand.
• Reason for the project: what is changing, what is not working and what should be kept.
• Existing material: current logos, guidelines, website, publications, content and any assets you have permission to use.
• References and context: other organisations in your sector, and examples you like or dislike with a reason for each.
• Priority applications: where the identity needs to work first, and what your team needs to update themselves.
• Practical constraints: your available budget, any launch date or fixed deadline, and who will give feedback and approve decisions.

A new identity, a refresh and a set of applications for an existing brand are different briefs. Naming, written messaging, photography, illustration, development and production may need separate consideration. Do not assume they are included because they sit alongside the visual work.

Before work begins, clarify the deliverables, responsibilities, feedback arrangements and handover. The right scope is the one that answers the organisation’s needs and can be used by the people taking it forward. The examples here show what particular projects include, not a fixed package for every client.