Potential customers have a short attention span. If you’re wondering how to ensure your brand is sending the right message to attract attention, this blog is for you.
Strong branding is more than just a logo or a catchy slogan. It is your business’s personality. If your visual identity lacks consistency, customers won’t be able to understand who you are or what you do.
This is why a visual identity audit is so important. It’s not scary (I promise!), but it is the key to making your brand recognisable, consistent and easy to trust.
Take a look at some big brands that have been around for a while, and you will see how their visual identity has evolved over time. Even well-known brands can lose their edge through inconsistent or outdated branding.
I’ll walk you through why a visual identity audit matters, and show you how to carry one out, step-by-step. And if you’re not sure where to start, don’t worry, the Make a Brew team is here to help.
If you simply don’t get it, simply contact us today for a chat – the kettle is always on!
What Is Branding?
First, a brief recap. Branding is the process of shaping the perception of your company in the minds of your customers. It is what your audience believes, based on:
- Visual identity (logos, colours, typography, imagery)
- Voice and tone
- Customer experience
- Mission, vision, and values
If you want to learn more, read my blog explaining the key elements of brand identity.
Visual identity is one of the most immediate and powerful parts of your brand, helping to build recognition, trust, and that all-important emotional connection.
However, when a brand’s visual identity is inconsistent, it can confuse customers, dilute the brand message and weaken brand presence. This is where a visual identity audit can be invaluable.
What Is a Visual Identity Audit?
A visual identity audit is a systematic review of all the visual elements of your brand – think of it as a branding health check.
I mean everything – from your logo and colour palette to social media graphics and website screenshots.
The aim of a visual identity audit is to assess whether your visuals feel aligned, consistent, and on-brand.
The audit will help to identify inconsistencies or outdated materials to strengthen visual coherence and consistency and make sure your team is on-board with design standards.
Step 1: Gather Brand Assets
Compile every visual representation of your brand:
- Logo files (variations, formats, sizes)
- Typography (fonts used in print, web, social)
- Colour palette
- Email headers and footers
- Website pages (screenshots)
- Social media profiles and graphics
- Promotional materials – brochures, leaflets, adverts
- Newsletters and e-shots
- Presentation templates
- Stationery – letterheads/business cards/invoices etc.
Clare’s Tips!
- Use a spreadsheet to keep track of where each item lives and how/where it’s being used.
- Set up a ‘tidy folder’ system right at the start. It saves a lot of time and hassle to have everything is in one place with clearly labelled sub-folders, so visual assets are easy to locate and use. Believe me, it makes things so much easier!
Step 2: Compare and Assess
Print everything out or look at it on screen – whatever works for you.
Once you have everything to hand, take a proper look with the following questions in mind:
- Are you using the same logo everywhere?
- Are you using the brand colour palette consistently across all touchpoints? Colours should have the same reference, not one shade on Instagram and a different shade on your website!
- How many fonts are you using? If it is more than two, you should think about streamlining!
- Is your photography on-brand? Does it reflect your values and vibe? E.g., if your brand is minimalistic but your website has got it all going on, there is a mismatch.
Ask yourself whether the visual assets reflect your brand values, feel like they belong to the same brand family and whether customers recognise them as your company. Identify:
- Outdated logos
- Mismatched fonts
- Images with clashing/contrasting styles
- Old or irrelevant icons
- Too many colours/inconsistent uses of colour
- Documents with out-of-date templates
- Off-brand web elements
This exercise will result in tighter, more polished branding to enhance and reinforce your company’s presence, wherever it shows up.
Step 3: Create a Brand Style Guide
If you don’t already have one, it is time to pull everything together into one document. A brand style guide acts as a ‘cheat sheet’ for your visual assets and branding.
The point of this document is to eliminate inconsistencies by ensuring that your team (and anyone else producing visuals for your brand), knows what to use, how and when.
If you don’t already have a brand style guide, I promise it will be a game-changer!
Brand style guide should cover:
- Logo usage (e.g., size, spacing, colour, backgrounds)
- Brand colour palette with colour references
- Fonts – how and where to use them in what form e.g. bold, italic, capital letters etc.
- Imagery and illustration style guidelines
- Iconography, and where to use it
- Brand voice and tone when relevant to visuals (e.g. social media posts, adverts)
Make sure that everyone who needs it has access to the newly created brand style guide.
Create an action plan (complete with deadlines and team responsibilities), for working through existing inconsistencies, changing them to match your guidelines.
Make sure outdated logos, templates and other visuals are archived with restricted access!
Step 4: Repeat the Process!
Remember that brands evolve over time.
Markets change; products and services adapt. Your branding needs to evolve with your business, so schedule a visual identity audit at regular intervals, say every 6-12 months.
Going through this process regularly will ensure consistency. It will also help you to identify where visual assets may need to change in order to adapt to new trading conditions.
Your branding will always be fresh, aligned and ready to help you reach those all-important business goals.
Clare’s Tip
- If you are planning a big launch, brand refresh or even a rebrand, start with a visual identity audit. Take stock of where you are now before moving forward!
Conducting a visual identity audit can feel overwhelming, especially if your brand has grown quickly.
At Make a Brew, we have your back. Whether you need a visual identity audit, updated brand style guide, or a brand refresh, we can help you bring clarity, consistency, and confidence to your brand’s presentation, wherever it appears. Fancy a brew and a chat? Contact us today and let’s get your audit sorted!
