The concept of visual identity is easier to explain by comparing the brand to a fictional character on a movie. The same way a screenwriter would define the character’s name, age, socioeconomic background, personality, attitudes, etc. to make them functional to the script, marketers will create a brand and state its name, target audience, personality, tone of voice, etc. to make it work in the desired market.
Now, once the character is written, we have to take it to life and for that we’ll need to get the right actor, the right lines, the right costume, hair, makeup -all the different channels through which the character’s personality will be expressed, in alignment to what’s written about them on the script. Similarly, in order to make a brand work we need to “dress it up” and express it through a series of elements such as logo, colors, fonts, ornaments, patterns, photos, etc., according to the marketing brief.
Brand identity however is a broader concept that encompasses all the ways in which a brand is presented -this would also include marketing aspects such as how and where the product/service is sold, the way it is advertised, the activity on social media, to name a few. Therefore, visual identity is the name for the graphic aspects of the brand identity, starting from its logo and up to the complete visual system that will make the brand recognizable.
