The 4 Components of a Lasting Visual Brand
/One way that Soulfire Design increase's profits and visibility for entrepreneurs and small-to-medium sized businesses is through our visual branding service. Not just a logo, visual branding has 4 components that, when utilized in full, radically amplify your ongoing marketing and communication efforts.
The 4 components of a lasting visual brand are Icon, Color, Wordmark, and Texture. When these four components are digitally woven together, they create a comprehensive visual document called a brand moodboard.
In the hands of any designer, a brand moodboard acts as the visual guideline for creating a new asset or a full marketing campaign, and given to a brand strategist, a moodboard can be expanded and developed further so that your visuals match the age and lifespan of your business.
A brand moodboard can be straightforward, or extremely detailed and specific; including such micro details such as letter kearning, hex codes, and even the whitespace size around the logo. Why the excessive detail? To ensure the highest level of cohesive and consistent communication. This professionalism of course also increases brand recognition, and even adds to the quality of the products and services offered by a company.
Visual Brand Example: Tender Hearted Holistic Healing
This past fall Soulfire Desgin was honoured to create the visual branding for Tender Hearted Holistic Healing, the new business venture of permaculture teacher and visionary artist Kym Chi. Through 1-on-1 coaching, visual art, herbal plant medicines, and complementary therapies (such as raindrop and sound therapy), Tender Hearted Holistic Healing facilitates the positive transformation into a more connected, creative, and conscious life.
Even though Kym's teaching practice has been growing by leaps and bounds, like many entrepreneurs she wanted to begin a new business that utilized a complementary and expanded skill set, and acted as the vehicle for a much bigger soul mission.
The branding system of Tender Hearted Healing ties together a conceptually rich narrative that was developed during the consultation process with Kym. The logo design expresses the depth of Kym's intentions with her business, and for past and future clients it act's as a visual reminder of the passion and purpose inside Tender Hearted's 1-on-1 personal growth, phytotherapy, and healing services.
Kym herself describes the composition: "The Phoenix is surrounded by 11 small trees and hearts which represents the movement from the inner to the outer and how we share ourselves with the world in love - interconnected and interwoven with all aspects of the self and spirit, authentically centred in living our values. The colours and background images represent the 4 elements, the 4 seasons and the 4 directions from the Celtic tradition, which together, symbolize the importance of honouring the natural cycles of nature, and of all life."
Graphics Kit & Interactive Mood Board
When completed, Tender Hearted Healing's 'Graphics Kit' consisted of 45 files, including pre-formatted profile and banner images for social media, website backgrounds, as well as print-ready business cards and postcards.
With stock imagery, fonts, colors, and source files all included, this Graphics Kit also acts as an Interactive Moodboard. Kym can use the technical design skills she does have to manage, implement, and produce consistently high quality visual content for her business. With succession built-in to this digital foundation, Kym can also expand and develop the files in her kit, so that her visual communications always coincide with her evolving business needs.
