As a business owner, I know how important it is to create a strong brand identity to stand out in a crowded market.
A brand board helps me keep my branding consistent. It acts as a visual guide that I can use across all marketing and branding efforts. In this beginner’s guide, I will explain what a brand board is, why it matters, and how to create one step-by-step. Whether you are starting fresh or updating your brand, this guide will give you the tools and knowledge to build a strong, cohesive brand identity that connects with your audience.
When I build a brand or create a new brand identity, the brand board becomes one of the most essential parts of my design process.
A brand board, also called a brand guideline or brand vision board, shows a brand’s identity and key design elements in one place.
It helps designers and brand managers keep branding consistent across all communications. A brand board usually includes the logo, typography, color palette, and sometimes patterns or textures. Its main goal is to give a clear overview of the brand’s visual identity. This makes it easy for anyone creating brand materials to understand and follow the rules.
A brand board acts as a guide for designers, marketers, and other team members. It keeps all brand communications visually consistent and aligned with the brand’s values and goals.
You can create a brand vision board for a new brand or to refresh an existing one. Share it with your team, vendors, or anyone involved in creating brand materials.
A well-made brand board strengthens your brand’s identity and helps people recognize and remember your brand better.
Why you need a brand board
Brand boards play a key role for businesses aiming to build a strong and consistent brand identity.
A brand board shows your brand visually. It includes your logo, color palette, typography, and other design elements. This visual summary helps anyone working on your brand projects, from designers to marketing teams, stay aligned.
Here are the main reasons to use a brand board:
First, it keeps your design consistent across every touchpoint. Using the same colors, fonts, and styles helps your brand become easily recognizable to customers.
Second, a brand board speeds up the design process. When designers understand your brand’s look clearly, they work faster and create designs that truly represent your brand.
Third, it helps you communicate your brand’s identity to outside partners like vendors and contractors. Sharing a brand board makes sure everyone understands your brand and keeps designs consistent.
In short, a brand board is a valuable tool for any business that wants a clear and consistent brand identity.
It ensures your brand looks the same everywhere, saves time during design, and helps all partners stay on the same page.
Make sure your brand board shows your brand’s values and personality clearly.
Start by defining your brand’s identity and message. Know your unique value, your target audience, and your overall mission and vision. When you understand these, you can pick visuals that match your brand’s core.
Pick colors carefully. Colors carry meaning. For example, blue often signals trust and reliability. Red can show energy and excitement. Choose colors that fit your brand’s personality and values so your audience connects with your visual identity.
Choose fonts that fit your brand’s tone. Fonts send emotional signals. A bold, modern font suits a brand that wants to feel energetic and fresh. A classic serif font works better for a brand that wants to feel trustworthy and established.
Select fonts that support your brand message and values.
Branding board ideas
There are countless design possibilities to choose from.
Your branding board is a visual representation of your brand identity, so it’s important to choose a design that accurately reflects your brand’s personality and values. Whether you’re going for a bold and colorful look or a minimalistic and modern design, there’s no shortage of ideas to inspire your own.
Here you see some creative and unique ideas to help you craft a visual identity that stands out from the competition:
Bold and colorful: Use bright and contrasting colors to create a visually striking board that grabs attention and conveys energy and excitement.
Minimalist and modern: Embrace a clean and simple design, with a focus on typography and negative space, to create a modern and sophisticated vision board.
Natural and organic: Use earthy colors, natural textures, and organic shapes to create a board that conveys a sense of sustainability and eco-friendliness.
Playful and whimsical: Use fun and quirky illustrations, hand-drawn fonts, and bright colors to create a board that conveys a playful and whimsical personality.
High-end and luxurious: Use elegant fonts, sophisticated color palettes, and high-quality imagery to create a board that conveys luxury and exclusivity.
Bold and edgy: Use dark colors, bold typography, and strong imagery to create a board that conveys a sense of rebellion and edginess.
Classic and timeless: Use traditional fonts, neutral colors, and classic imagery to create a brand board that conveys a sense of timelessness and tradition.
Remember, your brand vision board should reflect your unique brand identity and messaging, so don’t be afraid to get creative and think outside the box!
What are the elements of a brand board?
Brand boards show the client every element of their visual brand in one neat document.
It is a visual reference to your brand identity. In other words, it provides an at-a-glance summary of the look and feel of your brand. A typical branding board includes the brand’s logos, colors, fonts, and imagery, at the brand together.
So, a brand board is a space to provide key style details for the brand at a glance.
In terms of visual media, the brand comprises a few standard assets that need to be considered by most businesses. Here we’ll go through a few of them. Learn more about this topic here: Brand Anatomy – What Is It And What Are Its Key Elements?
Logo
The brand’s primary logo is the most critical element of a branding board.
It should be displayed in various forms, including full color, black and white, and reversed versions. The business logo is standard for all assets to rally around. Customers will likely identify the logo before they start reading or engaging with any interface.
You’ll need to weigh how easily readers can remember the logo, what it stands for, and its uniqueness. You must consider the formats and logo variations required when adding logos to brand vision boards. For example, you may need a rectangle and a square logo for a website and variations with and without the company’s name.
In addition, you’ll need to consider the readability of the logo and resized formats. Font selection, line thickness, discreet colors, and different background media that will have the logo all need consideration.
Color Palette
Your brand’s color palette plays a major role in shaping and sharing your brand’s identity.
It includes a set of colors you use consistently across all brand materials — from your logo to marketing, packaging, and more. These colors are never random. You pick them carefully to trigger specific emotions and show your brand’s personality and values.
Color psychology helps guide these choices.
Each color creates a different feeling. The right colors shape how customers see your brand. For example, bright, bold colors give a sense of energy and excitement. Soft pastels bring calm and peace. Your color palette also comes with clear rules on how to use each color.
This means setting exact color codes, like HEX or Pantone. It also means deciding which colors work well together and how much space each color should take up in your designs.
Ebook The Ultimate Guide to Branding Styles (1) (1)
Illustrations work as a strong tool for brand recognition and clear visual communication.
They give your brand a unique personality. They help explain complex ideas in simple, memorable ways. Using illustrations consistently across your brand materials boosts recognition and builds a stronger identity.
There are many types of illustrations you can choose from. These include hand-drawn, digital, and 3D styles.
Your choice depends on your brand’s personality, values, and who you want to reach.
For example, brands aimed at younger audiences often use playful, colorful illustrations. More serious brands tend to pick minimalist or abstract styles. Always make sure your illustrations match your overall visual style, color palette, and tone of voice.
Working with a professional illustrator can help you create custom images that truly represent your brand’s personality and values.
Adding illustrations to your visual identity makes your brand easier to remember and helps build a stronger emotional bond with your audience.
Icons
Ensure the icons you use for any interface are user-friendly and easy to recognize.
A simple design is always better, where possible. Iconography refers to the use of symbols or icons that represent the brand.
A brand guideline may include examples of the types of icons or symbols that are used to represent the brand.
Typography
A brand’s typography reflects its personality and helps convey its message.
A brand board should include the typefaces, font sizes, and styles that are used consistently across all brand communications. All the text you use, such as headings, subheadings, titles, main body, and accents, must be identified. In addition, you’ll need to identify the font, size, and possible use case.
Typography plays an important role in defining a brand’s visual identity.
It is the art of arranging typefaces in a way that makes the text legible, readable, and appealing. The choice of typography can communicate a brand’s personality and style to the audience. For example, a sans-serif font can represent a modern and minimalistic brand, while a serif font can convey a traditional and elegant brand.
The font size, weight, and spacing can also affect the overall look and feel of a brand’s typography.
It is important to choose typography that is easy to read and aligns with the brand’s values and message. Using consistent typography across all brand materials can help establish a strong and recognizable visual identity.
Patterns and textures
Patterns and textures add personality and character to your brand visuals.
Used consistently, they become a key part of your brand identity. This helps your brand stand out in a crowded market.
Patterns can be simple or complex. They might be geometric or organic. You can use them as backgrounds, overlays, or accents.
Textures add depth and dimension. They create a sensory feel that your audience can almost touch.
Textures can be rough, smooth, or anything in between. Use them as backgrounds, accents, or in product packaging.
When you choose patterns and textures, think about your brand’s overall look and message. Consider your target audience and the feelings these elements might evoke.
The right patterns and textures help your brand connect emotionally and make your visuals more memorable.
Tone and voice
A brand’s tone and voice refer to the style and manner in which the brand communicates with its audience.
It encompasses the language, phrasing, and overall personality conveyed by the brand. A consistent tone and voice help establish a unique brand identity and build trust and credibility with the audience.
The tone and voice should be aligned with the brand’s core values and target audience.
For instance, a luxury brand may use formal and sophisticated language, while a brand targeting a younger audience may use more informal and playful language.
Establishing clear guidelines for tone and voice helps ensure consistency across all brand communication channels, including social media, marketing materials, and customer service interactions.
Consistency in tone and voice helps build a recognizable brand identity and fosters a connection with the audience, ultimately leading to increased brand loyalty and advocacy.
Brand Photography
Photography is an essential component of branding as it helps to showcase the brand’s personality, values, and message through visual storytelling.
A well-executed photograph can elicit emotion, capture attention, and convey a message that words cannot. Therefore, brands need to ensure that their photography aligns with their brand identity and helps to reinforce their visual message. Photography for a brand should include a consistent style, color scheme, and composition that aligns with the brand’s overall message and values.
This includes selecting appropriate lighting, backdrops, and props that help to convey the brand’s intended message.
Furthermore, the type of photography used should also depend on the brand’s target audience and industry. For example, a lifestyle brand may use photographs that showcase its products in everyday settings or in use, whereas a high-end fashion brand may use more stylized and abstract photography to showcase its designs.
Photography is a powerful tool for brands to create a strong visual identity and communicate their message to their target audience effectively.
Here is an example of IKEA. Their website is filled with cozy, inviting interior photos that make us crave the warmth of IKEA’s products!
Brand photography style of IKEA
How having a brand board helps your business
For one, it works as a reference guide that helps create consistency for your brand.
When you or your team create content for your website, social media channels, and marketing materials, it’s essential to use consistent colors, fonts, and styles.
Otherwise, your brand will look like a jumbled mess and confuse your audience.
Attract the right audience
Another benefit of a brand style guide is that it helps your brand attract the right audience.
Get clear on who you are, what you do, your style and vibe, and who you serve. Follow a process, and don’t skip steps just because it’s for yourself. Branding boards are usually created by a graphic designer who helped their client with their logo and web design.
An effective branding board will outline the visual designs necessary to attract your ideal client.
They’re essential because they help convey a brand’s values, attributes, and personality at a glance.
How to create a brand board
If you’re working with a professional designer to create your brand identity, your designer will more likely than not design a board for you.
Some designers also provide in-depth brand guidelines, which are multiple pages long and go into detail on how to actually apply your brand elements. But if you’re DIYing your brand, you can easily make a brand board later on as your brand grows and evolves. The foundational elements you must be clear about your brand BEFORE you even consider making a mood board.
Organize these elements in a grid, with your logo in a featured spot.
You can add your font names and the hex codes for your brand colors.
This way, it is easy to know your selected colors and fonts.
Tools for branding board creation
Several tools you can use to create your branding board, but three of the most popular are Canva, Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign.
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so choosing the tool that best fits your needs is essential.
Canva is an excellent option if you want something simple and easy to use.
It has a drag-and-drop interface that makes creating designs quick and easy, and it has a wide selection of templates. However, it can be difficult to create truly custom designs, and the free version is quite limited.
InDesign is another robust option that’s often used by professional designers.
It’s great for laying out complex designs, but it can be challenging to learn if you’re not already familiar with it.
It’s also quite expensive, so it may not be the best option for everyone.
Sketch
Sketch is a digital design tool that is popular among web and app designers.
It has a range of features and templates that can be used to create brand boards with a modern, minimalist aesthetic.
Figma
Figma is a cloud-based design tool that enables designers to collaborate on branding board creation in real-time. It offers a range of design assets and templates, making it easy to create a professional-looking vision board with a team.
Branding Compass
Branding Compass is a tool that helps businesses define their brand identity, values, and messaging. It provides a step-by-step process for making a brand board that accurately reflects a brand’s identity and values.
Brandmark.io
Brandmark.io is an AI-powered logo maker that can be used to create a logo for your brand.
It offers a range of design options and customization features, making it easy to create a unique and memorable logo for a brand.
Ultimately, the best tool to create your board is the one that best fits your needs. If you’re looking for something simple and easy to use, Canva is a great option. Illustrator or InDesign might be better choices if you need more power and control over your designs.
And if you’re on a tight budget, there are several free online tools that can also be used to design brand boards.
A branding board helps to keep your branding on track
We live and breathe branding and all mediums—your website, social media graphics, printed materials, etc. Consistency is key!
Using a branding board is a great way to keep your branding on track. Think of it as your brand bible—the resource you will always (always!) refer back to when creating any kind of graphics, visuals, or brand collateral.
It’s an easy reference for your brand fonts, color codes, patterns, logos, and textures, to ensure that any visual element you create is cohesive with your brand identity.
A brand board template is helpful in creating a brand and can be a helpful tool for any business owner or marketing professional.
It helps you to understand what your brand is about and keeps track of all the necessary information. A branding board represents its essential elements, including its logo, colors, and fonts. Such templates can be used for various purposes, such as developing marketing materials, designing a new website, or keeping track of brand assets.
By creating a branding board, businesses can keep all of their branding information organized in one place.
This can be especially helpful when working with multiple designers or agencies. With a branding board template, businesses can ensure that their branding is consistent across all communications. There are many online resources that can help you get started.
My favorite is Creative Market, where you can find many different templates with affordable pricing to choose from.
Brand boards can be created for both online and offline applications and should be designed to reflect a business’s specific goals and objectives.
To get started, check out some examples below. Consider using colors, fonts, and images that reflect the company’s website design. For a brick-and-mortar business, use colors and fonts consistent with the company’s physical branding, such as signage and advertising materials.
Such boards can also be created for specific marketing campaigns or product launches.
Use visuals that align with the campaign theme or product messaging in these cases.
Remember to keep your audience in mind, no matter what branding board you create. Use visuals that appeal to your target customers, and focus on creating a cohesive look and feel for your brand.
The sample image matches the spirit of a youthful, friendly business that welcomes everyone, young and old, men and women. Perfect for products like drinking water, ice cream, telecommunication, and toys.
The sample image reflects well a brand identity suitable for somewhat formal, elegant, understated, and feminine businesses. Think wedding industry, classical art, flower shop, and babies. Many examples on this board here: Elegant brand boards on Pinterest.
The sample image has a minimalistic feel and certain coolness about it. It perfectly reflects the needs of a brand that goes for luxury and exclusivity.
There are many resources online where you can find great examples of brand boards. Here are some places to start:
Pinterest: Pinterest is a great resource for finding inspiration and examples of brand boards. You can search for “brand board examples” or “branding inspiration” to find a wide range of examples from different industries.
Behance: Behance is a platform for creatives to showcase their work, and there are many examples of brand boards and visual branding projects on the site. You can search for “brand board” or “branding” to find examples.
Designspiration: Designspiration is another website that features examples of design projects, including brand boards. You can search for “branding” or “brand board” to find examples.
Instagram: Many designers and branding agencies share their work on Instagram, and you can find examples of brand boards by searching hashtags like #branding, #brandboard, or #visualidentity.
Branding blogs: There are many blogs and websites dedicated to branding and design, and they often feature examples of brand boards and visual branding projects. Some examples include Brand New, Creative Bloq, and Logo Design Love.
Creative Market: Choose between hundreds of brand board templates that showcase a broad variety of different examples of brand boards.
By using your brand board as a reference guide, you can ensure that all marketing materials reflect your brand’s personality and values while also maintaining consistency in the use of colors, typography, and other visual elements.
I’ll explore some tips on how to use your brand board effectively so that you can create a strong and cohesive brand identity that resonates with your target audience. Once you have a brand board, you can use it as a reference guide to maintaining a consistent brand identity across all marketing and branding efforts.
Here are some tips on how to use your brand board effectively:
Use the brand colors consistently: Your brand board will include a set of colors that represent your brand, so make sure to use these colors consistently across all marketing materials. Use the exact color codes provided on your brand board to ensure consistency.
Apply the typography consistently: Your brand board will include a set of fonts that should be used consistently across all marketing materials. Use the specified fonts and sizes on your brand board to maintain consistency.
Use the logo correctly: Your brand board will include your logo and variations of your logo. Make sure to use the correct logo version and placement, as specified on your brand board.
Apply the brand elements creatively: While it’s important to use the brand elements consistently, you can also be creative with how you use them. For example, you can use brand colors and typography in creative ways to create unique designs that still maintain your brand identity.
Incorporate the brand personality: Your brand board may include a description of your brand’s personality and values. Use this information to guide the tone and style of your marketing materials, and make sure that your brand personality shines through in all of your branding efforts.
Overall, the key to using a brand board effectively is to maintain consistency while also being creative and true to your brand personality.
I am an educator, motivator and digital marketer with over 12 years of experience both from the corporate world and as a freelancer. I also work as a mentor and consultant for different accelerators, and customers who love my work.
I have always loved to share my knowledge, so I keep doing it, right here!
