Creative Jargon: Brand and Web Glossary
Miscommunication can derail a project faster than ANYTHING. I’ve put together a glossary to help close the gap on miscommunication and give everyone the confidence that we’re speaking the same language
Brand / Brand Identity / Branding / Brand Visuals / What?
These terms are often used loosely, interchangeably, and incorrectly (which, if I’m being honest, I plead guilty to from time to time) Let’s break it down:
A brand is someone's perception of your business and the feelings or emotions that result from each and every experience with your business.
Your Brand Identity is the outward expression of your business and collective set of visuals that intentionally build the desired reputation. At the core, your brand identity is your logo suite, color palette, and typography. Your brand identity can also encompass your voice and messaging. It is absolutely paramount for your brand identity to be cohesive and consistent.
Branding refers to marketing efforts or campaigns to deliver your message, shape perception, and influence the reputation of your business. Intentional branding efforts attract new customers while always making your existing customers feel a strong sense of belonging.
Brand visuals is an umbrella term for anything that visually communicates your message. This covers anything and everything from your brand identity suite to print and digital collateral like social media posts, email newsletters, or brochures—and lest we forget the cream of the crop—your website!
Logo Suite
Why so many? Having a responsive logo suite is just as important as a responsive website. I want all of my clients to walk away with everything they could need to maintain a consistent on-brand presence across all platforms. Websites typically call for a long, horizontal logo while your social media profile image should be more condensed and square. The same goes for scale—a billboard can manage your entire logo with taglines while a much smaller format piece of collateral calls for an abbreviated, smaller version of your logo. Here are a couple of examples of a full logo suite
Primary Logo — This version is considered the best choice and should be used whenever possible.
Secondary Logo — This version should be used secondary to your primary logo
Horizontal Logo — This version is created for long, horizontal applications like a website header
Stacked Logo — This version is intended for a space that is more square
Logo Mark (or Brand Mark) — is the icon or graphic portion of your logo.
Wordmark (or Logotype) — this is the text-only portion of your logo. Some logos are just a wordmark and do not include a Logo Mark.
Submarks or Secondary Marks — These can include badges, monograms, and lockups with your location, tagline, or established date.
Collateral
This term encompasses anything and everything you might need in addition to your brand identity and website design. This could be printed items like business cards, stationery, or brochures. Digital templates like presentation decks, social media templates, or digital downloads for opt-ins are also a few examples of collateral you might need.
Brand Identity Guidelines
This is a reference document that includes findings from our Discovery phase including your mission, vision, values, ethos, personality as well as your target audience. It also serves as an index and rulebook for all visual and verbal assets. Having Brand Identity Guidelines to reference (and adhere to) really help you stay consistent when other vendors are working on your brand. Remember consistency creates impact—inconsistency creates confusion.
Moodboard or Visual Direction
A moodboard is a collection of images, colors, illustrations, and words that collectively represent the mood we want your visual presence to evoke. Branding is emotional.
Fonts or Typography
Much like color, different typography styles have different personalities and can incite different emotions. Using appropriate font pairings is a crucial part of building an effective brand identity.
Serif — Traditional, Practical, Upscale
San Serif — Modern, Clean, Universal
Slab Serif — Friendly, Contemporary, Bold
Handwritten — Unique, Off-beat, Bespoke
Script — Elegant, Luxe, Sophisticated
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization which is pretty dang important. In short, your website’s SEO rating is what places you at #1 on Google or #257. While I’m not an SEO expert or strategist, I do include a basic level of SEO practices when developing websites for my clients. If ranking high in a Google search is imperative for the success of your business, I highly recommend hiring an SEO strategist and/or an SEO copywriter.
Copywriting
Copywriting is words (or copy) that are structured to inform, market, and sell your goods or services. The way you sound is just as important as the way you look. Your brand voice is something we discuss in the Discovery Session but we barely scratch the surface. You can for sure write your own copy for your website if this is a strong suit of yours. If not, I highly recommend hiring copywriting to help you craft some darn good copy for your website.
Font Licensing
When building brand identities and websites for my clients, I try to be mindful and use low-cost, free, and/or easily available fonts. But, sometimes the project calls for something more elevated or custom. If I find that’s the case, purchasing a desktop and web license might be necessary.
Brand Photography
Brand Photography is custom photography taken of you, your products, and physical space that is licensed to you and only you for use on your website, collateral, and social media channels. I highly recommend having your own brand photoshoot. If your business is highly personalized to YOU as an individual, then brand photography is an absolute must! A custom photoshoot is an investment, but well worth it if you want to create a truly custom and unique experience for your clients.
Stock Photography
If a custom photoshoot is not in the cards, there are tons of stock photography options available and oodles even for free! I start sourcing images via Unsplash and Pexels, but if we’re unable to get what we need, purchasing stock photography licenses might be necessary. Typically the cost ranges between $3-$15 per photo.
