Brands consist of well crafted design elements, like logotypes, color-palettes, typography and imagery. All of these need to feel connected to make the brand feel cohesive. Having all this is great… but you also need to keep the look and feel consistent across multiple touch points, which can be tough, especially when the company grows.
So, how do you solve this?
Well, we know of a solution! It’s called a *drumroll*...
…Graphic Profile!
Or Brand Book, Style Guide, Visual Identity Guide… there are many terms. We like calling it a Graphic Profile.
A well structured and informative one should inform how to use and communicate the brand. It can then be shared with everyone who needs it. Maybe it’s used by a digital designer on the marketing team, someone on the sales team or a UI designer on the product development team.
It can also be shared with agencies and people outside of the organization. For example, a design agency producing new swag or a design bureau producing sales and marketing collateral.
However, if changes are made to the Graphic Profile, the updates need to be shared and communicated to everyone who uses it. This is tedious and can be a real struggle too! We know.
One concept to keep in mind is that a brand is never finished or completed. It’s like a living and continuously evolving organism. It needs to be maintained and updated to stay fresh and modern.
So if the Graphic Profile is a static file, like a PDF-document, different people inside and outside the organization might end up using different versions. You will face what we call the “version history dilemma”. With a static file you also have to grant access to various people from different departments and companies, which requires a lot of overhead.
The solution is simple yet brilliant, stick it online! That’s what we do here at Stormfors, create and host online graphic profiles that stay in style.
Here are five reasons why you should have your Graphic Profile online:
1) Access it from anywhere
The Graphic Profile can be accessed from anywhere when it's online, no matter where you are, as long as you have an internet connection of course. Forgot your computer at work and desperately need to check your awesome graphic profile when you’re at home or traveling? No problem, just use your personal computer or phone! An online graphic profile should always have a responsive layout and be accessible from any device.
2) Accessible to anyone, inside and outside the organization
When the Graphic Profile is online you can give access to anyone… Or no one. The choice is yours! Decide if it’s open to everyone or only accessible to a selected lucky few, who needs to login to view the graphic profile.
Say goodbye to attaching a Graphic Profile that exceeds the maximum file size in an email.
3) Easy to update and maintain as you grow as a company
Version history is history! Make the changes to the Graphic Profile, publish and boom! It’s live to everyone! As easy as it sounds! We simply love it.
4) A scalable solution
When the company grows, so might the graphic profile, and all of the well documented rules of how to use the brand. If you need a new section, no worries, simply add it. Or go wild and include more areas like the company's tone of voice for all content creators and copywriters.
A truly scalable solution, that also scales to all devices.
5) Links to your assets and graphic elements
We know that content management can be messy. Let’s skip searching for the latest version of the logotype or where to download the font… Look for documents no more when your Graphic Profile is online!
Instead, link to the right folder from the Graphic Profile.
So there you have it. Graphic Profiles, online. The best option, by far.
Want to talk with Stormfors about your brand ideas? Get in contact and let’s chat about your brand aspirations.
