SpyreStudios

Web Design and Development Magazine

  • Design
  • Showcase
  • Inspirational
  • Tutorials
  • CSS
  • Resources
  • Tools
  • UX
  • More
    • Mobile
    • Usability
    • HTML5
    • Business
    • Freebies
    • Giveaway
    • About SpyreStudios
    • Advertise On SpyreStudios
    • Get In Touch With Us

Building a Scalable Identity for Print & Web Design

June 18, 2015 by Jake Rocheleau

No matter what field of design you choose to specialize, identity is always something to consider. Whether you’re an icon designer or a calligrapher your job is to work with ideas that match companies and concepts.

Identity design generally follows the same pattern for both web and print work. It does cover a wide variety of subjects but it’s easy to learn given the proper resources.

In this post I’d like to cover some tips for building a scalable identity. There should always be a relationship between company branding and other elements on the page. By following these strategies you’ll be well-equipped to start designing your own brands without much hesitation.

Sketching & Brainstorming

The most important aspect of an identity design is the initial phase. This is where you come up with ideas and eventually pick the right one. And much like all areas of life, the most important phase is often the most difficult.

How do you come up with something from nothing? Where should you get ideas from? How do you put them down into tangible resources?

sketch icons preview sketchbook

Almost every talented identity designer will advise starting on paper. You can start by writing down words or by doodling sketches.

You don’t know how to draw? Just start. Most digital designers can dramatically improve their workflow by learning to draw, and you don’t need to learn fine art either.

If you do more conceptual work like photo compositing, then learning to draw won’t help you much at all. But identity design is a visual medium where you need to create icons/logos/mascots/graphics from scratch. You can do this much quicker with pencil and paper.

sketching ideas sipp icon apps

A good place to get started is by doodling and following ideas you see online. Of course, if you want to be really good it’s worth learning fine art and drawing from life. But at first this may seem impossible. So get started with simple doodles and just get comfortable holding a pencil.

Basics of Theming

While brainstorming ideas you should be working with a theme. Randomly drawing stuff isn’t gonna cut it. Instead consider the purpose of a company and what they do.

Who do they serve? What would their audience be receptive towards?

The answers to these questions may help you find tone, context, and purpose for your ideas. You should think about how to best explain an idea using the clearest visuals possible.

ui ux lettering logo design sketching

At first this will be hard. Like really hard. It takes a lot of practice to reach professional level but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Identity goes into everything from websites to letterheads and stamps. You have to think about this ubiquity and design something that will become recognizable on any medium.

I recommend starting with some ideas about the company. Write down a list of words associated with the company’s goals and primary functions. Think about design from a marketing perspective and consider which ideas could be targeted at vital demographics.

Logos in the Bigger Picture

While a logo is only part of the identity, it’s still an important part. Most identity designers start off with a logo concept and branch out into other aspects of the identity with restyled icons, smaller/larger graphics, and simplified typographic effects.

While designing a logo stay focused on the bigger picture at hand. It’s easy to lose yourself in your creation and just start being artsy for the sake of art. Design is not for the sake of design. Good design has a purpose.

Good logos convey meaning and recognition. They visually represent a company and often provide a certain feeling in people. You really need to think of logos as symbolic representations of ideas. Work with allegory, metaphor, and exaggeration.

sketching lettering drawing logos example

Use symbols and geometry when appropriate. Symmetry and asymmetry are both useful to create balance. Color selection is also a big aspect, but it’s such an expansive topic that you shouldn’t worry much about it until the later stages.

Also remember that scalable identities need vector-based graphics. Illustrator and Inkscape are two programs fit for vector output. Choose one and do your best to learn the ins-and-outs of every tool.

The Value of Style Guides

Both print and web designers can pull value from branding guides. Brand/style guides are popular in every area of business from entertainment to technology and retail. These guides outline specific rules for brand typefaces, colors, logos, patterns, and even copywriting.

There is tremendous value in creating a style guide on your own just for practice. You’ll learn which components are necessary and why. You’ll also see why branding is so important to a company’s image.

Back 10 or 20 years ago every brand guide was in book form. Designers created PDFs and they’d be printed off for different employees or executives. Nowadays most guides are kept as PDFs or even created as websites.

brand exploration colors design

The digital age is not going anywhere and it offers so much in the way of flexibility. You can design a brand book without any knowledge of printing or binding.

Truthfully you should only be concerned with your skills as a creative designer. Paper to pencil is definitely a must for someone who seriously wants to improve their identity design skills. Beyond that you just need to learn the right software and stay hungry.

Closing

Identity design is a huge umbrella term with many underlying assets. Learning to design is about more than just software and it takes first-hand knowledge to recognize this fact.

Over time and with practice you will notice improvements in your work. Stick to your guns and keep churning out the best stuff you possibly can. Look around the web for ideas and gather feedback from others. You’d be surprised how much can be accomplished in 6-12 months.

If you need more brand design ideas check out these posts:

28 Examples of Captivating Brand Identity Design

5 Quick Tips on How to Promote Your Design Business

Filed Under: Design Tagged With: drawing, identity, logo, tips

Recent Posts

  • 31 Fresh Design Elements for Spring and Easter
  • 10 Templates for Music Concert Flyers
  • How to Build a Web Scraper Using Node.js
  • Best PHP Books, Courses and Tutorials in 2022
  • How to Get Your First Web Design Client

Archives

  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008

Categories

  • Accessibility
  • Android
  • Apps
  • Art
  • Article
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • Bootstrap
  • Business
  • CSS
  • Design
  • Development
  • Ecommerce
  • Fireworks
  • Flash
  • Freebies
  • Freelance
  • General
  • Giveaway
  • Graphic Design
  • HTML5
  • Icons
  • Illustrator
  • InDesign
  • Infographics
  • Inspirational
  • Interview
  • Jobs
  • jQuery
  • Learning
  • Logos
  • Matrix
  • Minimalism
  • Mobile
  • Motion Graphics
  • Music
  • News
  • Photoshop
  • PHP
  • Promoted
  • Rails
  • Resources
  • Showcase
  • Tools
  • Tutorial
  • Twitter
  • Typography
  • Uncategorized
  • Usability
  • UX
  • Wallpapers
  • Wireframing
  • WordPress
  • Work

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

SpyreStudios © 2022