Graphic profile - manage your visual identity

Colors, symbols and fonts are elements that you decide on and that influence the visual experience of your brand. Therefore, you could say that the graphic profile is the hard part of the brand. A graphic profile contains rules and guidelines on how the logo can be used, how fonts and colors are used together in advertisements, printed material or on the website. The rules are there to ensure that the brand always appears the same visually. Sometimes we also talk about graphic manuals. What distinguishes the profile from the manual is that the profile is more concise, while the manual regulates usage in detail, such as free zones and spacing.

What does a graphic profile contain?

The content of the graphic profile differs from brand to brand, but there are a few elements that we always include.

• The logo is often the most powerful symbol with which we associate brands. That's why a well thought-out design is important. By limiting the uses of the logo, you ensure that it is not used inappropriately.
• The colors that characterize your brand. Often there are two or three main colors that run through your communication. These are complemented by some additional colors called complementary colors, which are used together with the main colors.
• Choosing fonts is an art form and it takes experience and knowledge to succeed. Simplicity and legibility are two good guiding principles. In the graphic profile, we usually choose one font for headlines and one for body text. The fonts may differ depending on whether they are to be used in print or digital. For example, it is common to use a serif font in printed body text, while it can be difficult to read on screens.
• Icons and symbols are mainly used on the website and can, for example, represent different segments.
• The visual style determines the type of photos and other images to be used in all communications. Perhaps the images should always show people, be black and white or depict subjects in motion. The visual style is an important tool to create recognition with the recipient and to keep the graphic profile together. Images are often divided into different levels and the style may differ between images used at brand and product level.

Clear graphic profile

In summary, a graphic profile should frame the values that the brand wants to convey, in a strong and effective way. At Navigator, we have developed a large number of graphic profiles over the years and have extensive experience of finding the right way to balance form and content. It should be easy to use the graphic profile. That's why we always present examples of how the website, advertisements and printed material should look. Clear rules and guidelines make it easier for the designer, without restricting creative freedom.

Long experience in graphic profiles

At Navigator, we have extensive experience of developing graphic profiles for companies in B2B, B2C and Healthcare. If you want to see examples of what we have done for different customers, you should browse through our cases. You can find more inspiration and knowledge on our blog. Feel free to use the filter function to search your way around.