Most organisations have their brand identity well documented. Colours, typography and imagery are all defined in detailed brand guidelines. And yet, in practice, brand communications often become inconsistent.
At first glance, that seems contradictory. How is it possible that having a clear brand identity is not enough to create a consistent brand experience?
To answer that question, we first need to understand what brand consistency actually means.
A brand is the overall perception people have of your organisation. It is about what you stand for, how you are perceived and what people experience whenever they interact with your organisation.
A brand identity is the visual expression of that brand. It defines elements such as:
A strong brand identity is designed to communicate what your organisation stands for, provided that your brand values have been translated effectively into visual design.
Alongside a brand identity come guidelines and rules that explain how it should be used. True brand consistency only exists when people apply those guidelines consistently in their day to day work.
It is a question many organisations ask themselves: If the guidelines are clear, why are they not consistently followed?
When no templates exist for brochures, posters or other communications materials, colleagues without design experience often struggle to translate brand guidelines into polished materials. That is why templates are usually developed alongside a new brand identity.
But why do organisations still struggle with brand consistency when templates already exist?
Templates are not just about good design. They also need to be practical.
Sometimes templates are simply too restrictive. There may not be enough room for text, a portrait image has to fit into a landscape crop, or people simply become tired of using the same layout repeatedly.
Consistency is important, but variation also plays a role. Seeing the same design over and over again may strengthen recognition, but it can also make communications feel repetitive and less engaging.
That is when people begin to improvise. Text is reduced to fit the available space. Portrait images are forced into unsuitable layouts. Logos are moved to different positions. Or, if the template is too tightly locked down to allow any adjustments, people stop using it altogether.
The result is inconsistent communications, or a design team that spends more and more time correcting materials employees were supposed to create themselves.
In short, a template does not solve the problem on its own. If it does not fit the way people actually work, they simply will not use it. The issue is not necessarily the design itself, but how that design translates into everyday practice.
Templates only work when they are genuinely usable. That means providing:
People need enough freedom to create relevant communications without having to reinvent the design every time.
That requires thoughtful design, but it also requires thinking carefully about how people actually use templates. Flexible templates that allow variation within clearly defined brand guidelines help organisations strike the right balance between creativity and brand consistency.
Rather than becoming static fill in documents, templates become a way of embedding design decisions into everyday communications.
Creating effective templates starts with understanding:
Ideally, these flexible templates are managed within software that supports this way of working.
If you notice that:
there is a good chance the issue is not your brand identity itself.
Instead, it lies in the way your organisation is set up to work with it.
A brand portal is more than a design tool. It becomes a central part of the process that helps organisations create, manage and maintain consistent communications at scale.
Many organisations are searching for the right balance between brand consistency, ease of use and creative freedom. NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences is a good example.
In our customer case, you will discover how the university further developed its brand identity, introduced flexible templates and enabled employees to create communications materials independently without compromising brand consistency.
The result is a dynamic brand identity with room for variation, supported by around 240 flexible templates that are actively used by more than 500 users.
Curious to see how NHL Stenden achieved this?
Curious to see what flexible templates can do for your brand?