A logo does not solve every task
A logo can appear on a cup, a website or a presentation. It does not, by itself, decide how a menu should be read, how an offer should be prioritised or how a small digital format should be arranged.
When reviewing an identity, I therefore also ask what connects these applications. Type, colour, images and layout need to work together.
GLØD as an example
GLØD is a coffee-shop concept I developed as a personal project. Its black wordmark and orange Ø provide a recurring feature. Typography, patterns and illustrations extend the expression beyond the logo.
I show the identity on cups, bags, menus, signs and digital layouts. These mockups let me judge the design in different settings; they do not show an operating coffee shop.
Consistent does not mean identical
Nielsen Norman Group’s consistency principle concerns predictable words and actions in interfaces. I draw a parallel with identity design: it helps to know which rules to follow. The source concerns interfaces, rather than the performance of GLØD.
Some parts of an identity can stay fixed while others vary. Logo variants, core colours and typefaces can stay fixed. Placement, cropping and the amount of illustration can vary with the format. A menu needs a different amount of information from a cup.
What should the business receive?
First establish the applications the business actually needs. For a small organisation, a useful starting point might be appropriate logo files, colour values, type choices and a few templates with clear examples.
Then try the system on three real tasks, such as a price list, a mobile page and an advertisement. If it only works on one carefully arranged presentation slide, revise the rules before producing more formats.
