We talk a lot about brands being all-encompassing. Your brand extends from your name and logo to the way you answer your phone. Everything your company does points back to your brand and values. Throughout all these touch points, sometimes the need for stock imagery presents itself. Maybe on your website or an Instagram post, for example. How can you make sure those images still fit with your brand, although they’re stock? Even if you don’t have original images to incorporate into your content, a curated, on-brand image collection can be pulled together from various resources. Here are some considerations to help you develop a guide for your curated image arsenal.

1. 1. Style Before you start curating your brand images, consider what the style of your brand imagery will be. Are you looking to primarily use photos? Photos are often used in brands focused on relationship-building or emotional subject matter. They convey a human connection. Graphics? Graphics are often involved in technology, processes, or concepts – things that are more difficult to represent. Illustrations? Illustrations can portray a more hand-drawn effect. They sometimes indicate hand-craftedness or hands-on work. These notes on style aren’t rules; it’s just helpful to consider the effect that image style can have on your overall message. Different types of brand images create a distinct visual style.

   2. Tone The tone of your selections should relate to your brand’s personality. Is your brand more serious or playful? Colorful or subdued? Minimalist or maximalist? The images you choose for your brand will evoke some reaction from your audience. Aim to have it mimic the overall reaction to your company. What reaction do you want to achieve?

   3. Consistency While searching for brand images, use keywords that relate to your industry and intention to create consistency. For example, if you are opening a yoga studio you could search words like relaxing, balance, health, calm, etc. By using keywords as a starting point, you might find images that tie into your brand that you hadn’t considered before. Additionally, stick to your brand color palette. Your brand colors don’t need to dominate an image, but they should feature in an image. The color doesn’t need to be an exact match either. If your brand colors are blue and green, look for images that have cool colors and tones rather than ones that have a lot of warm pinks and oranges.

   4. Application Decide early what you want your images to do and how they can be incorporated as touch points. Good design balances text, whitespace, and images, so they should be one of your first considerations rather than an afterthought. Branded images can break up sections on websites, be used on social media, in printed collateral such as handouts and signage, in presentations and service guides, office decor, or all of the above! In your library of images, your selections should be able to stand alone or together depending on the contexts.

Curating your brand imagery creates a harmonious look and feel for your brand that will set your business apart from the competition. And it simplifies the decision-making process by providing a stack of go-to images that work with your brand goals. Fuzzy Duck has years of experience in curating images that match brand identities and even creating custom illustrations and graphics specifically for our clients. If you need a marketing professional’s eye on your images or help on curating your brand imagery, contact us and get started today!