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Sketch and layout: what’s the difference?

The degree of readiness. The sketch shows the possible design of any corporate identity carrier. There is nothing final in it, everything needs improvement. The task of the sketch is to approve the idea, layout, and content. The layout is the final sketch of the media prepared for printing or production. In the media layout, everything is perfect and in place: graphics, texts, photos.

Guideline and brandbook: what’s the difference?

The guideline is a guide to the use of corporate identity. It fixes the rules for creating, using, combining, and transforming all elements of brand identification: colors, fonts, graphics, photographs, compositional techniques, layout principles, copyrights. And also recommendations on the design, printing, and production of groups of standard media.

The brandbook includes a guideline and an additional powerful block about positioning, values, brand character, and communication. In addition to the answers to “how” and “what” to communicate on behalf of the brand, we say “why” and “where” to do it.

Why do I need a test stage of media development?

To find and correct mistakes, the concept of style needs to be tested on real brand media: business cards, advertising banners, signage. Of course, an experienced agency can mentally try on the style for future possible carriers. But the test development stage is more reliable. It is enough to develop and print a couple of types of media for different types of tasks and different communication channels.

Why do I need media templates?

Templates are needed to quickly and inexpensively assemble media layouts: advertising banners, previews for social networks, business cards. In the template, part of the content is replaceable, and the blocks are thought out for different amounts of content. For example, a preview for social networks is being developed for news with a headline of one, two, or three lines.

Will you make a branded font as part of the work?

On average, a font designer develops a font from six months. Such work costs from $25,000-150,000 depending on the fame of the artist, the number of typefaces, and language versions of the font. Why is it so expensive? Let’s try to calculate.

A basic set of one font:

  • All types of letters (lowercase, uppercase, capitals) – from 200 characters.
  • Punctuation marks – from 15 characters.
  • Numbers — 10 characters.
  • Glyphs – from 150-200 characters.

There are other symbols without which it is difficult to imagine a working font: mathematical, currency signs, bullets, slashes, ampersands, asterisks, and so on.

All of the above should be added and multiplied by three or four characters (thin, regular, bold, italics). Without them, spectacular typography will not work. Total from 1500 characters. That’s how many font elements you need to develop to get a working font typeface.

Given the complexity of the undertaking, the development of their own font is ordered only by the very large brands.

Why are they doing this? The cost of a license for a ready-made font is affected by: the number of advertising materials offline, site and application traffic, the amount of advertising in digital, and the number of computers on which the font will be installed. All this makes the license invaluable for large companies with high media activity. Therefore, it is easier and cheaper for large brands to develop their own font.

If you do not claim world or federal domination, you hardly need a custom font. For effective identification, it is enough to find an existing font – with a good history, a pronounced style, and an accurate character. And of course, buy a license to use it.

Is it possible to pick up a free font and not buy a license?

You can, but we don’t recommend it. These are system fonts preinstalled in basic computer programs and services: Word, PowerPoint, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and others. Everyone and everywhere use such fonts.

Strict and grotesque system fonts perform a basic function well – they help to read what is written. But they can’t cope with image tasks. Such are unlikely to help make the corporate identity expressive and visually distinguish the brand from the environment.

The font is an important element of identification. It works subtly and is not always noticeable from the outside. But don’t be fast to underestimate it. A well-chosen font and typography form the character of a brand no worse than a bright color scheme, graphics or creativity.

May I not pay for the font?

No, you may not. All fonts are intellectual property objects and belong to font studios or independent designers. Using a pirated version of the font is tantamount to theft. A lawsuit from the font owner threatens your company with financial and reputational risks.

The cost of the license depends on the frequency and intensity of use of the font. That is, for companies of different sizes and financial capabilities, this is almost always an adequate amount. We advise you to pay for the license in order not to encounter problems in the future.

Why do I need a trademark? Can I not register it?

Trademark is a verbal, graphic, three-dimensional, sound, or combined designation of a company registered by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property. You can register the name, logo, slogan, label, etc.

For example, companies should register a logo if:

Its development and promotion were expensive.

The company plans to use it for a long time.

By registering a trademark, you protect your business from possible problems. For example:

A company with the same or similar name appears on your market and uses your reputation and brand to sell its products. If you have a patent, you go to court, demand a waiver of the name and compensation for damages. And with a high probability, you win.

A company with the same or similar name appears in the market adjacent to you and, for the convenience of promotion, sues you to force you to abandon the name. If it gets a patent, you lose.

A company with a similar name appears in the market adjacent to you. It doesn’t cross paths with you and does not select clients, but manages to earn a bad reputation. Now imagine the search engine output by your common name — a bad reputation is transferred to you. If you have a patent, you go to court, demand a waiver of the name and compensation for damages. And with a high probability, you win.

To summarize, by law, you don’t have to register a trademark. But we strongly advise you to do this so that the law is on your side.