Yin needs yang: your brand identity can’t be split in two
It’s an image we all know. The Yin and Yang. Two opposing forces that, despite the odds, fuse together to create something bold. Something that m-o-v-e-s people. The analogy stretches across many facets in life, and lends itself to the interplay of verbal and visual brand identities – two things very close to our hearts here at Shaped By.
Two of our senior Shape-lings – Justin Ballantine, Creative Director of Messaging, and Simon Tandy, Associate Creative Director of Design – recently sat down to speak it all through. The do’s and the dont’s and everything in between.
Author: Sarah Healey, Content Editor, Shaped By
Stop splitting your brand in two
Navigating brand identity is complex. With every touchpoint pulling in different directions, identities can quickly become fraught and confused.
Too often, visual and verbal identity are treated as separate silos. One team obsesses over logos, typography and colour; the other, over the way words read and make people feel. The two rarely speak to each other until the very end, when both sides look back at the finished product and realise that something isn’t quite right.
But to keep the two in tandem, we need to know where each one pulls its weight, and where it doesn’t.
What visual identity is built for
Visual identity moves fast. It’s the first click on a website, the scroll of social feeds, the billboard that catches your eye in a city square. It’s colour and shapes and motion and – critically – it’s the ability to make everything feel consistent and ‘on brand’ without designing yourself into a box.
The catch is that speed cuts the other way too: people decide how they feel about you before you’ve got a word in. Without the ‘why’ behind your visual identity, people can feel confused. Often, at that point, you’ve lost their attention already.
What verbal identity is built for
Verbal identity is different in that it sits slightly deeper. It takes two seconds to visualise something, but longer to actually make sense of it. And that’s what writing is – making sense of something through language.
Beyond storytelling, it’s how you shape tone for different moments and audiences – always with intent. Sometimes people want straight answers. Other times they want warmth, wit, or a bit of edge. Verbal identity is knowing the difference, and sounding like yourself either way.
It’s clear the two are different. But, as Simon puts it, in order to kick off ideation from a visual perspective, you need organising thought to begin with. From there, you can work out whether you need visuals at all – sometimes you won’t. Sometimes your campaign might not need words either. The key is having that understanding locked in and understood by all departments, so there’s no awkward back-and-forth.
Make them feel it, or they won’t remember it
“People will forget what you say, but they will always remember how you made them feel.” We can pretend that Maya Angelou wrote those words with branding in mind.
If there’s one thread running through everything ‘brand,’ it’s feeling. Our first response to anything is emotive: we feel, we think, and we do, in that order. That’s why our initial response to a brand matters so much. How do you want people to feel when they interact with you? Is it excitement? Assurance? Joy? Or is it something more abstract, is it making them feel like they need to spring to action, or do something right this minute or else they’ll miss out?
The most successful brands have mastered this. Nike, for example, rarely mentions their product at all in their ads; instead, they’re built to make you feel like you can push past anything. It’s all speed and power. It’s why “Just Do It” still lands decades on.
On, the Swiss running brand, takes an opposite route in the same category. Instead of high-pressure, beat-your-best language, On leans into the simplicity and human-ness of running itself. With soft colourways, runners you can see yourself in, and sprightly messaging, the sport is made to feel comforting, not competitive.
Two brands, same category, two entirely different feelings – and neither could swap places with the other. That’s the point: the feeling has to match the brand, not just look good on a mood board.
Be unmistakably human
Generic content is everywhere and everyone is saying it. Even pointing it out has become a tired line.
Verbal identity is no longer just about having a tone of voice, but about having a point of view. To believe in something. To stand for and against something. It’s what gives ‘having a voice’ meaning and not just something a brand says without any backing.
Monzo shows what this looks like when done properly. Their hot coral card is instantly recognisable, but it isn’t just a brave colour choice. It’s their point of view made visible. Monzo proved that banking didn’t have to look or sound like banking; it could be conversational and colourful – simpler, friendlier, more human.
If you can’t place the brand, you can’t place it in your life. And if you can’t place it in your life, you can’t choose it – no matter how good the product is.
The sum of two halves
The real work of a bold brand isn’t choosing between visual and verbal, but letting them argue, agree, and eventually move as one.
Yin needs yang. Feeling needs form. The brands that get remembered aren’t the ones with the sharpest logo or the wittiest copy in isolation. They’re the ones where every touchpoint, seen or read, says the same true thing about who they are.
Stop building your brand in two halves. Build it as one whole, and let it move people.
Interested in this topic? Listen to the full conversation between Justin and Simon
