Crafting a Brand: Organizing Collateral Material

Collateral material can be used to enhance a brand's image through design elements such as color, text and a logo. Balance and harmony across collateral material is imperative to create a cohesive and easily identifiable brand.

Image: Wix

The Use of Color and Typography

Color is an important and identifiable aspect of collateral material. Color supports the overall message of the brand. Using a color that coordinates with the logo creates balance across the design. For the Oklahoma Route 66 Coordinator's business card, I used colors that corresponded with the ombre colors of the logo. Using Adobe InDesign, I took the dropper tool to copy the colors and drop them onto the text. This helped me create a unique and captivating color palette consistent across the design. Typography is also important for creating effective collateral material. When picking the font, I chose one that complimented the text on the logo. I wanted a font that was easily read and matched the brand. I made the font size decrease across the business card, making the most important information the largest.

Adobe InDesign is a useful tool for creating collateral material. For more information on InDesign, click here.

Work by Lexie Oliver

Coordination between Collateral Material

Arguably, the most important part of collateral material is the balance between each project and the consistency of the design. Balance can be achieved through consistent layouts, the use of logos, a set color palette and corresponding typography. The layout of each project for the Route 66 design featured the company's logo to the right of the text. While each project featured different margins and page sizes, each featured a balanced layout. I used the same typography and color palette across each piece. This enhanced the brand's image throughout the collateral material. Additionally, I utilized white space between the text and the logo to keep the design structured. I found that keeping a consistent theme between each piece created a balance that enhanced the message of the brand.

Work by Lexie Oliver

Enhancing the Brand

It is important to remember that collateral material is meant to enhance the brand. Before designing each piece of collateral material, I researched the brand, the message we wanted to give and what design aspects promoted the message effectively. I created a Pinterest board for the Route 66 project that built inspiration for the design aspects I chose. This helped me choose between color, font and layout options. I then maintained balance across each design to promote the brand and design across all the materials.