MenuClose
Skilld Design WhatsApp Neil

Identity design for a practical brand system.

Looking good is only half the job. Skilld Design helps owners, founders and decision-makers address real identity problems through clear visual decisions and useful brand artefacts.

You work directly with Neil de la Harpe through his direct independent design practice, from the initial problem and alternatives through to the agreed handover.

01 / 03 Identity design

Define the identity problem

Business situation

The business, product or offer is difficult to recognise, has outgrown its visual identity or lacks clear rules for important applications.

Useful result

An agreed identity brief grounded in the business need, the audience and the priority formats.

Work can include

Brand direction, offer clarification, creative strategy, priority applications and the criteria that identity decisions need to meet.

Handover

A defined direction, decision criteria and an agreed scope for the identity system and its applications.

Evidence and boundaries

The problem, constraints and evidence limits are recorded before visual decisions are treated as approved.

Explore wider brand direction work

Develop the identity system

Business situation

The brand needs visual decisions that work together rather than a disconnected logo or isolated graphic element.

Useful result

A coherent identity system designed for the agreed uses and people who need to apply it.

Work can include

Brand identity design, logo design, typography, colour, iconography, layout rules and selected application studies.

Handover

Approved master artwork, application examples, editable templates and documented rules where included in the scope.

Evidence and boundaries

Alternatives can be considered against the brief, with decisions and their practical consequences made clear during review.

View Titanium Coffee case

Prepare practical artefacts

Business situation

Approved identity decisions need to move into defined materials without losing consistency or becoming difficult to use.

Useful result

A practical set of identity artefacts and rules for the applications agreed in the project.

Work can include

Master artwork, icons, templates, application examples and connections to packaging, websites or ecommerce where the brief requires them.

Handover

The agreed working files, examples and guidance, with ownership, maturity and evidence boundaries kept clear.

Evidence and boundaries

Technical or production readiness is stated only where the relevant artefact, checks and handover are part of the defined work.

View Scotz Auto case

03 /Identity design scope

What a focused identity project can include

Brand direction

Brand direction establishes a clear basis for identity decisions by connecting the business need, offer and agreed priorities.

Brand identity design

Brand identity design develops the selected visual elements and rules into a coherent system for the agreed applications.

Logo design

A logo can be an important identity element. Its role, variants and applications are considered alongside the wider system where the brief requires that work.

Creative strategy and iconography

Creative strategy can guide the visual direction, while iconography can provide a consistent set of supporting elements for defined uses. For a study focused on verbal guidance, see the Monzo brand voice and content system study.

03 /Ways to begin

Start with the identity problem and the places the system needs to work.

  1. An identity that no longer fits

    Identify what has changed, what is difficult to use and which applications now matter most.

  2. A logo request with a wider problem

    Clarify whether the need also involves direction, typography, iconography, layout rules or application decisions.

  3. A new identity system

    Define the business need and develop the selected identity elements around agreed practical uses.

  4. A defined identity workstream

    Give a clearly scoped identity project direct independent design ownership, review points and a practical handover.

Describe the genuine business problem, what is currently difficult and the priority applications the identity needs to support.

Discuss a defined identity design project