Design
Arabic typography

A business’s brand identity: what does it include beyond the logo?

A brand identity is a system of elements that work together, not a logo alone: a vector logo, precise colours, fonts that handle Arabic and French, a usage guide, ready-made templates and open files that you own. What makes it an identity is consistency: that your business is recognised at a glance on the shop sign, the invoice, the social media page and the website. This guide says what you should receive, element by element, how to test each one and which questions to ask anyone who offers you an identity.

The short answer before the detail

A brand identity is a system of elements that work together: logo, colours, fonts, a usage guide and templates; the logo is only one of them.
You receive the logo as vector files, which you enlarge for the shop sign and shrink for the stamp without losing quality, with light, dark and single-colour versions.
Test the contrast of your colours: the W3C standard (WCAG 2.2, level AA) requires a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, and exempts the logo itself, but not the text you write in its colours.
Choose fonts that handle Arabic and French, and do not space out the letters of an Arabic word: the W3C’s Arabic Layout Requirements say that moving two joined letters closer or further apart gives undesirable results.
Ask for the usage guide and the open files, so that consistency stays possible without going back to the designer every time.

The elements of a brand identity: what is delivered, where it appears, how to test it

This is a delivery checklist for comparing any identity offer, ours included. The second and fourth columns come from our work; the figures in the “Colours” and “Site icon” rows come from the W3C and Google.

Element	What is delivered	Where it appears	A simple quality test
Logo	Vector files, horizontal and square versions, light, dark and single-colour	Shop sign, invoice, stamp, website, social media	Is it still legible small and in black and white?
Colours	Precise values for screen (HEX or RGB) and print (CMYK), primary and supporting	Website, posts, printed matter	Does the text contrast with its background reach 4.5:1 (3:1 for large text)?
Fonts	A heading font and a body font, both handling Arabic and Latin letters	Website, printed matter, presentations	Do the Arabic letters join properly, with no spacing between them?
Site icon	A square version of the logo designed to be read small	Browser tab and search results	Is it square (1:1), larger than 48×48 px and recognisable?
Usage guide	What is allowed and not: clear space, minimum size, colours on each background	Any designer or printer who works for you later	Is it enough for a designer or printer who does not know you?
Templates	Business card, letterhead, social media post	Every day	Can you edit them yourself without spoiling the identity?
Open files	The editable source files, not just finished images	Your archive	Do you really own them, and can any designer work with them?

What is a brand identity, and how does it differ from a logo?

A brand identity is the look that makes your business recognised at a glance: on the shop sign, the invoice, the social media page and the website, the same each time. The logo is part of it; the identity is a system: logo, colours, fonts, usage rules and templates. A beautiful logo without a system is used differently each time, and no visual memory forms.

A trademark in the legal sense is something else. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines it as a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises, which can be made of words, drawings, symbols or colour shades. The identity is design work; the trademark is a legal protection.

The logo: what should you actually receive?

Do not accept a single image file (PNG or JPG). A logo used on a shop sign, on a stamp and on a small icon needs vector formats, which scale up and down without losing quality, with versions that cover your real cases:

A horizontal version and a square or stacked version.
A version on a light background and one on a dark background.
A single-colour version for the stamp and one-colour printing.
A reduced version that reads clearly at icon size.

Colours: precise values and tested contrast

A colour described by a word (“dark green”) comes out different on every printer and every screen. Ask for each colour’s precise values: one for screen (HEX or RGB) and one for print (CMYK), and set the primary and supporting colours apart.

Then test the contrast. The WCAG 2.2 accessibility standard from the W3C requires, at level AA, a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 between text and its background for normal text, and 3:1 for large text (18 points or more, or 14 points bold). The standard exempts text that is part of a logo or brand name, so there is no requirement on the logo itself, but the requirement stands for any text you write in your colours: buttons, headings, paragraphs.

Try every text and background pair you adopt before fixing the palette; a beautiful palette that fails the test tires the reader on a phone.

Fonts: Arabic first

Choose a font for headings and one for body text, and each must handle both Arabic and the Latin letters of French, or your text appears in two unrelated fonts. Ask about the font’s licence: does it allow use on your website and in your printed matter? On our own site we chose the Noto Kufi Arabic font and host it on the site itself.

And do not space out the letters of an Arabic word to make it look “elegant”: its letters are joined, and the W3C’s Arabic Layout Requirements say that moving two joined characters closer or further from each other gives undesirable results. It is the mistake of whoever applies the habits of Latin letters to Arabic.

The site icon: identity at the smallest size

The smallest place your identity appears is the site icon (favicon), in the browser tab and in search results. Google requires it to be square (1:1) and at least 8×8 pixels, recommends larger than 48×48 pixels so that it looks good on various surfaces, says it should be visually representative of the site’s brand, and that its URL should be stable. It also notes that display is not guaranteed even when its guidelines are followed.

So ask for a square version of the logo designed to be read small, not the horizontal logo cropped.

The usage guide and the templates: what makes an identity last

An identity falls apart when five people use it five ways. A short usage guide prevents that by saying what is allowed and not: the clear space around the logo, its minimum size, the colours allowed on each background, the fonts and examples of mistakes.

Ready-made templates that you edit yourself complete it: business card, letterhead and social media post. Test the guide with one question: is it enough for a designer or printer who does not know you?

Files and ownership: what should stay in your hands?

Ask plainly: will I receive the complete open files, that is, the editable source files, or only finished images? Whoever owns the files can edit their identity and work with any designer; whoever does not goes back to the first designer for every change. With us the open files are delivered complete and you own them.

Legal protection of the name and logo is a separate step: according to WIPO, registering a trademark gives an exclusive right to use it and provides legal certainty, and protection typically lasts ten years and is renewable. The registration procedures in Algeria are not covered here.

How to compare two brand identity offers

Ask the same questions of everyone who offers you an identity:

How many directions will I see, and are they really different ideas? With us, two to three; showing twenty logos is not generosity but a lack of direction.
What exactly will I receive: vector formats, light, dark and single-colour versions, a square icon?
Does the delivery include a colour system with precise values and fonts that handle Arabic and French?
Is there a usage guide and ready-made templates?
Will I receive the complete open files, and do I own them?

Already have a logo? Develop it rather than replace it

If your business has a logo its customers recognise, do not start from zero. A review keeps what has become familiar and fixes what holds you back: non-vector files, colours without precise values, fonts that do not handle Arabic, the lack of a usage guide. That is what we do when someone who has a logo only wants to develop it: we review what they have and propose an update that keeps what their customers know them by.

With us the basic identity, with the logo, the colour and font system and the usage guide, starts at 12,000 DZD, as the service page states.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a logo and a brand identity?

The logo is a single symbol; the brand identity is a complete system: logo, colours, fonts, usage guide and templates. The logo is seen, and the system is what ensures it is used the same way everywhere, which builds visual memory.

What should I receive when an identity is finished?

A vector logo with light, dark and single-colour versions and a square icon, a colour system with precise values for screen and print, fonts that handle Arabic and French, a usage guide, ready-made templates and the complete open files.

How many logos should I ask to see?

Two to three directions, each a really different idea. Showing twenty is not generosity but a lack of direction, and it leaves the decision to you instead of guiding you.

Do I own the files of my brand identity?

You should: complete open files, not just finished images. With us they are delivered complete, and we keep nothing that forces you to come back to us for every change. Ask every designer about it before you agree.

Should I register my logo as a trademark?

Registration is a legal protection separate from the design. According to WIPO a trademark distinguishes one enterprise’s goods or services from those of others, and registering it gives an exclusive right to use it and strengthens the owner’s position in a dispute. The procedures in Algeria must be checked against official sources, and this article does not cover them.

How much does a brand identity cost?

The basic identity starts at 12,000 DZD with us and includes the logo, the colour and font system and the usage guide, as the service page states. The final figure follows what you need, and we quote no market average.

Move from reading to a concrete step

Brand identity designA vector logo, colours, fonts, a usage guide, templates and open files you own; from 12,000 DZD for the basic identity.Website and online store developmentYour identity on a site you own, the same on every page; the price starts at 15,000 DZD for a single landing page.The free diagnosticFifteen questions that surface your first gap, with no sign-up and no email.