Logo system
Primary mark, secondary mark, glyph/icon mark, monogram. Light + dark variants. Full vector source (AI + SVG + PDF). Pixel-perfect raster exports for every common use case.
Brand & Design
Brand identity
Brand identity
built to scale.
Logos, identity systems, brand voice, motion, packaging, social templates. The foundation that everything else hangs from. Built so it still looks right when your business is 10x the size.
What is brand identity design? Brand identity design is the practice of building the visual + verbal system a business uses to look, sound, and feel consistent across every customer touchpoint. At Critical Marketing, we build complete brand identity systems (logo, color, typography, voice, motion, applications) that scale from a one-location startup to a multi-location operator.
What we ship.
Color system
Primary brand color (with hex, RGB, CMYK, Pantone). Secondary palette. Neutral palette. WCAG accessibility contrast checks. Tinted variations for UI use.
Typography system
Heading font, body font, accent font. Web-licensed versions. Local fallback stack. Type scale (h1-h6, body, small, caption). Font-display rules for performance.
Brand voice + tone
Voice attributes (what you sound like). Tone variations (formal vs casual contexts). Forbidden words / phrases / patterns. Style guide for every public-facing writer.
Visual system
Photography direction, illustration style, iconography, motion language, white space rules, grid system, layout patterns.
Application templates
Business cards, letterhead, email signatures, social media templates (per channel), pitch deck template, proposal template, invoice template.
Brand guidelines document
The complete reference. 30-60 pages. Everything above documented in one place so anyone designing for your brand (in-house, freelance, future agency) can do it right.
Source files + handoff
Every file in editable source format. Adobe Illustrator + Figma + raw font files. You own everything. If we ever part ways, you keep the brand intact.
Choosing between a refresh, a build, and a rebrand.
Most businesses asking for brand work do not actually need a full rebrand. Most ask for a logo when what they need is a system. The decision framework we use:
- Identity refresh. Typical scope: logo tune-up + color palette modernization + type system + a one-page brand reference. Right for businesses with a working brand recognition that has aged. Wrong for businesses that have grown beyond what the original brand can carry. Timeline: 4-8 weeks.
- Full identity build. Typical scope: logo system (primary + secondary + favicon + monochrome variants) + color palette + type system + photography direction + voice + applications (business cards, social templates, email templates, slide template, signage). Right for businesses that have outgrown a one-person founder logo. Timeline: 8-16 weeks.
- Rebrand. Typical scope: full identity build PLUS new positioning (often a new name, new tagline, new audience definition) plus migration plan across every customer touchpoint. Right when the business has shifted what it sells, who it sells to, or how it competes. Wrong as a "we just want a fresh look" project. Timeline: 16-32 weeks.
We will tell you honestly which one you actually need. Often it is a refresh when you came in asking for a rebrand, and the refresh is a better use of budget and risk.
Frequently asked questions.
Logo + basic: 4-6 weeks. Complete brand identity: 8-12 weeks. Brand + website: 16-20 weeks. We do not rush brand work: the right answer takes the time it takes.
Three concepts at the first round. Each is a real direction, not three variations of the same idea. We refine the chosen direction across two more rounds before final delivery.
Yes. The brand is yours from delivery. We recommend trademark registration through a separate IP attorney once the brand is finalized.
Yes. Rebrand engagements include a heritage audit (what to keep, what to update, what to replace) and a transition plan to roll out the new brand across customer touchpoints.
Yes. We collaborate with brand strategy firms who handle positioning + naming, and we execute the visual + verbal identity from their strategic foundation.
Get in touch
Let's build your
Let's build your
brand.
Tell us where the brand is today. We respond within a business day.