10 ways to achieve visual consistency in communications

Visual consistency keeps you in charge of your organization’s public perception. For some organizations, visual consistency seems to be second nature, effortless. For others, every new marketing opportunity begets a scramble to get things organized and out the door.

Consistency doesn’t stem from a staff of marionettes controlled by a puppeteer higher up the chain of command, nor does it require the employment of a frazzled, hall-monitor type of manager. In a nonprofit organization, consistency is achieved by the creation and maintenance of a toolkit for each staff member. With the right tools, a staff member is able to represent your organization within a framework that is immediately recognizable to the recipient, without having to invent that framework for each interaction— whether face-to-face, written, or within your social network.

Visual consistency does not require high-price design or excessive, time-consuming control. The right toolkit will allow your staff to work toward your mission with minimal frustration, adding their personality to their work without diminishing your organization’s brand. Following are 10 ways to achieve visual consistency. 

1. Embrace your logo. For most organizations, the seed of who you are is your logo. Is it casual? Formal? A little edgy? Defiant? The colors on your website come from your logo. The tone of your newsletter comes from your website, which comes from your logo. The personality you project on your blog comes from your website, which comes from your logo. See how that works? If you don’t embrace your logo, consistency will be a problem. If your logo doesn’t well represent your organization, scrap it. 
2. Customize your pages. Twitter offers customizations that allow you to change the background and images on your page. Facebook lets you upload images and graphics. Do your pages match your website? Do a test: open your Twitter page and then open your website in a window next to it. They don’t have to be identical, but they should feel like they are rooms in the same house. 
3. Unify email signatures. Make sure everyone in your organization sends out emails that match. Is everyone using the same signature? Fonts? Type size? Have everyone in your organization send an email from his work account to your home account and see what the emails look like. If this seems restrictive, you can create several graphics users can choose to include in their signatures. 
4. Create a Word template. If your staff creates documents in Microsoft Word, give them a template with your logo and relevant contact information in place. Define a few styles in Word so that the user can pick from what’s already there. This will allow users to do their jobs more efficiently and consistently without spending time on design. 
5. Create a PowerPoint template. Have a PowerPoint file with some very simple background pages so when your staff needs to prepare a quick presentation, it’s ready. Better yet, see what happens if you skip PowerPoint. Sometimes a good speaker making personal contact with an audience is more compelling. 
6. Use consistent conference displays. Create a display that is easily customizable, but includes your logo and mission. 
7. Have frequently used graphics on hand. Give your staff a collection of logos and frequently-used images to send out when required. Basic formats include: jpg, gif, eps and pdf. 
8. Create an E-Newsletter template. If you use an email marketing website like Emma, eTapestry, or Constant Contact, make sure you have a template for e-newsletters. The basic building blocks of the template are a header (usually a graphic) and predefined type styles and layout. Does the template relate to your logo? Does the font you choose match your website? 
9. Maintain some printed material. It’s a good idea to give your staff a postcard or brochure that includes a little about you and the various ways to connect with you. Printed material is still a great way to connect with potential donors, especially in person. It acts as a physical invitation to visit your digital domain. 
10. Give thanks. Come up with an easy way to thank people, either with a thank you letter template in your email marketing software or physical thank you cards with envelopes that you hand write and mail. Social service nonprofits rely on personal connections to build a solid donor base. A hand-written note is always well received. 

One final note on visual consistency: It’s not about everything being perfect or beautiful. If you make something ugly, make it consistently ugly—like Craigslist.org. Or consistently (defiantly) simple, like Google.com.