Check this before delivering a visual identity
Too many visual identities look amazing in the brand book but fall apart in the real world. Often because they’re too complex. The designer knew how to make it work, nobody else does.
Most visual identities aren’t future-proof. They’re senior-dependent. They survive as long as the expert is still around, making the hero mocks and keeping the system on the rails.
The real test of a visual identity isn’t the case study.
It’s what happens six months later, when a junior designer or an overworked generalist is the one producing assets. That’s where most systems break.
Why?