Brand Identity Design: Building Through Creativity
A course by Jim SutherlandGraphic Designer
A course by Jim Sutherland, Graphic Designer
Experiment with the building blocks of visual identity to create memorable and engaging projects for your clients
Being a designer means solving specific problems for clients. Projects need to communicate, engage, and fulfill their purpose—but there’s also a lot of room to explore, play, and simply bring some joy into the world. Graphic designer Jim Sutherland specializes in creating powerful visuals for brands through his award-winning studio Sutherl&. He has worked on branding for clients like the National History Museum and has won multiple awards for his work.
In this online course, Jim teaches you how to develop ideas and turn them into distinctive and engaging, visual identities. Create an identity system for a client of your choice, based on real-life examples, and discover how to design with confidence and joy in the process.
What will you learn in this online course?
13 lessons & 15 downloads
The Building Blocks of a Visual Identity
9 minutes, 28 seconds
Getting Started: Researching and Exploring
20 minutes, 56 seconds
& Playing with Icons
14 minutes, 24 seconds
& Exploring Typography
20 minutes, 47 seconds
& Choosing Shapes
11 minutes, 13 seconds
& Finding Colours
6 minutes, 41 seconds
What's included in this course?
Begin the course by getting to know graphic designer Jim Sutherland. Discover the creative career that led him to start his own award-winning studio, along with the influences that inspire the work he creates.
Dive into the building blocks of a visual design system, from typography to color. Then learn how to carry out effective research and come up with ideas for your project, using different exercises to engage your brain creatively.
Time to start working on your identity. Begin by exploring iconography and typography before moving on to shapes, colors, and language. Learn about the importance of imagery in a strong visual identity and see how to take your ideas further and make sure they’re engaging across different platforms.
Collate and curate your ideas to create the building blocks of a powerful identity, and take a look at one of Jim’s case studies to apply them in the real world. To finish the course, Jim guides you through how to present your work to clients.
What is this course's project?
Develop an identity system for a client of your choice, combining typography, iconography, color, and language.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone with an interest in learning to design creative visual identities for brands.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience is required.
In terms of materials, you will just need paper and a pencil or pen.
Reviews
- 1 month ago
Thank you for sharing so many insights into your creative process. Your playful approach is very inspiring. I really enjoyed your course!
- 2 months ago
Sehr gut erklärt. Vielen Dank.
- 1 year ago
this course is awesome, so many insights and very knowleable
- 1 year ago
This course gives you insights about creating visual identities around a strong concept. Recommend it!
- 2 years ago
Jim offers a lot on practical insights that spark creativity and playfulness. He also offers a structure to foster and present the creative results in a way that it easy to understand and communicate. Great course!
Jim has rebranded the Natural History Museum, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis, The Arts Society, Williams F1, Prostate Cancer UK, National Museums Scotland, Welsh National Opera, and Start-Rite shoes. He has also designed over 50 stamps for the Royal Mail and won awards for more than 90 projects in the D&AD awards. He is a visiting professor in design at the university he studied at, and has spoken at the London Design Festival, the V&A, and more.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
The Idea
- The Building Blocks of a Visual Identity
- Getting Started: Researching and Exploring
- U3
The Process
- & Playing with Icons
- & Exploring Typography
- & Choosing Shapes
- & Finding Colours
- & Playing with Language
- & Creating Imagery
- & Pushing Ideas
- U4
Last Steps
- Collating & Curating
- Presenting the Ideas
- FP
Final project
- Brand Identity Design: Building Through Creativity
What to expect from a Domestika course
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
Certificates
PLUSIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for intermediate-level graphic designers looking to deepen their understanding of visual identity, typography, and creative experimentation.
You should have a basic understanding of graphic design principles and some experience with design tools. Familiarity with typography and visual composition is helpful but not required.
You'll learn techniques for creating visual identities, designing with type and color, experimenting with collage and found objects, and building cohesive brand systems using hands-on and digital methods.
Yes, the course teaches you how to design logotypes, icons, and visual identity symbols, including the use of geometric shapes and typographic elements.
Yes, you'll learn how to create color palettes from photos, extract colors using Pantone books, and use color to enhance brand recognition.
Yes, the course includes hands-on projects such as creating hidden clues stamps, magazine layouts, typographic faces, collages with found objects, and interactive book design.
You'll explore methods for idea generation, client research, observation-based creativity, and documenting inspiration through notebooks, photography, and collaborative workflows.