Speak Free

Earlier this year, the UX team, Studios, and other departments decided that the USANA brand, particularly our visual language, needed to be reviewed, especially as USANA expands into new markets while maintaining success in existing ones. We wanted to ensure that the USANA brand's message, language, and style remained consistent as the company grew. A strong visual language is essential for ensuring this.

So what is a Visual Language?

A Visual Language is a collection of components and principles used to develop and convey a particular visual message.

Visual languages are not confined to digital items; they maybe used to visualize anything. Visual languages are not a novel idea or idea in recent history. Visual languages have been used to communicate for generations.Maps are a form of visual communication since they communicate visible indicators (landmarks, colors, and text) that a person sees with their eyes.

A visual language is important in the field of user experience (UX) because it is a system of visual components, such as colors ,forms, and typography, that are used to express ideas and information in a user interface. A visual language aids in providing a product or service with a unified, consistent appearance and feel, which increases use and intuitiveness.

Visual design is the process of making a product's visual components better to enhance the user experience. This procedure is built upona visual language. There are three ways that visual language can enhance design and user experience.

• Shared Vision - Digital products are rarely created by a single person. Multiple teams usually work together to create a single product. It becomes more difficult to design a consistent experience a steams grow larger. A visual language can be used to specify a more structured approach to teamwork management and efficiency. To achieve design consistency or a shared vision, it is critical to define styling options and reusable, cross-platform components.
• Shared Rules - Similar to how spoken languages have rules and restrictions, visual languages also have limitations. These'Constraints' may appear to be a barrier to creativity, but they actually aid designers in working more efficiently.
• Brand Recognition - Visual language is one of the most powerful tools for effective branding. Your brand is how customers perceive you. A successful product cannot exist in the absence of a brand.Before users even start using your product, their first impression will be shaped by its design. This heavily influences whether or not they choose to work with you.

The development of better first impressions and brand memory benefits from the use of visual language. A brand's colors, typefaces, images, illustrations, and animations should all be created in a way that makes it easier for customers to recall the product. Continuous use of authentic visual language increases brand recognition.

To summarize, a well-defined visual language is an invaluable resource for businesses to strengthen their brand identity, maintain consistency in their messaging, and create successful relationships with their audience.

A strong visual language not only gives consistency to marketing initiatives, but it also helps to improve brand distinction, allowing companies to stand out from the crowd.

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JVD

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* The newsletter is named after the Incubus's song “Speak Free” from their 1995 album “Fungus Among us”