Visual identity is where brand positioning becomes tangible. It includes elements such as:
- logo design
- colour palette
- typography
- style of imagery
A well-designed visual identity rooted in brand strategy creates immediate recognition, signals quality and intention, and reinforces the property's unique value proposition. It builds trust, because a coherent and consistent visual expression signals professionalism – often subconsciously.But most importantly,
expertly executed visual identity helps to activate an emotional response by communicating how a place feels – before a booking is even made.
The choice of brand colours and typography plays a big role in that. Therefore, these creative decisions should never be made in isolation or simply based on what looks 'pretty'. For all visual identity elements to truly serve the greater purpose of communicating the brand’s underlying promise, they must be rooted in brand strategy.
This is also why so many luxury Airbnb Instagram accounts, despite being full of stunning imagery, fail to convert visitors into bookings. They lack the additional layer of distinctiveness and emotional pull that visual identity helps to achieve. Dropping a logo as a profile photo is not branding – it is decoration.After reviewing more than 1,000 luxury Airbnb listings and the corresponding Instagram accounts
[read more: I reviewed more than 1,000 luxury Airbnb listings around the Mediterranean – here’s what I found], it is evident that even the little branding some villas have is typically at a much lower level than the standard of the property itself. Needless to say, this has the opposite effect of the intended one –
average-looking branding often lowers the perceived value of an otherwise high-end villa, rather than increases it.