Create a graphic charter for your law firm

The art of standing out without saying a word

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The distinction is often made through subtle nuances, your graphic charter is much more than a set of colors and fonts. It's your first handshake, your first argument without saying a word.

A successful graphic charter for a law firm must transcend simple aesthetics. It should reflect your unique identity, your approach to the law, and even, dare we say, a bit of your soul. Your potential customers are not just looking for a lawyer, they are looking for an ally, a personality, an assurance. Your graphic chart is the first clue to what they will find in you.

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Two schools: those who say we don't care and those who spend years there

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In the debate about the importance of graphic design, two camps often emerge: those who consider it secondary and those who devote extreme attention to it. Our position? Crucial, but without hampering action. Especially for lawyers, where trust is a pillar. Your charter should not be overlooked or incur exorbitant costs from the start. You must balance your investment according to your situation. Start with a strong and clear identity, then let it evolve and mature with your practice. Unlike other sectors such as transport or industry, in the world of lawyers, branding has a direct impact on the perception of your expertise and credibility. I invite you to listen to this podcast byOlivier Ramel, co-founder of Kymono, who talks about the importance of branding and its method for creating stylish boxes.

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Two schools: The one that says we don't care and the one that spends years there

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The graphic charter is much more than a set of aesthetic guidelines. It embodies the soul of your firm and influences how clients and colleagues perceive your brand. An effective graphic charter should:

• Reflect your identity: Your graphic charter must be a true reflection of what your firm represents. Whether you are a traditional firm with a long history or a newcomer focused on innovation and technology, your identity should be reflected in your design choices.
• Communicate your values: The colors, fonts, and logo you choose subtly communicate your values. Clean, modern design can evoke efficiency and modernity, while more classic hues can convey experience and reliability.
• Distinguish yourself: In the legal sector, standing out is crucial. A well-thought-out graphic charter helps you stand out from the crowd, making your firm instantly recognizable and memorable.
• Ensuring consistency: A uniform graphic charter ensures that all aspects of your communication — from the website to business cards — are harmonized, professional and consistent. This reinforces trust and credibility with your customers.

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Step-by-Step Tutorial on the subject:

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Inspiration Phase: Get ideas and create a moodboard

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• Search for inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram: Before defining your graphic charter, it is essential to seek inspiration. Pinterest and Instagram are gold mines for discovering design trends, color palettes, and typography styles. Create a board on Pinterest or a collection on Instagram to save designs that speak to you. Also take a look at our article on the trends of 2024!

• Get inspired by the best: Also take a look at our selection of 50 most beautiful law firm websitess. Often, the excellence of these sites comes from their well-thought-out graphic charter. Analyze what makes these sites attractive and how they use their graphic design to stand out.

• Choose Typography: At the same time, explore typography options on Adobe Fonts and DaFont. Select fonts that reflect the identity and values of your firm, with readability and visual impact in mind. In typography, in order not to make mistakes, there is a simple rule: A simple font for most of your texts (ex: Inter, Montserrat, Roboto, Lato...) and a sophisticated font (ex: Bennet Banner, Bennet Banner, Civane, Lust, Coves)...

• Creating a Moodboard with Figma : Use Figma to build a moodboard. This digital inspiration board is a valuable tool for assembling and visualizing the various elements of your future graphic design, including inspirations, color palettes, and selected fonts.

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Logo Design: Call on an expert or do it yourself?

Collaboration with a Graphic Designer or an Agency:

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Why choose a professional? For a sector like law, where trust and prestige are essential, a logo must be thought out and designed with care. A graphic designer or agency will bring expertise and creativity essential to create a logo that truly embodies the spirit of your firm.

The advantage of professional expertise: These experts can intuitively incorporate the nuances of your brand into the design, ensuring a result that is both unique and professional.‍

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For DIY Lawyers

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For DIY Lawyers: If you prefer to create your logo yourself, tools like Canva and Figma can be useful. They offer flexibility and ease of use for those who are less experienced in graphic design.

Limits of self-design: To make a mistake is human. But it is often committed by the most inexperienced. I remember my first logos, I was proud and now I throw up every time I see them. We tend to be proud of ourselves at the start and then our eye is refined when it comes to design and realizes that we are improving (or we stay with an ugly logo all our life).

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The basic rules for an effective logo

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Black and White and Color Functionality:

Your logo should be effective both in black and white and in color. This ensures its versatility across a variety of mediums and contexts, including official documents, marketing materials, and digital platforms. When your colleague is going to use your logo on a terrible background and where nothing will be seen, you will be happy to be able to change it to white or black depending on it.

Visibility and clarity at all distances:

The logo should be clear and recognizable, whether from near or far away. This means avoiding overly complex details that can get lost when reducing the size.‍

Simplicity and memorable:

A simple but impactful design is more likely to stick in people's minds. Avoid overloading your logo with too many or unnecessary elements. The Ourama logo is a good example here.

Adaptability and flexibility:

If you respect these rules, your logo can be adapted to various formats and supports without losing its integrity. Think about how it will appear on your website, business cards, stationery, and even on digital media like social media.

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Development and Declination: Canva & Figma to the Rescue

Once your logo and color palette are established, the next step is to integrate them into all aspects of your communication. This is where Canva or FiGMA become invaluable tools. If you suck at design, go for Canva, it's the most accessible tool. If you have a little artistic side, Figma will offer you endless possibilities. Ourama would not exist without Figma. And when we develop a design for a client, we then redo it on Canva so that they can modify it as they wish.

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Your charter offers you visual coherence:

Canva and figma are intuitive platforms for creating visual supports consistent with your graphic charter. Whether for brochures, business cards, or your website, they allow a homogeneous variation of your visual identity.

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Templates and Customization:

Take advantage of the many templates available on Canva and the Figma community (which has a lot of taste), customizable to adapt to your graphic charter. This not only saves time but also ensures compliance with the aesthetic standards established by your logo and color palette.

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‍Ease of Use:

Canva is designed to be accessible, even for those who don't have advanced graphic design skills. This makes creating visual materials less daunting and more affordable. Figma is also free but is more difficult to learn.

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Multimedia integration:

Canva & FiGMA also make it possible to create multimedia elements, such as presentations or social media content, which are essential for maintaining a consistent and professional online presence.

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Common mistakes to avoid when creating your graphic charter

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When designing a graphic charter, there are several pitfalls that are easy to fall into. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid:

Lack of Coherence:

A common mistake is the lack of coherence between the various elements of the graphic charter. Make sure your logo, colors, and typography harmonize and communicate a unified message.

Visual Overload:

Avoid overloading your design with elements that are too complex or too numerous. A graphic charter should be clear and easy to understand to remain effective and memorable.

Follow trends blindly:

While it's important to be up to date with current trends, complying with them blindly can make your graphic design outdated quickly. Your design should reflect the unique identity of your firm, not a passing fad.

Forget Simplicity:

Simplicity is the key to a successful graphic charter. Designs that are too complicated or overloaded can not only be difficult to replicate, but they can also draw attention away from your core message.

Ignore Feedback:

Not taking into account the opinions of your customers and your team can cause you to miss out on important perspectives. Constructive feedback can help refine your graphic design so that it better resonates with your audience.

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How is it going at Ourama?

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Often, the design of a website is accompanied by the creation of a graphic charter. At Ourama, we understand that creating a graphic charter is a personal process for each law firm. And what's more, we love it.

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The Initial Interview: Understanding Your Needs

It all starts with a thorough interview with you. We take the time to understand who you are, what you do, and what you love. This is accompanied by a detailed questionnaire to better identify your expectations and preferences.

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Creating a moodboard: Visualize your ideas

From this first meeting, we develop a moodboard. This tool helps us to bring your ideas to life and to give a clear visual direction to the project.

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Logo and graphic charter proposals

Based on the moodboard, we develop several logo and graphic charter proposals. Each proposal is designed to reflect your unique identity and meet your specific needs.

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Choice and Refinement: Finding the nugget

We present these proposals to you, and together we identify the “winner.” If necessary, we explore new paths until we find the ideal graphic charter. We warn you: there is a cost to go back and forth. Indecision comes at a price, but in general, there is often a match from the first presentation!

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Brand Block Development: Your Identity on all media

Once the choice is made, we develop a complete brand block including your logo and your graphic charter in all their forms. Our objective is to create a simple graphic charter that is easy to share with your partners and not too restrictive for you.

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