The Integrated Brand Design Process (IBDP) is the method developed by Bonhomme that treats brand identity and digital experience as a single discipline, structured across four interdependent phases. It starts from the premise that digital is the first real point of contact between a brand and its audiences, and that designing identity without accounting for digital systematically produces dissonance.
1. The integrated identity formula
Coherent identity=Branding+Digitaldesigned simultaneously
Designing identity first, then “adapting” it to digital produces an adapted identity, not a designed one. The difference shows in every detail: typography too heavy to load, colors illegible on screen, a logotype too complex for a favicon.
2. The Integrated Brand Design Process (IBDP): the 4 phases
| Phase | Content | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brand platform | Purpose, values, vision, promise, personality, positioning | Founding document guiding all formal and digital decisions |
| 2. Visual identity | Logotype, typography, palette — designed to work in digital from the outset | Identity validated in favicon, animation, dark mode, mobile interface |
| 3. Digital system | Design system: components, patterns, Motion System | Identity translated into consistent, transferable interface components |
| 4. Brand experience | Website, app, social media, emails, packaging | All touchpoints coordinated within a consistent system |
| Decision made in branding | Problem discovered in digital |
|---|---|
| Expressive, heavy typography | Too slow to load — degraded Core Web Vitals |
| Premium palette on paper | Illegible on a white interface background or in dark mode |
| Complex logotype | Illegible at 16×16px favicon size and in mobile notifications |
| Generous spacing in the brand guidelines | Unsuited to the information density required on mobile |
| Animations defined outside digital | Impossible to implement in WebGL without a complete rebuild |
3. What the most consistent brands have understood
Apple didn't create a brand identity and then apply it to its site. Apple's brand identity and digital experience were designed simultaneously. The San Francisco typeface, the monochromatic palette, the generous spacing: decisions that work as well on a physical product as on a digital interface.
The luxury houses that have successfully made their digital transition, Bottega Veneta, The Row, Jacquemus, followed the same logic: their identity was designed for digital as much as for the physical world.
4. Le Cèdre Rouge: an example of full integration
The Le Cèdre Rouge project is a concrete illustration of the Integrated Brand Design Process. Bonhomme built the brand platform around three pillars (rigor, integrity, heritage), then validated every formal decision simultaneously in its digital version: favicon, palette in the e-commerce interface, graphic system in navigation. Result: +24% on conversion rate, +5% on average basket, +11% on revenue.
5. Recurring mistakes
Creating the identity without a digital designer in the room. An identity designed without digital input will need to be adapted, adaptation is always a compromise.
Treating the website as an application of the brand guidelines. The site doesn't apply the guidelines it is, together with the guidelines, the expression of a single identity.
Validating the identity only on static media. A logotype approved as a PDF can become a problem as a favicon or on a dark background.
Separating the branding and digital teams. The result is an identity and a digital experience that speak the same surface language but not the same underlying conviction.
Commissioning the identity from a branding agency and the site from a different web agency, with no coordination. Dissonance is almost inevitable.
6. Quotes
“A brand that isn't designed for digital is a brand only half designed. In a world where the first contact is almost always a screen, identity and digital aren't two disciplines, they're one.”
— Morgane Urbain, co-founder & creative director
“The Integrated Brand Design Process isn't method for method's sake. It's the practical answer to a simple question: how do you make a brand just as desirable on a smartphone as it is in a boutique?”
— Emmanuel Cruellas, co-founder & design director
Related projects
FAQ
Related concepts
| Concept | Link to branding/digital integration |
|---|---|
| Integrated Brand Design Process (IBDP) | Bonhomme's method: 4 co-designed phases to guarantee branding/digital consistency. |
| Design system | Phase 3 of the IBDP. Translates identity into transferable interface components. |
| The Tone of Motion | System of animation rules — a component of the design system within the IBDP. |
| Perceived Value Design (PVD) | The IBDP guarantees consistency of the PVD's 5 signals across all media, including digital. |
| Branding agency Paris | Bonhomme has designed branding and digital simultaneously since 2013, with more than 125 projects delivered. |