Brand Personality

Liz H., Cameron C., Blake H., Patrick C., and Allison H.

What is the Security Portfolio tone, personality, character? How does it fit within the IBM Brand? What are the signature moments that define IBM Security? This document outlines a foundational set of Security specific UX guidelines that unifies our products while augmenting the IBM Design Language.

Security Product Pillars

• Security Intelligence and Analytics
• Identity and Access Management
• Data Protection
• Infrastructure Protection
• Fraud Protection
• Application Security

As we build multiple products under the IBM Security Portfolio it is important that each points toward the same North star. We are all part of the same family tree even though we have our own personalities. A brand encapsulates all aspects of the relationship between our customers and us. It unifies our greatest strengths: software development, services, delivery, customer insights, marketing, content development into a single “Personality”. This consistent personality, builds familiarity. Familiarity builds relationships, Relationships build loyalty. Loyalty builds revenue.

A brand personality is how you act and how you speak as a brand, as if the brand were a real person. The tone or voice of communication is what you say and how you say it in marketing materials. This is essential to establish an emotional connection with the target audience.

Intelligent. Credible. Trusted.

IBM has had a strong and credible reputation for the past 100 years. The voice of the Security Portfolio should compliment that reputation. When users encounter a Security product either face to face or through communications, our words, designs and expressions should represent that IBM. 

• Purposefully designed
• A clarity that makes you think
• Designed appropriately for the situation (phone, mobile device, desktop, tv)
• Consistent in its design (fonts, icons, colors, capitalization)
• Vibrant but not flashy
• Enhances your understanding
• Includes visual elements that help people understand the point
• Builds the story from a place of common understanding

Respected. Dependable. Innovative.

Our products should strive to be respected, dependable and innovative. Interactions should be thoughtful and expected. Data should not be faked or inaccurate. Consumers should associate our designs with IBM’s long lasting reputation of excellence, trust and honesty.

• Offers insight, not just facts
• Provides the evidence needed to make the case
• Focuses on implications and actions
• Highlights our innovative thinking and how it creates impact
• Focuses on how we can help the client create value
• Provides confidence to motive action
• Builds trust and personal relationships through design
• Dedicated to the success of others

Clear. Honest. Human.

Communications should be to-the-point, honest and credible. Situations should be realistic and achievable as a genuine part of every work day. Concepts should not be heavily involved or deeply emotional but consumers should feel like they can trust us. Language should be practical and vocabulary simple.

• Use simple, clear and direct language

• Be an expert, but not arrogant

• Be optimistic without being obvious and intentionally exaggerated

• Provide a clear objective and agenda

• Tell a clear story through the headlines

• Tell the user something they didn’t already know

• Make a case with reason, intelligence and empathy

• Remove Redundancy

Inspire. Engage. Empower.

Draw attention to the sense and substance of the data Associate objects to build relationships leading to new insights Reduce noise by adding value to the content

• Apply color with meaning
• Use color, spacing and position to create the initial focal point
• Contextualize experiences so people can be more focused and engaged
• Provide accessible chunks of content for easy retrieval
• Break lengthy content into chunks. The human brain remembers 7 chunks +/- 2
• Show and hide elements based on what they need, and when they need it
• Surface insights to create transparency and eliminate uncertainty
• Consider whether changes made to layout help or hinder the message
• Understand the user

In Control. Intuitive. Personal.

Design for scenarios they do the most

Create interactions that feel natural and easy to use Build connections that are meaningful and immersive

• Provide content that meets the needs of the user
• Collaborate with clients, watch what they do rather then asking them
• Consider how the user might access the content. Has a precedent been set?
• Create associations with familiar elements to help users store information
• Naturally relate to what precedes & what follows
• Regardless of the modality or device surface contextually appropriate content
• Tell a story with the content to create an emotional connection they will remember
• Structure of information to allow users to attain multiple levels of understanding