Businesses need to be creative in order to succeed. Creativity leads to innovation, which is the key ingredient for business success. There are many instances when creativity has helped businesses grow, expand their customer base, and increase brand awareness. This is basically why design branding is necessary.
Design Branding is the creative process of developing a visual and verbal identity for a company or organization. It’s an important part of any business strategy, but many people don't understand what it's all about. In this blog post, we're going to explore Design Branding thoroughly and answer some common questions that you might have about it, so keep reading!
British designer David Airey coined the term "Design Brand" in 2006, and it has since grown into an industry that helps companies build their brands. Although the term has been recently created, companies have been using design for their brand since time immemorial. It's just recently that its importance in businesses has been highlighted.
Design is no longer a frill; it's an integral and necessary aspect of the world. It affects nearly every consumer touchpoint for most businesses in today’s digital age. A company that wants to thrive should consider design as one of its priorities if they want to keep up with consumer expectations from here on out.
Design is a powerful tool that can be used to increase success rates. A study last 2018 by McKinsey & Company found out that firms that invested in design in the last five years have 32% more revenue and 56% higher total returns for shareholders. If that doesn't concretize the importance of design, we don't know what will!
There are many different aspects to Design Branding, such as logo design, color palette selection, typeface choices, and more. In essence, your brand design is the unified look and style that you want your brand to project.
We all know that good design comes at a price. It could be based on the cost of hiring an in-house designer or working with a third-party design company, plus the cost of unifying all aspects of your company to adhere to your brand design. So should you incorporate design into the building of your brand?
But for our long answer, here are seven points to describe why we believe all businesses must have a brand design.
Branding creates a sense of trust in the company. When a customer sees your company’s logo, they feel more confident that you will provide them with quality products and services.
Will you trust a company that uses common fonts and plain colors for its business logo and virtually every other product? If that's the kind of quality they could expect from you -- generic and not well thought of -- then they would likely search elsewhere.
Or will you trust companies who have spent time creating unique designs with fonts, colors, or other elements specifically designed around each of their products?
You'll likely choose the latter, right?
Every business should be concerned about whether potential customers feel confident enough when dealing with them as an organization...because without it there is no sense in
building any kind of customer relationships whatsoever! And what better way than by investing some budget into the design before launching your new brand, thereby pitting yourself head-to-head against competitors on all levels - from your business cards right down to your marketing materials.
A well-branded logo can greatly affect how people perceive not only our brands but ourselves, too.
A professional design does not only help create the impression of trust in customers but also helps to build an identity for employees within the organization by providing guidelines on how things should look. From stationery items such as business cards or letterheads up to office signage - all these reinforce professionalism among workers who may be geographically dispersed across different offices around the world.
In short, if you can look professional, you will feel professional. This exudes from within the company and out towards potential customers.
There's a variety of ways brands can connect with customers at an emotional level with the help of design.
One way is through the use of color, font, and symbols to create associations in people’s minds, such as what you might see on Coca-Cola cans or Nike shoes, logos that have been trademarked for years.
Coca-Cola uses the colors red and white, with a cursive font called Spencerian script.
Nike also uses red, but this time, with black, and they use the font Futura Extra Bold Condensed. The most noticeable part of their logo is the check symbol called the Nike Swoosh.
Both companies use the red color, which, according to Color Psychology, means passion, excitement, and action. As you can see, there is more to colors than just what we see; they make us feel different sorts of emotions.
These logos are instantly recognizable worldwide because they stand out from competitors who don't invest heavily in design aspects as these two companies do. If you think about it, they rose to fame at a time when logos and design weren't considered an important aspect of branding. Look how far they have progressed from their competition!
Brand design is what makes your business unique and memorable. It’s what makes you, you!
You can bet that a well-designed business identity will help your customers or clients discover what you offer. This is because it reflects how consumers feel about the company’s products and services before they even know who sells them!
A great design will help to establish the company’s sense of self and identity. Consumers are drawn in by how a business presents itself, no matter if it is online or on paper! What does your brand say about you? It's worth thinking this through before branding for success with logo designs that represent how you really want your customers (and potential clients) to see you as - stylishly professional but also approachable enough, so they know there isn't going to be any fancy-schmancy jargon spoken their way.
*Takeaway: The bottom line when designing an effective corporate image boils down to not just what color schemes best suit one type versus another—but, more importantly, how the design will help the company to stand out visually and make its mark.
A strong, recognizable brand will help you stand out from competitors, rise from the clutter, and finally, exhibit authority and relevance in your niche or industry.
A great brand image is critical for business success because it creates a memorable, unified identity. It helps consumers easily identify with your product or service offerings--and ensures you're not just another faceless corporation in an increasingly competitive marketplace!
*Takeaway: A new logo set has become one of the most important ways companies can distinguish themselves from competitors when they are first starting up as well - but what about after years have gone by? Companies evolve over time, so their brands should be flexible enough, too, which means re-evaluating logos every few months/years rather than waiting until five decades later (or never!)
Just like everyone else's style evolves naturally throughout life...so must your brand design be. Look at Google! Its design has evolved over the years. If Google did not change its design with the times, it would look like an ancient web company even if they have the most technologically advanced systems.
All these reasons for having a brand design all boil down to this: Design gives your company a voice that people can identify with and recognize. It may not be from the get-go but with a consistent and persistent display of the company's design theme in all aspects of marketing.
Now that you understand how important design is to your company image as well as in improving your bottom line (note: more profits!) let's explore how you can maximize the use of design.
Design is what separates the most successful brands from those that are just starting out. It's not about having expensive designer gear or cool software; it’s how you make use of these tools and incorporate your brand into everything that comes in contact with customers - from website design to company uniforms!
The goal should be consistent as much as possible, so viewers associate a certain look and feel (or "brand") when they see anything associated with your product/service.
So, where can you use your design and brand kit to maximize exposure? Here are a few ideas:
A lot has changed since those words were said by tech genius Steve Jobs, but one thing remains constant: your website is not just a place to sell products and services; it's your brand's online presence.
Always having a single place to get information from instead of multiple websites is convenient and makes it easy for businesses to share their work. Websites are like mini storefronts with products and services that you can find under the same roof.
Imagine how much more convenient this would be if you had everything compiled as one website? If you don't have one, chances are your customers will wonder whether you are professional or not.
Because your website acts as your 'online storefront,' it must be professional-looking and well-designed! It represents your business, after all. It must also follow your design brand kit for unification purposes.
Even though you can't control what a social media page looks like and how it functions, other important properties can be changed, such as the profile image and cover photo.
This is an example of a great Facebook cover photo used by The Selvedge Yard:
The image displays the profile's name and their logo in white text on top with black and white background, which resembles that brand's color scheme. If you take a look at their website and their products, they follow the same color theme consistently.
Your brand design can be incorporated into your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles.
Adding your company logo to your email signature is a great way to help maintain consistent branding. It also gives recipients of your emails the opportunity to get information about you and learn more about what they can expect from you as an organization.
Keep in mind that the image used should be easily viewable and adjustable on any device with automatic resizing so people can read them without scrolling horizontally to see what was written!
Your brand design is what people see when they come to your website, or watch a video that you made. That's why it should be included in every aspect of your marketing materials and not just left for the logo on your website. You must learn to incorporate branding into banners, full-page ads, recommendation ads, video ads, and other types of display ads that are out there available today.
Making sure that your logo can be seen in each marketing material you have increases the chances of your customers remembering your brand. They will have a sense of familiarity with the design when they see it again the next time around. And in that instance, they will be interested enough to learn more about your service or would even buy your product!
Consistency leads to familiarity, which leads to profits!
Incorporating design and branding into your Company Stationery is a great way to get more mileage out of the materials you've already invested in. Your logo, colors, fonts, and other elements of your brand identity will help build trust with customers who are looking for information on quality products or services.
These items include business cards, notepads, notebooks, stickers, mugs, plaques, bags, and other items you use in the office and can potentially be given away.
Your brand is what sets you apart from other companies in your industry. It's the reason people choose to do business with you over your competitors. So why shouldn't it be the same for your office signage? Office signage is one of the best ways to get your branding out there.
We work with many different types of businesses, and we've found that there are three main ways to incorporate design into your company offices: through the signs themselves, through interior design, and even through employee wear (such as printed T-Shirts and polo shirts).
If you don't have something that reflects who you are as a company, it can be difficult to attract and retain customers. Who would want to walk into an office that doesn't have anything unique or identifiable about them? If a customer walks in, how will he know that he is in the right place?
When people come to your office building for the first time, they should feel welcomed and impressed by your brand design.
Of course, you shouldn't forget to use your brand design in your offline ads, such as print ads, billboard ads, and more. This is a good example of how you can use design to create a memorable, long-lasting impression on potential customers.
One way that many companies incorporate their branding into their print ads is by making sure that typefaces match what they use on their website or on office signage. This will help create a more cohesive look for your business!
Your brand design should also be reflected in your product packaging. This is a good way to lure in customers by making them feel like they're buying something that has been created just for their needs and wants!
Product Packaging Design is important because it builds customer loyalty, which will lead to more sales down the road. If you are consistent with your brand packaging, your customers will easily recognize a different product manufactured by the same company. It's a company they know, which can encourage them to try other products.
While the top honchos of the business primarily decide on what the design brand must look like, it is important to work with creative people who can translate the ideas into reality.
If you're wondering how an agency can help save time or help you make sense of the design process, the answer is simple: it all starts with brainstorming sessions!
These meetings allow everyone involved (from people who work within certain departments as well) to get their ideas down about branding so that there's no confusion later. This is especially true when incorporating the design with marketing and brand messages. You don't want the design to look like it means the total opposite of what you want to say!
And how can you make sure your design branding is up to par? By using Instacap. We provide an easy-to-use platform where you and your team can collaborate on website designs, making sure that all the elements—from colors to fonts—align with your brand guidelines.
This allows you to create a cohesive, consistent design system that will help guide all aspects of your business.
Ready to get started? Use Instacap for free today!
What tips do you have for maximizing a business' design branding? Let us know in the comments!
