Standing out among an ocean of brands that are ever-increasing (see the rise of the personal brand and influencer) seems like a difficult task. Sometimes strategy isn’t enough on its own. How your brand looks could be the final decision maker in someone getting in touch with you.
Why is a strong brand visual identity so important? Because first impressions count, and people make a decision on your brand in a mere 50 milliseconds. When you first meet someone and shake their hand and introduce yourself and tell them what you are about – your brand visuals have to do exactly the same. They have to connect to your audience and showcase your messaging and personality all in those few seconds.
But what makes a brand visually appealing? And what techniques can you use to make sure every touchpoint looks the best it can and resonate with your potential client?
Mood board your brand
Image by Brigitta Schneiter
Once you’ve discovered your brand purpose and understand your key messaging – create a mood board around how you want your brand to look. Research your competition and see what works for them and tailor your aesthetics in a similar way, taking the best of all design you see to create an authentic unique representation.
“Branding is the process of connecting good strategy with good creativity”. – Marty Neumeier, author of “The Designful company“
Quality over quantity
Image by Tim Gouw
This may sound obvious, but if you aren’t 100% on any imagery, don’t use it. Decide on a visual standard for your brand and stick to it.
Technical details
Image by Jan Boke
If you are not using professional photography, pay attention to lighting and wipe your lens if you are using a phone camera. Always enhance with an editing app and blurry, dark grainy images are a no-go! Logo’s should be clear and high resolution. Website’s should be consistent with your brand image.
Plan and conquer
Image by Iwan Lune
This is so important especially for your imagery on social media, plan this out so you can see how images look next to each other, one image that doesn’t look right can completely change the flow of your content or website.
Are there any branding tips that you have felt have helped your brand evolve and stand out? We’d love to hear about them below..
