Your visual branding is likely the first impression a person has of your company. What does yours say? Make sure you’re not making these 5 mistakes!
Think of an iconic brand, such as McDonald’s, Coca-cola, or perhaps Nike. Instantly an image pops up into your mind. That’s the power of visual branding.
Visuals are a large part of the very basics of branding. They are vitally important when it comes to developing a good strategy to keep your company recognizable and easy to find by any potential new customers.
Because it is so important, you’ll want to make certain that your own branding strategies are not sending the wrong impression. We’ll go through 5 common mistakes together so that you can ensure that your brand is as strong as possible.
1. No Target Demographic
You always want to have your target demographic in mind whenever you come up with any kind of visual branding. If you are trying to sell cute dolls for young girls, chances are that choosing strong and dark text with images of cars might not get the right impression across.
Don’t forget to take into account the general kind of visuals your target customers will love to see.
2. Copycat Design
It might feel like copying some design elements from your competitors is a good thing. Especially if they are successful, it might lead a company to believe that they can find a similar kind of success.
This is the wrong way to think, however. Instead, this kind of copycat design will lower your customer’s trust in your brand and will end up hurting your company’s visual branding instead of strengthening it.
Instead, come up with designs that are unique and different. This will help your brand stand out amongst the crowd and will ultimately help your company find its own success.
3. Design Inconsistency
You want to come up with a core aesthetic, something that you will continuously use in all of your visuals. Whether this core includes soft roses or historical buildings, you want to have something to carry over into all of your visuals to create a feeling of connectedness between all aspects of your brand.
Your company’s website, for example, is how your customers will find their way into your world. Make sure it feels just as comfortable and familiar as all of your other designs and graphics.
4. Overly Complicated
There’s no disputing the fact that humans are visual creatures. However, when there is too much going on at once, chances are we’ll just glance right over the busy and overly-cluttered area in favor of something that is more easily digested.
Keep this in mind when it comes to visual branding. You want something that is interesting but keeps it easy-to-read at the same time.
5. Inflexible Logo
Although a good logo is one of the main ways your customers will be able to find and recognize your company, you’ll still need that logo to be somewhat flexible. Your logo needs to stand up to being printed, resized, and any number of other kinds of treatment. This even includes being rendered down for mobile consumers.
When designing your logo, put it through several different tests before settling on the final design. Shrink it down and blow it up, simplify it, recolor it, and put it beside other logos. In this way, you’ll be certain that your logo won’t be overshadowed when used in your marketing strategies.
Visual Branding Can Lead to Better Customer Conversion
Branding isn’t just about the logo, it also comes down to your website, packaging, and all of the other ways your customers will perceive and interact with your brand. Having a style that appeals to your target audience will leave them wanting to come back for more.
Take some time to pick apart your company’s visual output. Strengthening those visuals will bring you the kind of results you desire.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at any time!
