3 reasons why you should invest in professional brand design

Why does brand design matter anyways? Isn't it enough to just have a pretty logo and call it a day? Here are 3 reasons why brand design can make or break your brand:

No. 01/03

Grab your audience’s attention

Humans are incredibly visual creatures – vision is our primary sense (some studies suggest that we take up to 90% of our sensory perceptions through our eyes).

We are constantly bombarded by information, and our brains use visual cues to determine if the information is valuable to us or not. That’s why it’s so important to have brand design that helps your audience judge if you can provide value to them or not.

Think about it. How often are you just scrolling through your feed without taking reading a caption? How often do you swipe out of stories, without listening? It doesn't matter how great your content is if no one stops to read/listen to what you have to say. Good brand design can help you to capture attention.

And sure, you could grab people's attention with some garish combination of clashing neon colors, but the key is not to grab everyone's attention (and marvel at the ugly), but to make the RIGHT people stop the scroll. Your brand design should catch the eye of your target audience, because these are the people that will want to buy from you.

Catching the right audience's eye is just the first step though, which brings me to...

No. 02/03

Transport your message

Brand design helps your audience to understand your message and values. Your brand is more than just a product or service. It is the emotion your business evokes in people. And thoughtful brand design sets the stage for the story you're telling.

Design immediately creates an atmosphere and a feeling. Think moody imagery vs bright and airy. Your expectations for the content you're about to consume, immediately change between moody vs bright, right?

If the visuals are not aligned with your content and your message that throws your audience off, because unconsciously they recognize that something isn't right. Now of course you can play with those expectations, but that should always be done intentionally and never accidentally.

Also design quite practically helps your audience to understand your message by creating a proper hierarchy between different elements. For example, making a headline big and using different fonts.

No. 03/03

Build trust at every touchpoint

Something that my clients often struggle with before they come to me is not being able to decide on a cohesive style. They keep playing around with different colors and fonts and have trouble sticking to a consistent look. Not only does that waste precious time and energy and feels frustrating, but it can also make your brand look unprofessional and even dodgy.

Now, every brand needs a little facelift here and there and you're not doomed to use one design or color palette forever and ever. BUT if you change your look every other week, that will confuse your audience. How are they supposed to recognize you, if you're not being consistent? Think of the brands you follow on Instagram. Can you remember what all of them sell just by looking at their name? I sure can't. I need visual cues to remind me who they are.

Consistency builds recognition and helps your audience to become more familiar with your brand. And that builds trust. And without trust, no one is going to buy from you. Audiences are smart and know that there are scammers and frauds everywhere online. And they won't hand you their money if they have the impression you're just going to take off with it and disappear. But even if they think you're legit, you want to convince your audience of the quality you provide to help them make a purchasing decision.

It's important to understand that this isn't just about first impressions. Small businesses, especially those with higher prices and service-based businesses, usually need to interact with their audience several times and at multiple touchpoints (for example IG feed, stories and website) before making a sale. Your audience needs to see in every interaction they have with you, that you are consistent in your design, your messaging and your communication. Your IG feed can be perfectly curated and professional, but if your website looks like a mess it will throw people off.

I specifically want to point out that every interaction with your customers should be consistent after the purchase as well. Creating a thoughtful unpacking experience for example will set you apart. Don't make your customers feel unappreciated after they made the purchase! After all, you want them to come back for more and leave you a raving review, right?

That is why consistency is so crucial at EVERY touchpoint you have with your audience, from first impressions to goodbyes. And again, we're visual creatures, so consistency is easily conveyed through design.