A brand is one of the most amazing phenomenons in business. A great brand is a living, breathing specimen that must be cared for. Even in businesses that aren’t “brand-heavy,†such as non-chain restaurants; graphic design can play an important role in brand perception. A great graphic designer will be fully aligned with your businesses future, as well as your target demographics’ needs.
However, what many businesses don’t understand is how fragile a brand can be. Poorly planned graphic design, whether it is a website, promotional material, or marketing collateral can tarnish a brand image.
Not Designing Around a Target Market
Failing to create a design that hits home with your target market is ineffective for your company, but also potentially detrimental for brand image. A brand survives on consistency. If your designer doesn’t understand what your brand needs to be saying, your final product will confuse people.
For instance, take Gap. Gap recently released a new logo that was supposed to be “hip†and “web 2.0,†according to Gap “We want our customers to take notice of Gap and see what it stands for today. We chose this design as it’s more contemporary and current. It honors our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward.†What Gap didn’t account for was the backlash that their poorly planned design would encounter. They ended up confusing people and worst of all, confused a brand.
Conveying the Wrong Emotion
One of the most common beginner mistakes with design is failing to account for the emotional aspects of your pieces. Here is a brief color guide for typical emotions regarding each color.
Red– Exhilaration, vigor, enthusiasm, love, intensity and passion.
Blue– Calm, serenity, faith, truth, confidence, and conservatism.
Green– Scenery, eco-friendly, good luck charm, youthful spirit and potentially envious.
Yellow– Hope, sunshine, optimism, hazard and friendship.
Black– Power, sophistication, mystery, death, fear, and elegance.
Orange– Loud and demanding attention.
Gray– Security and modesty.
Color isn’t the only thing that conveys emotion. Symbols and fonts also will say a lot about your graphic design. If you really love red Spartans, but you are a veterinarian that is positioned to do well in the community, you may want to keep your passions for red Spartans within. Keep your color, symbols and fonts consistent with what your business offers.
Trying to do Too Much
Every great graphic designer knows, “less is more.†Now this may not be true for your business if it is edgy and loud, however you still should beware of doing too much graphic design. Too much of anything can cannibalize a brand. If you own a website and you have too many moving parts, it will be ineffective from a user experience standpoint.
Another common mishap is trying to do too much with graphic design fonts. If you are using more than 3 different fonts in your piece, it limits the chances of your design being labeled good. In general, a humble graphic designer should be able to select appropriate fonts and symbols, and even more importantly decide when they shouldn’t use something. Your business should convey humble confidence in every design.
So whether your business is a highly branded t-shirt company or a local diner, be sure to meticulously plan out your branding and design strategy. Having your branding and design expert working together will ensure that your corporate image aligns with your value proposition.
Hey Matt,
Great points. One thing I’ve noticed about color is that when you include an “expected” color with your site it can help people to remember it. For example, in the food niche many people use earth tones and veggie colors.
The food site I own is about country cooking, which often makes people think of red for barns and black for cast iron. When you put the colors together with the country cooking title and the visual logo it makes the site (and branding) more memorable.
Hey Matt,
Great points. One thing I’ve noticed about color is that when you include an “expected” color with your site it can help people to remember it. For example, in the food niche many people use earth tones and veggie colors.
The food site I own is about country cooking, which often makes people think of red for barns and black for cast iron. When you put the colors together with the country cooking title and the visual logo it makes the site (and branding) more memorable.
So I want to hire good designer for my brand!