designing a great brand idea
This is a guest post by Nisha, if you want to guest post on this blog, pleasecontact us.
It’s widely known that a great company is only as good as its brand identity, but this is perhaps one of the hardest parts of establishing a business. Often, companies come across the consumers as sterile, unapproachable, or overly professional. In their drive to appear successful, they erroneously make themselves appear too professional, not human, and out of reach.
It can be said then that a good brand identity is one which turns a successful company into a friendly person, greeting new and existing customers with enthusiasm each time they stop by the website or storefront. That can be done pretty easily, with a few tips and tricks.
[Twitter use a bird for their mascot]
It might sound superfluous, but consider that there are insurance companies which succeed because they’ve hired a talking lizard as their primary spokesperson. It’s been my experience that even websites can benefit from “hiring “their own mascot. Instead of a live action, real-world mascot, site designers might consider pairing the company’s logo with a small, illustrated animal or person. That person would then accompany customers throughout the website.
Once a mascot is established, it can be used as faux-spokespersons for the company’s products and services. It can interact with customers, explain prices and features to them, and guide them around the company’s site. It puts a human face on a company’s presence that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise and, because it’s illustrated, it’s as approachable as a Disney character.
There might not be a strict rule that determines which font a company users, but there are avenues of user perception that pertain to each type of font. Generally, we can classify fonts into two categories: serif and sans-serif. A sans-serif font is one that is rounder, gentler, and has less hard edges; a serif font is one like Times New Roman, which appears very rigid, proper, and professional.
A company which hopes to build a customer-centric brand identity would almost certainly want to use a sans-serif font. This can be as basic as Arial and Helvetica, or as complicated as a self-designed typeface with rounded edges. The lack of edges can make a logo seem more “pedestrian” and approachable by the average consumer. It takes away the stigma that is often associated with Times New Roman: that of corporate memorandums, university research papers, and official communication from any number of entities.
A good brand identity is one that consumers relate to, and they’ll certain relate to a sans-serif font more than the rigid and stuffy appearance of a serif typeface.
A typeface isn’t the only thing that can lead to a static and stodgy brand identity that consumers will have a tough time relating to. Another way to push consumers away is to appear unresponsive to both their needs and the wider world. The best brand identity is one that appears fluid and able to respond to external conditions.
The best example of this is the Google logo. It has gained quite a reputation as being a social barometer, a public ticker of holidays, and a create expression of the collective consciousness. The Google logo responds to people, conveys the world, and is always in motion.
Experienced companies and branding professionals all agree that this isn’t just fun and creative, it’s also a genius way to brand a company. Remember that consumers want a company which “gets them.” They want to relate. The best way to relate, in the experience of myself and my colleagues, is to turn a logo into a bulletin board. Have the logo wish shoppers a happy Halloween, or have it comment on the particularly cold weather that’s been going on lately. Relating is half the battle of selling, and this is a great way to do that.
The idea behind a good brand is that it should be as accessible to a consumer as their best friend, their mentor, or a trusted advisor. Companies need to use their logo, website, and physical presence to make this happen. Leaving behind stuffy fonts, static websites, and overly professional content is the best way to retool a company as young, fresh, relatable, and authoritative.