When you think of a brand, what you do think of? Or better yet, who do you think of? I’ll name a few that pop into my head: Nike, Starbucks, Coca Cola, Target… the list is longer than molasses. I’m sure you can identify in your head some tag lines, graphics, or commercials associated with those brands. And finally, you have a gut feeling about each of those brands. You know how they make you feel and how you either relate or don’t relate to them. This, friends, is branding.
Often time people come to me and ask me to brand their company, and simply ask for a logo. While this is the identifying mark of a company, it is just a small portion of the whole picture. I like to give this analogy: You walk up to a “house,” and find a very unique door. This is the logo. But you open the door and walk into the “house,” and see a whole world of experiences happening that relate to the style of the door. It’s the way the rooms are laid out, what colors are painted on the walls, the design of furniture that lives in the “house,” and most importantly – the kinds of people inside. This is the brand. A brand becomes more about how your customers interact with your company once you understand the “house” concept.
So you ask, “How do I enhance that brand experience for my customer through design?” I say, study your customer, go into the “house.” Learn WHO they are. Know WHY your customers use your products or services. What do they WANT out of your business? THEN, I work with you and design around that knowledge. Graphic styles, logo, color choices, and written language are all reflective of those traits. At least, this is my theory and plan for success as I work with my clients.
In short, your brand should be more about your customer than about you. Your job is to create a business that provides a great product or service, my job is to present your business in a methodically unique way, and your customer’s job is to let the “house” experience of your company resonate with them in a way that will form an emotional attachment to your brand.