What does it mean to have good visual branding – and why does your business need it?
It’s a popular maxim that first impressions last, and this is certainly true of the way your business comes across to potential customers.
Like it or not, your visual branding plays a major role in how consumers and clients think about your enterprise. The right aesthetic can position you in just the right way in an observer’s mind – telling them everything they need to know to ‘get’ your business and what it offers.
But how much does it matter what kind of visual branding you employ? In today’s post, we will look at what makes for good and bad visuals, and everything you need to consider when it comes to branding your business.
What is visual branding?
Simply put, your visual branding comprises all of the aesthetic elements of your business presentation. This might include your logo, signage, print graphics, imagery, and the fonts and colours you use to present yourself.
Your visuals should ideally work to the benefit of your overall brand strategy. If you don’t have this in place, it’s a good idea to get this down before you start making decisions about your visual elements.
In a nutshell, your brand strategy encompasses in broad terms what you are hoping to achieve with your brand – how you want people to think about you, and who you want to reach. If your business hopes to sell luxury jewellery to affluent adults, for example, a brightly coloured cartoon logo probably wouldn’t be the right choice.
Once you know what your brand is trying to achieve, you can then find some clarity on how to get there with your visual elements. If we continue the upmarket jewellery shop example, we might decide that colours like black and purple may help to get across the ‘luxurious’ feel we want, along with elegant typography and perhaps some understated graphic design elements.
What happens when your visual branding is bad?
If your visuals aren’t right for your business, it can have a negative effect on the way customers perceive you. It can cause them to get the wrong idea about you, or think that you offer something you don’t.
How does this happen?
For starters, it may be possible for consumers to pick up on the fact that you aren’t a very well established brand, and that this might lead them to think that you aren’t sufficiently equipped or experienced to deal with their needs (which can be a big concern in some industries where trust is an essential factor, such as accounting or law).
After all, long-standing brands often have their visuals down to a tee. If a business has been around for years – or decades – it’s pretty rare to see amateurish or inappropriate branding. By the time they get to that point, most businesses have worked out exactly who they are and what their visual identity is.
Sub-par branding can cause customers to subconsciously imagine that your business is new and unseasoned (whether that may be true or not). This means that they could have a subconscious preference to go elsewhere – especially if they are on the fence about trying your business for the first time.
What makes for good visual branding?
So, you’ve decided that you want to get your visual branding right. So what do you need to think about in order to get it right?
1. Understand your customers
The first thing you should do when you set about designing your visual branding is to understand what your customers really want and need.
- What do they already know about you and your brand, if anything?
- What are some questions they may have when deciding whether or not to do business with you?
- Do they know how your brand works and what it does?
- Can they recognise and differentiate your brand from your competitors?
This understanding is essential for any brand strategy, and it is very difficult to create effective visual branding if you don’t know who your clients are and what they need.
2. Think about the visual landscape
When you are thinking about the kind of visuals you want to use to represent your business, it’s essential that you think about the kinds of branding that are already out there in your niche.
In other words, what are your competitors doing? Are there any graphic trends in your industry? And is it possible for you to stand out?
The answers to these questions can make or break your visual branding. If you don’t make a clear effort to differentiate yourself from the crowd, then you could be faced with an uphill battle. If customers are to truly notice you, it will have to be because you represent something different – otherwise, why would they not simply go to your competitors? If you’re playing a similar tune to everyone else, you may find that customers don’t really know what makes your business any different or why they should choose you.
3. Consider your signage
Of course, your visual branding decisions won’t exist in a vacuum – they will need to work in certain real-life contexts.
For example, your chosen font may be nice, but will it work on a fascia sign? You will need to make sure that your signage is clear and readable in all sorts of real-world scenarios. Will it be easy to understand in the dark? Can customers understand it from a distance? Does the colour stand out?
The same goes for individual elements that may go into your overall visual branding effect. If your logo is intended to be printed on a sign, you may need to think about how it might appear when it is seen from above or below, or when approaching your premises from the side.
Of course, if you’re not sure about the practicalities of your visual branding, then it’s a good idea to get some professional advice from an expert sign making company.
Ultimately, your visuals play a major role in influencing the way potential customers and clients think about your business – and whether or not they feel encouraged to give you a try.
If you need professional help developing the perfect signage look for your business, please don’t hesitate to contact us today (either on 01233 625 383 or via the website).