The biggest branding mistakes - Webcopyplus ·  · 2016-06-21The biggest branding mistakes and how...

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The biggest branding mistakes and how to avoid them Valuable insights from more than 70 design professionals around the globe.

Transcript of The biggest branding mistakes - Webcopyplus ·  · 2016-06-21The biggest branding mistakes and how...

The biggest branding mistakesand how to avoid them Valuable insights from more than 70 design professionals around the globe.

Contents

4 | Strategy

19 | Differentiat ion

41 | Emotions

51 | Think Bigger

66 | Consistency

Your Brand is Your Business

A brand spans beyond your logo, words, type font, design, colours, personality and

price. It is a promise to your audience, an experience. And it’s never been more vital

and valuable to your business.

In recent decades, our economic base has shifted from production to consumption,

from needs to wants, from objective to subjective. We’re moving from the functional

and technical characteristics of the industrial era, into a time when consumers are

making buying decisions based on how they feel about a company and its offer.

Your brand creates that emotional reaction.

A heartfelt thanks to the design professionals who took the time to share their

wisdom to help businesses build better brands.

Rick SlobodaSenior Web Copywriter and Content Strategist, Webcopy+

Smart content starts here:

©2016 All rights reserved.

Designed by Cassie Clay-Smith

INTRODUCTION

Strategy

STRATEGY | 5

Plant the Right Seeds

A brand is a carefully designed and well-calculated experience.

It is the relationship a customer has with a brand, and the

emotions and thoughts they have when they interact with it.

A brand is not simply what a product looks like, how it functions

or how it is marketed, but it is its spirit. It is the seed from which

a trunk, branches, leaves and fruit will grow. Without thorough

consideration and understanding of the seed, it is that much

more challenging to predict what it will grow into, the number of

branches it will bear, and if it’s even capable of growing any fruit.

“The misconception of a company’s brand as any less, causes

many small businesses to miss the foundational first step of

intimately understanding who your brand is, hence, making it

that much more of a challenge to reveal a brand’s true potential.”

Eleanor TurnbullProduct Designer, EventMobi

STRATEGY | 6

Start With the Basics

The greatest mistake a business can make when handling their brand is to rush through the brand development process. Before designing visuals, one must devise the strategy. Before this strategy is built, one must define the business.”

Abhishek ChaudhrySenior Designer, Clark Stanley

STRATEGY | 7

Design + Strategy = Success

Business owners need to embrace strategic design, which appeals to target markets, offers a glimpse into key messages and values, and accurately represents the essence of their businesses.”Lisa Temes,Art Director & Graphic Designer, Lisa Temes Designs

STRATEGY | 8

Invest in You

To achieve a quality brand, it is crucial for business owners to take time and appropriate resources when crafting their brand from the start. In the end, you are creating a lifestyle, which is much harder than just creating a logo.”

Kaitlyn Pannunzio Visual Designer, Kzio

STRATEGY | 9

Take the Necessary Steps

The number one mistake business owners make when it comes to their brands is rushing the process of establishing the brand, or going through the process thoughtlessly. Doing proper research, really taking the time to think about the brand positioning, personality and mission, and how all of these things will be most effectively communicated through the brand identity is crucial.”

Erin R. WindrimGraphic & Communications Designer, Erin Rachel Designs

STRATEGY | 10

Give it Time

The most important commodity in a business

is time. Short-term fixes are often counter productive, and establishing a concrete business plan is key to having a successful business.”

Lulwa El-AtabGraphic & Web Designer, Lulwa El-Atab Designs

STRATEGY | 11

Learn to Trust

Business owners often don’t hand over control to designers, either because they are emotionally attached to their ideas or freaked out about hiring a creative. Business owners should trust the designer they chose to hire, and it is a designer’s job to help a client through the process of branding their business.”

Ana Krasko Communication Designer

STRATEGY | 12

Delegate Authority

Working with designers and marketing teams requires a balance. Business owners need to trust and delegate authority to their creative teams, and be able to make swift decisions when required to avoid unnecessary, costly delays.”

Melissa de Nobrega,Graphic Designer & Illustrator

STRATEGY | 13

Research + Strategy = Gold

One may think there are far more

important things than strategy when

it comes to branding, but that is what

branding is! A strategic placement

of the company’s persona on the

relentlessly changing game board

where all competitors carve out their

territories. Research is needed to

discover the human truth the consumer

feels about the product, and with that

nugget you will strike a vein of gold.”

Dillon Scheenaard Graphic Designer, Influence Marketing

STRATEGY | 14

Get to the Core Early

Business owners consider details like

their businesses’ goals, strategies and

values to be peripheral to their

day-to-day operations, when in fact it

should be at the core of everything they

do. They don’t take the time to think

about their brand from the start, and

as the saying goes, ‘failure to plan is

planning to fail’.”

Heidi MakeinGraphic Designer

STRATEGY | 15

Less is More

People get excited by too many ideas

at once. It’s great when people are really

passionate about different things, but

sometimes you have to ask what is actually

important to your brand when it comes to

clear communication.

Less really is more, and more people need

to realize that. Deliver the message clearly,

and people will see it.”

Kendyl Lauzon Designer, Breakfast Jones

STRATEGY | 16

KISS: Keep It Simple and Consistent

On company websites, businesses tend

to put way too many links on their sites

making it hard for one-click navigation

for users. Make it easy for consumers

to get around your website. The other

main thing is businesses fail to have very

professional and clearly legible logos and

branding images. Simple is better, and

elegance lends much more to consumers

remembering who you are and what you

offer, when all the clutter is cut.”

Russ NadasdyDesigner, R.O.I. Design & Creative

STRATEGY | 17

Think Long Term

The number one mistake that business owners make regarding their brand is to settle with a ‘quick fix’

instead of a well thought-out strategic plan. If you look at the major corporate brands, ranging from soft drinks to pro sports teams, there is always an element of consistency over the years of brand transition, and that is the reason why many brands remain so successful and retain customer loyalty.

“For companies looking to create or refresh their brand, fully understand your business inside and out. Understand your direct competition, understand your market position, understand your target demographic and how you can not only appeal to them, but engage them. Your branding is the greatest salesman you will

ever have. Your brand tells your story without the book.”

Ben WadolowskiGraphic Designer

STRATEGY | 18

Plan for Longevity

A strong brand identity starts from understanding and developing a mission and statement that is not too broad or stuck in time, meaning a mission that will be relevant in the next three to five years.”

Clara BedoyaCreative Thinker, Clara Bedoya Designs

Differentiation

DIFFERENTIATION | 20

Grow Up!

Don’t try to fit in. This is not high school. People aren’t criticizing you for being different — they’re interested in you because you’re different.”

Melissa MeyerDesigner, Utility House Design Company

DIFFERENTIATION | 21

Be Different

In my experience, most business

owners are too worried about

conforming to branding trends

within their industry and want

branding similar to or based on

something they’ve seen from

another business within their

industry, instead of looking for

something unique and original,

which would not only help them

stand out in a crowd of monotony

but also better help portray

their business.”

Alex WorkmanGraphic Designer, EQ3

DIFFERENTIATION | 22

Don’t Be Dull

Mistake: being safe! Branding is about having a unique identity and most clients tend to want to stay pedestrian with their branding, which defeats the purpose.”

Laura VelasquezGraphic Designer, Beehive Design

DIFFERENTIATION | 23

Have Fun, Be Bold!

Have fun with your business,

make it yours, infuse it with

personality, take chances,

make mistakes and trust

yourself. Being bold has

become such a novel idea

that those who embrace

it are seen as knowing

something others don’t.”

Cassie Clay-Smith Creative Director, Cassie Clay-Smith Design

DIFFERENTIATION | 24

First Impressions Matter

Imagine that you go to a restaurant and

you see the dirty floor and dirty windows

and you see the untidy waiters — you’d

probably want to leave as quickly as

possible and you wouldn’t care if that

place had the most delicious food in the

entire city. You judge by sight, and so do

your customers. Before your customers

know your company and its processes,

they need to know your brand first, so give

it the value and care it deserves.”

Juan Carlos Lara NassarUI/UX Designer, Twenty Four Studio

DIFFERENTIATION | 25

Make a Difference

Companies need to understand that any

user’s interaction with their product or

service is an extension of their brand.

These interactions are what create

relationships and brand loyalty between

a consumer and a producer. Brand

loyalty is why people come back, share

a brand and, most importantly, stand

behind it. It’s not about a difference; it’s

about making a difference. It’s about

getting people talking by listening first.”

Garret Schauteet Designer, One Twenty Three West

DIFFERENTIATION | 26

Be Clear, Be Memorable

Today we can easily see different brands around the world. The question is how many of them can we remember? Clear messages through the proper media are the key to opening the first chapter of a success story for a company.”

Meiling ShenMarketing and Graphic Designer

DIFFERENTIATION | 27

Don’t Follow the Crowd

Business owners don’t allow enough time and money to build a memorable brand personality and identity. A lot of decisions around brand personality are based on competition and current trends, instead of solid market research and testing.” Anita WypychUX Designer

DIFFERENTIATION | 28

Adapt and Lead

The most important aspect to a brand’s survival is knowing how to reach your audience and how to adapt for them. Mistakes enable a brand to evolve by continuing to be a leader, not a follower.”

Hannah WheelerArt Director, MGM Communications

DIFFERENTIATION | 29

Steer Clear of Generic

Mistake: using words so plain they’ll never

stand out. When thinking of your business

name, think outside of the ‘general’ box.

General Motors and General Electric are taken

and your business name requires differentiation.

Imagine if Google had come out as

GeneralWebSearch.com? With the onslaught

of new media and advertising channels, it’s

more important than ever to carve out your

niche by displaying your uniqueness. Nothing

does that better than a well conceived name.”

Leanne McNaughtonCreative Director, Unēk Graffix

DIFFERENTIATION | 30

Dress for Success

If two companies offer

identical products,

clients will subconsciously

gravitate toward the brand

that is professionally

designed and well

thought out.”

Micaela DawnArtist, Dawn Arts

Company Characteristics Form Your Brand

Business owners forget that a

brand encompasses all the

characteristics of the company

through all mediums of execution

and delivery.

It’s not until that moment that

they realize what a brand can

become that they can move

forward with progress.”

Mahyar SaeediDesigner & Entrepreneur, Designed to Speak Mahyar Saeedi Design Studio

DIFFERENTIATION | 31

DIFFERENTIATION | 32

Be True to Yourself

Making a clear tagline and ‘brand feel’ that

is believable and true to your company is

key. This allows your employees to feel

strongly about the brand and become its

ambassadors. Employees should champion

your story. Be sure they’re clear about your

brand and have buy-in so they can spread

the good word.”

Jake JanosikUX/UI Designer

DIFFERENTIATION | 33

Invest in Yourself

I’ve seen too many small business owners who

rush into presenting themselves to the world

with poorly made marketing materials, hoping

the product will sell itself. Unwillingness to

spend adequate time and money to define the

look and feel of the company results in lost

credibility and sales. On the other hand, when I

see smart postcards and clever business cards

with appealing logos, I know the owner of the

company values her business, is serious about

establishing trustworthy relationships with

her customers, and makes long-term plans to

evolve and improve her venture.”

Lina KamenetskyGraphic Designer, LK Designs

DIFFERENTIATION | 34

Define an ‘Ownable’ Brand Idea

Oftentimes, when approached to work on a specific tactic, we

flip the script and ask the company if they can tell us the one

thing that makes their company unique and ownable. And

oftentimes the answer is ‘we love our customers’ or ‘we really,

truly care about what we do.’ While those things might very

well be true, they are neither unique nor ownable — and for that

reason, we use a 4C process to pinpoint an exclusive,

just-for-you brand idea.

“The process involves digging deep to learn more about the

company, category, competition and customer. These findings

formulate key insights that then inspire the brand idea. By

being open to calling a timeout and developing this idea, rather

than simply executing on specific tactics, companies can be

armed with the core idea that informs the strategic direction of

both their creative and tactical outreach – in a way that deeply

resonates with their customers.”

Steve GaitherJB Chicago President + CEO

DIFFERENTIATION | 35

Don’t Follow Your Competitors’ Footsteps

Business owners get so busy trying to gain inspirations from their competitors’ sites, they lose focus on what makes their brand special and stand out.”

Helen TruongUI/UX Designer, Designetiks

DIFFERENTIATION | 36

Tag Yourself

Many businesses fail to seize audiences with their taglines. Effective taglines typically have three to six believable words that match your core services and have powerful appeal. Ensure yours is simple, memorable and functional, or you’re missing opportunities to engage.”

Brad HaimaCreative Director, Circle Graphics

DIFFERENTIATION | 37

Tell a Story that Feels Good

Many brands and companies lack a story behind their brand. The reason they started the company. The real problems they are trying to solve. They lack a story that resonates with their audience. Nothing feels better than walking away with a good feeling about the company you’ve given your

money and time to.”

Brian Hoff Founder & Creative Director

DIFFERENTIATION | 38

Mind Your Niche

The top mistake I’ve experienced from business owners is not thinking about and branding towards their target audience. If you don’t have a niched call to your audience they won’t see or hear you.”

Haley TanakaGraphic Designer, Haley Tanaka Designs

DIFFERENTIATION | 39

Know Your Story

You need to define, understand and develop your brand story. If you have nailed your brand story, then you can tell it in a cool, creative way.”

Angie ScottCreative Director, Zest Idea Agency

DIFFERENTIATION | 40

Let your Personality Shine

Here are a few things you can do to help make

your brand more memorable:

First, people follow people with big

personalities. No one follows boring people.

Think of that when creating your brand —

infuse it with personality. Second, understand

your ‘why’ — the reason why your company

exists and why you do what you do. Make that

message part of your brand. Finally, people love

reading and sharing stories, so embrace that

by telling interesting stories about your brand,

your employees and your customers.”

Geoff WilsonPresident & Founder, 352 Inc.

Emotions

EMOTIONS | 42

The Why Factor

Your brand begins with an emotional,

not an intellectual connection. Business

owners are myopically focused on what

they do and how they do it, they always

forget to tell people why they do what

they do. By leading with their story of

why they can create this emotional

connection with their audience and

begin a longer lasting relationship with,

and understanding of their brand.”

Michael CarrollCreative Director, Kaleidico

EMOTIONS | 43

What Makes You Tick?

From colours to fonts to supporting graphics, many elements are combined to form a brand story, and to create an emotional connection with the viewer. The brand story is developed by diving into what makes a business tick, and this extends through to the tone of voice in social media and any other copywriting. This is what helps people care about your company and want to be associated with the brand.”

Andi MortensonCreative Director, Epic Design

EMOTIONS | 44

Aim for the Heart

Business owners misunderstand that a brand is the sum of experiences that customers have with an organization. An attractive logo can catch your eye, but an attractive brand captures your heart.”

Harley RivétPresident, Deep Dish Digital

EMOTIONS | 45

Get on the Why Early

Most businesses focus on the traditional branding system. They start their story with what (product), then move onto how (process), and leave their why (emotions— motivation behind building a business/product) for the end. This is a mistake. Businesses should concentrate on their ‘why’ when they start their branding process.”

Elina DaoutovaCreative Director, Daoutova Creative Group

EMOTIONS | 46

Mind Your Audience

Too many times I’ve come across business owners that obsess over what they like instead of what their customers like. The solution is to research the audience before jumping into branding or starting any kind of design.”

Esther BatyckiDoes Digital Media

EMOTIONS | 47

What You Give Is What You Get

A big mistake I see a lot of brands

making is a lack of engagement

with their customers. Customers

love feeling like they are a part of the

brands they enjoy, whether it’s just

a conversation, or just seeing some

feedback acted upon. People are so

connected through social media that a

lack of engagement online can come

across in a seriously negative way.”

Dustin GambleDigital Designer

EMOTIONS | 48

People Like Doing Business With People

Companies treat their brands more like a

corporation than seeing themselves as a

personality. If you market your brand as

a corporation then it might come across

as impersonal and without feeling. If you

try to think of your brand as a person then

great things start to happen. Consumers

can identify with that brand, much like

people themselves.”

David Andrew LarsenSenior Art Director

EMOTIONS | 49

It’s All About the Experience

Many often neglect brand experiences that

really define a company’s brand. They focus

on the logo, the new sales promotion and

the website, but then leave it at that. They

ignore customer service experiences, how

a package is presented when mailed, return

policy, invoice design, renewal notifications,

support ticket experiences, etc. Those are the

things that affect how you feel about a brand

much more than a logo.”

Ryan ShortFounder & Creative Director, MODassic Marketing

EMOTIONS | 50

Be Human!

Businesses fail to humanize their

brands! People don’t want to

engage with your logo. They want

to talk to a person. That’s why big

companies get endorsements.

Make sure to attach a face/human

to your brand and you will get

way more response from your

marketing efforts.”

Rebecca KerswellSocial Media Marketing Specialist, WHOA! IS MEDIA

Think Bigger

THINK BIGGER | 52

Build a Movement

Brands need to be actionable, compelling and true. To be actionable, all employees and stakeholders must be fully aware of the company’s standards regarding products and services. To be compelling represents a sense of purpose. People want to be part of something that matters. It has to be inspiring, exert that inner pull to the organization and to the target audience. And to be true represents executing on your brand promise.”

Guylaine RégimbaldCreative Thinker, Smiling Surface

THINK BIGGER | 53

Start Right

One of the biggest mistakes a business owner can make is purchasing a stock logo or submitting a fly-by-night brief on their company to a five dollar logo creation site. Not only can this limit your business, but if the branding is not done correctly the first time, business owners can actually launch their business in the wrong direction.”

Aram StamboulianCreative Director, Espress Labs

THINK BIGGER | 54

Think Past Yourself

There is a common mistake with business owners — they think they are their own brand’s target. Often they’re not.”

Christian Arias RamírezGraphic Designer, Garnier BBDO Costa Rica

THINK BIGGER | 55

Come Out From the Shadows

With Author Rank becoming so

powerful, the people behind the

business are now as important as

the story behind the business. If

each of the major players within

the organization has prominence

online, it increases the entire

presence of the business.”

Ken BuisCreative Director, Fervid Designs

THINK BIGGER | 56

Think BIG!

My advice would be for anyone who is

marketing their brand and striving for a

strong brand image, to step away from

who they think they are, and create what

they know they ought to be. It’s about

getting out of your own mind, and into

that of the audience. After all, in my

opinion, the biggest mistake is thinking

you know everything when you really

only know bits and pieces.”

Christopher AbrahamGraphic Designer & Author

THINK BIGGER | 57

Don’t Handcuff Your Company

Sometimes business owners apply poor

logic to logo rebrands. For instance,

instead of thinking of the company’s

strength and reputation they think of

their son’s favorite colour. Or they

reference some random object’s look and

feel from the past that has sentimental

memories associated with it. Meanwhile,

the look can be completely outdated, and

has little to do with the company.”

Christine StephensDesign Director

THINK BIGGER | 58

Stay Out of the Way

When it comes to branding, sometimes business owners let their personal preferences take over rather then following what might be the best for their target market. A great designer should be able to find the happy medium between the client’s preference and that of the target market. And a great client would have an open mind and willingness to see creative approaches that might be out of their own comfort zones.”

Heli PrajapatiDesigner, LABH Design

THINK BIGGER | 59

Explore, and Explore Some More

Business owners should really

think about what they want their

businesses to portray and how they

want their audience to view them.

To achieve the best branding for your

business, do not stop at the first idea

— keep exploring and pushing your

ideas until you find the best branding

solution possible.”

Ashley ElfordGraphic Designer

THINK BIGGER | 60

Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough

Business owners often times create a brand

thinking that it’s ‘good enough’ in the early stages

of their business or venture. Re-brands often

have a negative effect because it forces the user

to re-adapt their emotional connections to the

original brand. Successful re-brands are rare and

only happen when you bring the user through an

emotional journey from old to new without any

hurdles. As a result, businesses should really

understand their users and themselves from the

start so that they don’t have to come back and

change their brand.”

Daniel ParkProduct Designer

THINK BIGGER | 61

Bring Your Values to Life

Business owners mistakenly view their

brands as visual assets, rather than

something that can be experienced. That

is to say that they are just thinking too

small. A successful brand should be a

set of values that permeates everything

from web to print to product, rather than

just a set of shared collateral.”

Meghan RobichaudIllustrator & Designer

THINK BIGGER | 62

Let Your Designer Design

I believe that a business owner’s biggest

mistake in regards to their brand would

be not trusting their designer or design

team. Of course it’s important to have

a steady hold on how one wants their

brand to look and feel, but I don’t think it

should come at the expense of shutting

down other ideas or concepts because

it doesn’t exactly fit their vision.”

Connor ClicheGraphic Designer, Northern Commerce

THINK BIGGER | 63

Be Inspired, Inspire

Conviction of the conscience is the key

root to all things; such as perfect timing of

when and how to promote their brand, how

to reach out and impact their audience,

conviction to know the owner’s vision and

talents to create their personal brand, instead

of being under the influence of what I call

‘the domino effect’ — following business

trends for the sake of copying, based on

trend comparison instead of being inspired.”

Hannah NguyenGraphic Designer

THINK BIGGER | 64

Don’t Stand Still

Business owners need to realize that

in today’s world everything is your

competition. A user or reader has finite

resources and time with an attention

span of a squirrel, so we have to make

sure brands expand and transcend to

new platforms and constantly evolve to

capture consumers’ time and money.”

Alex ProbstInformation Designer, Penta Editorial

THINK BIGGER | 65

Be Brave, Be Great

Many owners are too safe or too close to their brand, which doesn’t allow for natural brand development. The market, consumer and business change constantly, and the ability for a brand to adapt is just as important as maintaining integrity and loyalty. The ability to trust the design community to bring a brand to a level where it can compete in a fast and dynamic market is imperative, and allowing brands to flourish (with professional influence) is what separates the good from the great.”

Damien NorthmoreArt Director

Consistency

CONSISTENCY | 67

Mind the Weeds

A common critical error businesses

make with their brands is they

forget about it. Your brand grows

whether you build it and tend to it

strategically, or leave it to its own

devices. Tended to, it can grow into

a healthy and beautifully structured

bonsai tree. Left alone, it can grow

like a determined, unwieldy weed.”

Karley CunninghamBig Thinker & Creative Strategist

CONSISTENCY | 68

Nurture Your Brand

As a company grows, business

owners slowly get less interested

in the brand essence and let the

employees manipulate the identity

without consent. This is when the

brand slowly dies. Being immersed

in your own brand ensures your

company stays on a clear path to

innovation and improvement.”

Marcela Checa-SauermannGraphic, UX & Service Designer

CONSISTENCY | 69

Police Your Brand

Company name and logo should be the same on all materials. Every brand goes through design changes and it should be updated on everything from business cards, to websites, all the way to packaging. Clients tend to change only some of their marketing materials and not all, making their branding much less effective.”

Ivana ObradovicGraphic Designer, Ivana Obradovic Design

CONSISTENCY | 70

Take Pride

Business owners let themselves down by investing in a great brand foundation, thoughtfully created by a professional designer, then deciding to apply that brand to a proposal document hurriedly patched together in Word, or to a series of social media posts with mismatched corporate imagery and an inconsistent voice. Often, subconsciously, overlooked details chip away at the sense of value and professionalism business owners are working hard to maintain.”

Corinne KempenGraphic Designer & Project Coordinator

CONSISTENCY | 71

Manual for Success

A common mistake is not

creating a brand standard

manual with all the specifications

— typeface, kerning, colour

palette, and so on — to avoid

inconsistency and confusion

with the consumer.”

Marco VillarroelVisual Designer UX/UI, Visualiza

CONSISTENCY | 72

Brand With Purpose

Businesses should never take a hit-and-miss approach to branding because it results in inconsistent verbal and visual communications. Every brand element should be carefully aligned to help the business grow to its full potential.”

Diana BigaevaDesign Consultant, Design Directory

CONSISTENCY | 73

Set Expectations

Ideally, you want clients to have an enjoyable

experience interacting with your brand, and one way

to ensure that is to be consistent. For example, your

logo fonts and colours should be the same on every

application and your company’s messaging and

quality should match. How a business is presented

alludes to what the client can expect, and if the

expectation doesn’t match the actual experience

there’s an inconsistency. This often means that the

chance of that client returning or recommending

your business is low. Ensure your client’s experience

with your business is positive and that it mimics the

expectation that was presented by your brand.”

Christina DulikCreative Director, Creative Ramblings

CONSISTENCY | 74

Stay True to Yourself

I think business owners take a sharp

wrong turn when they forget the story,

the reason they pursued the venture,

and their beliefs. They follow trends

rather than a thoughtful strategy

related to their story. The story just

becomes a cover of what’s tried and

tested, rather than innovative and

forward-thinking.”

Adam ZabunyanBrand Strategist, Partisan Projects

CONSISTENCY | 75

Know Everything’s Connected

The number one mistake I see business owners make when it comes to their brand is that they do not even think of their business as a brand. They don’t realize how many different elements are connected and related, especially in the digital world. They may have social media accounts and other directory profiles but the only relationship is the core contact information like business name, phone and website address. There is no real connection between the visual as well as the message. When the connection does not exist, a brand truly doesn’t exist and it is really just a name.”

Darren FoxPresident, Idea Marketing Group

CONSISTENCY | 76

Clear the Noise

Clients overcomplicate the design

thought process. The issue comes into

play where a client is trying to ‘say

everything’ in their branding, which

leads to busy, unfocused logos. If not

directed by a quality design team or

agency, that thought process continues

onto advertisements, websites, etc.,

which all leads to a sloppy brand.”

Jt Taylor J Taylor Design

CONSISTENCY | 77

Guide Your Brand

A brand standards guide

is the #1 recipe for all

companies who are starting

out because it promotes

consistency. Business

owners need to understand

the importance of an

identity that the public can

easily define and recognize.”

Christina TestanaGraphic Web Designer & Illustrator

CONSISTENCY | 78

Clear the Clutter

Editing down a design so it’s clear, clean and concise is hugely important in the overall design aesthetic of branding. Keeping the brand identity clean helps translate the idea across multiple platforms, both print and digital, in a much more effective way.”

Gareth AdamsonGraphic Designer

CONSISTENCY | 79

Be Strong, Be Consistent

When creating your brand or guidelines, you must be consistent. Take a few weeks to figure out how you really want your brand to be recognized. Apply that everywhere, and stick with it. Nothing looks better than a strong and consistent brand.”

Attila Hajzer Web Designer, HWD

CONSISTENCY | 80

Convey Confidence

I th ink the biggest mistake business

owners make when i t comes to their

brands is that they don’t show or

pract ice brand conf idence. The lack of

brand conf idence shows when things

star t to look dif ferent from one medium

to another, which creates confusion with

the consumer and damages their t rust

with the brand.”

Carl GonzagaGraphic Designer, Indochino

About Rick Sloboda

Rick is a Senior Web Copywriter and Content Strategist at

Webcopy+, which helps designers and businesses boost

online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content.

His clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s

largest service providers, including AT&T, Bell Mobile, Tim Hortons

and Scotia Bank. He advocates clear, concise and objective website

content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts

web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S.,

including Yale University. Rick speaks frequently at Web-related

forums and seminars, and serves as a Web program committee

advisor with various organizations, including Langara College

and Vancouver Career College.

You can connect with Rick via his content blog, Twitter, LinkedIn,

or Facebook.