Having a strong, recognizable brand can be a powerful tool for business growth. Your brand tells your audience exactly what your business is about when they come across your website, Facebook page, Insta, or any other place your brand is present. 

A well-designed brand is a powerful way to connect with your audience on an emotional level and leave a lasting, memorable impression. And branding represents a business by using powerful, cohesive visual elements like fonts, colors, graphics, messages, and patterns. 

Creating a robust and cohesive brand requires strong design skills. Whether you are a new designer or a client looking to hire out, I think it’s essential to know the characteristics of a well-designed brand to stay vigilant and know exactly how a brand can work for your business.

Your Brand Makes A Great First Impression

You want your brand’s first impression to be strong and to encourage your audience to trust you. First impressions can be everything. Remember, we have a short attention span, so those first few seconds (0.05 to be exact) after they land on your page are crucial to making or breaking your business. 

That means you need a well-designed brand that is memorable and recognizable. It needs to stand out from the crowd – make it eye-catching visually. Your brand is sending a message to your audience, and you absolutely want this message to be powerful, memorable, and impactful. Right away!

Your Brand Stands Out & Is Recognizable

Having a cohesive brand will help you and your business instantly become recognizable, no matter which platforms or branding elements your audience comes across first. Your brand visually stands out using visual elements like colors, logos, and fonts. Using a signature color can increase brand recognition by 80%, according to Reboot. 

While color is important – establishing cohesive words, a unique tone of voice and a strong message delivery can be just as recognizable to your audience. These non-tangible elements of your brand are just as important as your visual elements.

You want to make sure your brand is memorable, recognizable, and, most of all, – simple. Simple brands are much easier to remember at a glance. 

One of my favorite examples of a brand that stands out is Tarzan Kay. She uses bright colors and almost has an 80s theme going on. Her words are punchy, and you can easily recognize her brand across her platforms. Yet her website is still simple, which leads me to my next point.

Your Brand Is Simple

When designing a brand, always remember that simple is better. Too often, I see over-designed brands that just have too much going on. Whether it’s too many vibrant colors, a crowded layout, or too many elements vying for attention – the brand is getting drowned out in all the mess. Your message won’t come across well to your audience, probably because they are too distracted with so much going on! 

Ensure your branding is clear, simple, and to the point. That means having well-designed color palettes, cohesive and readable typography (remember, don’t use too many fonts), and patterns or illustrations that don’t overpower your other elements.

Your Brand Elicits Trust

Your audience needs to trust you. 81% of consumers say they need to be able to trust the brand they buy from. This is critical to your brand’s success. 

Branding has everything to do with building trust between a business, and it’s customers. You need trust to book calls, make sales, and grow a loyal audience. 

Cohesive and consistent branding helps build this trust. When you put effort into the details and deliver value in your brand – your audience can only assume they will get this same treatment when working with you.

Your Brand Works in Several Mediums

Design your brand to look good on every type of medium. Think of all the different places that your brand is seen; from Facebook Ads to your website, your brand can is everywhere. That’s why it’s essential to make sure your fonts, layouts, and designs are consistent and translate well from both desktops to mobile. A consistent brand is said to increase revenue by 33%.

Your Brand Is Memorable

Since we are more visually inclined, people tend to remember appearances – and this is exactly where a well-designed brand comes in.  

In particular, a well-designed logo is a great way to help your brand stand out and stay memorable. A logo should be able to stand alone AND be cohesive with your brand’s typography. This means your brand can look professional, recognizable, and your logo can be used in various places.

Just think of the Nike logo. While the swoosh is instantly recognizable and can easily stand alone, you will also see it next to its subheading typography that spells out: NIKE.

While having a well-designed logo is important – just remember that a logo isn’t the end all be all of your brand!

Your Brand Message is Focused

Your entire brand needs to cohesively communicate your overall brand message to truly resonate with your ideal audience.

To have a compelling brand message, you need to remember that your brand represents everything about your company. Your color palette, logo, typography, value proposition, product positioning, key benefits, tone, and layout are all elements that go into brand messaging. 

Dig deep and identify your core values and what you want your company to stand for. What story do you want to tell? How will you connect with your audience? These are things that you need to consider and answer to nail your brand message.

Final Thoughts

Remember, your brand is an experience. Branding breathes life into your business. A brand is something your audience can relate to, whether it’s hip, modern, casual, professional, classic, or trendy. What your brand emulates is what connects you to your ideal audience. 

Having a creative and well-designed brand will help your business stand out from the crowd and be taken seriously. The benefits you reap from your efforts will be enormous!

Are you ready for a cohesive, well-designed brand for your business? I’d love to chat and hear more about your visions.