Many people who know me always exclaim, “You’re an artist!” This, while flattering, isn’t an exact representation of what Merithot Marketing is about. While it’s true that my team and I create work that’s artful, I prefer to view branding as a science.
The Science of Branding
Although there’s never an excuse for a brand that isn’t aesthetically pleasing, the work that goes into developing a brand tends to be much more measured than your run-of-the-mill stroke of creative genius. Brands are developed to evoke feelings in their target audience, and there is research available that shows exactly what colors, fonts, and figures make us feel a certain way.
The decisions that are made reflect this careful science of emotion – down to the smallest detail. Deciding what you want your brand to represent and communicate to your audience is one thing. Designing the perfect brand profile that inspires customers to take action is another. Your brand profile should be able to accomplish both – and that’s why design decisions are critical (not just random artistic choices).
Colors Inspire Buy-In
The first element that people often consider when it comes to their branding is color. Often, people are drawn to one color or another for a particular reason. Maybe there’s an emotional connection to a particular color palette, or they prefer it on an aesthetic-level.
In some cases, your initial inclinations around color choice may be correct. However, it’s crucial that you consider what action your color choices will inspire in your customer base. Research has shown that 85% of people made a product purchase based on color, and 80% of them said that color played a large role in their brand recognition.
That being said, specific colors tend to invoke particular emotions and impressions. For example, yellow is often viewed as optimistic, where black may be seen as powerful or indicating luxury. Colors also indicate what type of product people are buying – flashy orange signs, for example, may draw in impulse shoppers and indicate discounted prices.
Fonts Communicate Value
Font is something else that may seem like an arbitrary, aesthetic selection. But selecting a font for your business’s brand profile shouldn’t be taken lightly. Certain fonts are traditionally associated with specific forms of media and types of businesses.
For example, if you’re a prestigious financial firm, decorative fonts may not be as appropriate as a more traditional Serif or Sans Serif font. If you’re drawn to a particular script font, you want to make sure you’re incorporating it appropriately so your business is still a) legible and b) not overly romanticized.
Some Design Choices Are Oversaturated
While you’re building your brand profile, you need to keep in mind that some design options are over-saturated. A common example can be found in font selection. Raise your hand if you’ve personally been subject to an email where the body-font was all Comic Sans.
We’ve all run into this at some point – a font, a color, or image that has been overused (and used incorrectly). It’s frustrating, and often communicates a lack of value to our audience. In the case of Comic Sans, it has absolutely been overused. However, when used in a traditional comic book setting, it works perfectly. That’s where it was intended to be used in the first place.
Other ways you can guard against falling into the “so overdone” trap is to look around at your competition. Many financial guidance professionals use images of pathways or ships – allegedly to communicate moving their clients down a clear financial path, or assisting them in navigating choppy financial waters. Because it comes up so frequently, it’s a good idea to step outside of the box. You want your brand to be unique and memorable, not lost in the crowd of other poorly-branded websites.
Scientists Require Training
The design decisions that go into your brand profile are highly detailed and completely unique to you. Being able to take a step back from your creative vision in order to perfectly combine every design element into the ideal branding formula for your business takes time. Just as scientists require education and training, a branding expert requires experience of their own.
Working with a design and marketing firm like Merithot can help you avoid the design pitfalls you’re worried about, all while mixing the correct design components to create your perfect brand. There isn’t an art to creating a brand – there’s an exact science to follow if you want to achieve success. Doesn’t it make sense to work with someone who knows the chemistry to help you get a unique, wonderful brand profile right?
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