5 Visual Branding Mistakes Too Many Businesses Make

There’s a lot to be said about standing out, but all designs must first and foremost reflect a well-founded brand identity. That’s the only way it will resonate with and capture your intended audience. Not to mention, it can save you a lot of work.

If your visual identity really connects, then it’s more memorable and you spend less on promotions, in the long run. If your look is consistent all throughout, the more your brand values are associated with your visual identity and the more you build consumer trust and loyalty over time.

The first piece of advice is this: Invest in strengthening your brand’s look. It’s not that complicated. Building a solid visual brand is an important step in developing your business, no matter what it may be.

So, take note of these 5 common visual branding mistakes and how you can avoid them.

1. Design inconsistency

We’ve all seen when businesses get lazy and decide to haphazardly use a colour or a font outside of their usual style.

Will it mean the end of the business and a dramatic crash in sales? Of course not! But over time, if it continues and the business becomes lax with all aspects of their branding, it will impact their customer’s perception of the them.

Being inconsistent with your branding comes across unorganised and unreliable and you run the risk of your customers confusing your business with your competitors and other brands.

To easily overcome this and avoid future inconsistencies, it is worthwhile establishing a defined style guide for your business.

2. Me-too branding

When your competitors are killing it with their flawless branding, it’s easy to fall into thoughts of copying aspects of their brand to help boost your own.

This mindset leads to unoriginal branding and a lack of trust with your audience, as well as possible legal trouble.

With millions of business and logos out there in the world, there is of course the chance that you will come across something similar as your own but you just need to continually push yourself to be original and think about what you can do to stand out.

3. Trying to appeal to everyone

Having no specific demographic may seem like a great idea for your brand at first. The idea that if you can appeal to everyone, then you are more likely to increase your sales. But there are very few business that successfully appeal to an unrestrained demographic.

You may be scared to focus in on a niche market, in case you miss out on the larger market. But honing in on your target demographic is the best way to build a connection with your audience.

Stop chasing approval and start focusing on forging an authentic connection with your desired audience by making your visual branding very clearly portray what you value.

4. Out-of-place visuals

Once you focus in on your target demographic, really consider what kind of visuals will appeal to them, without being stereotypical. This may seem difficult but think about how what might appeal to children would not be acceptable for a corporate branding.

You need to choose fonts, colours and imagery that will be suitable for your brand and audience. Avoid any cliche, outdated stock photos and bad quality images, as these will drastically decrease the impact and professionalism of your brand.

5. Over-reliance on the logo

Your brand is so much more than your logo. Everything from your business’ name, logo, colours, fonts, slogan and imagery, all make up your visual branding.

Having a good logo doesn’t mean the journey is over. To create an effective visual brand you must carry this across everything you produce, from social media posts to gift cards.

To do that, you have to have an application-friendly logo — one that can be rendered onto the type of  visuals and colours you will be needing for your brand. And don’t forget: Consistency is key!

Conclusion

By maintaining consistency, you will create an easily recognisable and unified brand that speaks to your audience and stands out from your competitors.

SOURCE: Canva