We are not talking about personal beauty today.
Or the fact that I feel fantastic after a juice cleanse I just did this week! (Oh my goodness I feel like a million bucks!)
If this blog was about beauty, or health, it would be a one-liner piece of advice: "Seriously sugar, get off that shit." Haha!
(Did I mention that I love double entendres?)
Instead, today we are talking about the personality and aesthetic of your brand, and how it can't be effective without more than just good looks.
So many times us as entrepreneurs are so caught up in the thought "if I could just have a beautiful website, then all my business problems would be solved."
While having a beautiful brand and site is AWESOME (and very important), it will only get you so far when it comes to being memorable in the eyes of your ideal clients.
Amazing design won't automatically make your products and services sell
It definitely helps, but it's not a fool proof way to success. In fact, I would say if you have a product or service that people want, they can sometimes overlook poor or super basic design if your content and brand personality is blowing their mind.
The quality of the products and services should serve your ideal client's needs, solve their problems and help them fulfill their dreams.
(After you read the next column, Check out this interesting Info Graphic from 123 Print below:)
Take Action
Post a link to your website, with a justification of your color and font choices and how they relate to your brand personality, and how they are attractive to your ideal client avatar. Let's talk about it! You will likely get feedback from me. Hooray for feedback!
Did you enjoy this blog? Share it from the share button below!
This is free for a limited time:
A beautiful brand, with no regard to your ideal client is a big mistake!
Choosing something just because you like it, isn't really a good enough justification.
If your brand design isn't speaking directly to your ideal clients to their preferences, and if it doesn't reference your industry, then it might look great and yet be totally ineffective.
There needs to be a combinations of things happening here.
Brand Personality & Design Analysis
Ask yourself the following questions:
Does your brand personality and design truly appeal to your ideal client? If so, describe exactly how. If you can't justify certain fonts, colors, or style of images you (or your designer) is choosing, they might not be the best option. Remember just because YOU like something doesn't mean it's effectively speaking to your ideals. The key here is choosing things that represent the brand personality (not every individual preference in that target.)
What would appeal to your ideal clients? This is an important question to ask, but one that can bring up mixed results. The problem with this is if you ask many people in your target you might get a million different answers. So instead approach it from taking the perspective that the personality and aesthetic would be something they could connect with. For example, even though Trader Joe's loves Hawaiian shirts and are very much a part of the brand personality, it doesn't mean I have to love/wear Hawaiian shirts, to love the brand. I would be friends with someone who wore Hawaiian shirts, and love that they are a part of the Trade Joe's brand personality. This is because it feels personal that this is a distinct characteristic of the brand. I feel like Trader Joe's is a real person and not just a couple of fonts and some colors that look nice. (As you can see, their brand not is not just pretty, but effective because it feels real.)
What do the colors say about the personality of your brand? Is your brand personality bright and cheerful? Or sleek and serious? Feminine and sassy? Or masculine and traditional? Your font, color, and image choices should communicate your brand's personality. If you are your brand, they should communicate your personality. The trick to this is what is the best part of your personality that your target will relate with? Your brand's personality should reflect where your ideal client wants to be, or something your ideal client would totally look up to, be friends with.
Would the colors of your brand appeal to your industry? For example if you are starting a health based company and you are using pink and black as your main brand colors, do they really communicate "healthy living" or are they accidentally communicating "punk rock party girl"? haha! Do the research on color theory and what are trends in your industry. Sometimes you can use these findings to either find new trends, stay on trend, or break out of the trend. Example -- green, brown and black are used in coffee shops all across the world, yet www.dutchbroscoffee.com decided on a concept and theme that made them stick out amongst these trends with red, yellow, blue and white and a dutch themed drive through that makes every coffee stand look like a Dutch Windmill!
So as you can see, having a brand that is "beautiful" isn't enough. You could have things that are pretty but if they aren't strategically chosen, then they might not work for you. Everything must be chosen with intention. A brand strategy is very helpful for this for developing your brand personality and something that will truly resonate with your ideal client, makes sense for your industry, and follows a strong concept and theme.
