Last week we discussed the importance of visual branding. This week I’m going to outline some strategies that you can use to create a successful visual branding strategy. Three elements of a successful visual branding strategy are an effective logo, consistency, and colors.
An Effective Logo
An effective logo is one of the pieces you need in creating a balanced brand. Are you using your logo correctly? Your logo does not belong in your profile photo, but it does belong on your freebie.
Another thing that makes your logo effective is symbolization. A lot of businesses use a logo that has their name and a graphic with it. We are moving away from this in 2019. We are focusing on logo styles that have a symbolization of your brand.
My logo for Simply Bee represents growth shown in the lines that move outwards, and the colors are made to express a neutral moody style. I utilize my logo within my brand to make my work stand out against it.
Your logo should be an interchangeable design. In the last year of me building my brand and becoming an established business, I have rebranded four or five times. The reason I have had to do this is that I was not using a logo, and colors, etc. that were interchangeable with who I was becoming.
My brand did not have any symbolization so every time I moved into a greater being of myself and finding my purpose I needed to rebrand my logo all over again. No one wants to go through this process and expense over and over again. This is why it’s important to make sure your logo is interchangeable with your mission and who you are becoming.
Lastly, your logo needs to have professionalism. It should be made by someone other than yourself, has an eye for design, an educational history, and experience in creating designs that are used properly, have symbolization and are interchangeable as you grow.
Consistency
The consistency within your brand across all of your platforms is essential. If you have vibrant pinks and oranges on YouTube and are crazy excited and giving out a ton of energy, you shouldn’t use cool colors and be calm and relaxed on Facebook.
Your clientele is not going to interchange across platforms very easily unless your brand is consistent across them. This can be as simple as you are only on your email and your Facebook, so you brand your email to match your Facebook so people can easily recognize you in both places.
Color
Color is one of the most important things you should look into when creating a brand. I do color consultations, so if you need some help choosing colors for your brand, please let me know.
I recently did a survey in a women’s group that is very popular among Facebook users. I asked them to drop their logo, and I would give them a color audit. 52% of the people were targeting the wrong market, weren’t bringing about the right kind of people, and were not properly evoking emotions. If you use color in the right way, it will bring you more clients, establish more trust with your clients, and your clients will return to you.
Your colors hues and shades are also essential. Say the hue is green. A darker relaxed green will attract a mature audience in their 40s-50s. If you turn around and use bright green you are more likely you attract an audience between 14-18 years old. You can use the same hue and switch the shade, and all of a sudden be attracting an entirely different client.
The combination of colors that you use also matters. You should be very specific and intentional when you choose them. You want to use the right colors to evoke the right emotions that will create an impact within your community.
Do you need help deciding which colors to use for your brand? Download my free color theory guide to get started.
