We are all familiar with the term “brand.” It is a pretty simple and straightforward word, but do you really know every aspect that’s part of a “brand?” Logos, websites, taglines, color schemes, services, products, and the company itself are all part of a company’s brand. It’s important that each of these aspects matches and blends together to create a distinctive brand. This article will focus on the visual ways your brand can be cohesive.
1) Color Scheme
Picking out a color for a room sounds easy until you have to decide between eggshell white and dusty cream. Is there really even a difference? Hardly, but you’ll still spend two hours arguing with your spouse over which color will look best. Choosing the color scheme of your brand is much more important than deciding the color of your kitchen. It’s a decision that should require time and consideration. There are a few general rules you should follow when choosing a color scheme:
- Choose colors that reflect your company’s energy. Have you ever noticed how many fast food companies’ logos use red, yellow, and/or blue? The fast-food industry wants to appear energetic and bold, so they chose bright colors that capture that energy. Meanwhile, many technology logos’ main color is some shade of blue. Blue shows calmness and trust. Technology companies commonly want to appear collected and trustworthy. So, what is your company’s energy?
- Don’t be blocked in by stereotypes. Just because all of your competition uses blue in their logo, does not mean you need to. It can actually be a smart strategy to use the opposite of your competition if you are really trying to stand out.
- Use colors that compliment each other. The color scheme you choose will be reflected in your logo, website, and business cards. So choose a few colors that go well with each other. You can use websites like co that will actually generate a color swatch for you so you can get an idea of what colors look nice together.
2) Logo Design
After you chose a color scheme, design a logo. It’s not important to use every color from your selected color scheme, but only use colors that are part of your color scheme. A few tips to designing a strong logo:
- Simplicity is powerful. Think about the logos you know by memory. Apple, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Pepsi, etc. They all have very simplistic and memorable logos. You want your logo to be something clients can easily recognize and remember. The best way to do that is by keeping it simple.
- Remember your logo isn’t a one size fits all. Your logo will be used on a variety of things like business cards, websites, products, documents, billboards, and more. A strong logo design will look great in any size so be sure to look at your proto-type logos in both a small and large size.
- Consult a professional. Unless you have a knack for illustrating and graphic design, designing a strong logo on your own is likely going to be difficult. Companies like manwaringweb.com offer logo design services. You can work closely with their team to create and refine a strong logo that suits your brand.
3) Website Design
Your website has to reflect your brand. If your logo is simple and uses bold colors, but your website feels cluttered and features calm colors, then there’s a disconnect that can confuse customers. There’s a lot of content that needs to be included on your website, but it’s important your website reflects your brand. Only uses colors from the selected color scheme and be sure to feature your company’s logo on the website.
This is great advice for new businesses just starting out, but it’s also relevant to businesses with an established reputation. There is nothing wrong with occasionally rebranding your business. If you’ve felt that your brand isn’t strong or doesn’t match with your company, remember these tips and start the rebranding process!
