Do we still need Branding?
- Jothi Ganesh
- Oct 16, 2024
- 3 min read
Among the vast ocean of businesses in multiple categories- Does it make sense to put efforts into crafting a Visual identity?
What sort of difference does it make?
Is your business going to stand out?
For a brand getting an identity was about making a difference,
Standing out and having a voice. Carry the weight of what you believe in and make a difference.
A logo? Not really
Your color palette-Nope
The choice of Typeface- Nada
But to stand for something.
Through the test of time and go beyond.
The giants that come to your mind as brands have been around for decades
after conditioning consumers with repetitions and refinements.
It is much more than selling a product or a service and a new logo design is not going to accomplish this.
We need to find our way back.
To dig deeper and spend time more so ever now to find the right voice.
To build communities that support the same beliefs or better them.
To try to do what one person can’t do but as a whole unit
To solve actual challenges and go beyond product and service.
THINGS WE CAN LET GO
Stationary Design
There is no actual requirement for it anymore, everything is possible digitally.
There is no need for paper or anything that requires fabrication from trees in this genre of design unless it’s recycled.
Traditional belief colours to fit into the category
When you are fighting to stand out to make a difference or solve problems, the expectation to fit in has to be zero.
The shades of a Food & Beverage brand don’t have to be in the shades of orange, green or in with a similar old-school palette.
A Palette with multiple choices
With the number of logos and units coming out, your business is not going to stand out because of its identity in its initial phases.
But rather than have it to start the conversation, A minimal palette with a couple of primary Pantones is more than enough.
Multiple versions of a Logo unit
A logo is not about solving problems but is supposed to be a face put on for an entity that can or attempts to. One or 2 versions with a couple of adaptations are more than enough renditions.
Finding Your Identity in Design
The Brand’s voice is not in your brand visual identity document. It is there to serve as one of the elements that you can return to
Reinforce the primary beliefs and motives that started your initial thoughts.
WHAT NEEDS PRIORITISING
Respect your initial sketch and vision as a brand, have a purpose and draw it out with a designer.
Spend time translating your thoughts to the Visual identity to set a spark
Lead to design a brand and its journey not just a logo
Brands need to go beyond product and service and let your palette support it.
A typeface is important, only to find the shade of conversation.
Create experiences with people so they wear your logos to become your advocates rather than just consumers.
Evolve by choice to educate and make a statement through years to come.
CASE STUDY
American Express is one of the world’s largest financial institutions.
Why I love it: Amex found an urgent human need that could uniquely be addressed by their company.
Research showed that Black-owned businesses are facing some of the greatest pandemic-related challenges:
About half of Black-owned small and mid-sized business owners had to pivot during the pandemic.
From February to April 2020, Stanford found the number of Black businesses dropped by more than 40 percent, compared to 22 percent overall.
American Express found that Black, women entrepreneurs were founding 763 new businesses every day – making them the fastest growing entrepreneur group in America — yet many do not have equal access to the resources they need to thrive and grow.
A few weeks ago, American Express surprised 100 Black female entrepreneurs with grants of $25,000 and 100 days of resources – including business education, mentoring, marketing, and virtual networking – to help them jump-start and grow their business ventures.
So simple. People took a hit during the pandemic. Let’s help fix it.
Why is this important? Great branding means building an emotional connection between your audience and what you do. When millions are out of work, scared, and even hungry, it makes sense to take a portion of your marketing budget and just help people.
They’ll never forget that, will they?
Source & More Examples
Your Identity would fabricate itself with the multitude of consumers advocating for it and its notions
with the brand and its logo standing as one with them.
Comments