27/04/2019
“Don’t design for brands. Design for people interacting with the brand.”
This is a quote that really caught my eye the other day (I, unfortunately, don't know who the author is). However, I strongly believe that this rings true for every business owner, entrepreneur, manager, and designer; basically, anyone and everyone in business.
Have you ever visited a website wanting to buy a product from their site? Or looking for something as simple as their contact details? You get onto the website and it looks so beautiful that you‘re even scared that clicking a button might “break” it. A stunning website, but so difficult to navigate that you end up leaving and opting for the competitor. Not good.
Every brand has its own unique identity (well, I hope so). This is a way of communicating what the brand stands for, and how the brand wishes to be perceived in the minds of consumers. Ideally, this identity is translated and communicated in all that the brand does – how it speaks, store look and feel, website look and feel, social media platforms, customer service - EVERYTHING. Design is a critical element in brand building as you need to ensure that what you’re designing does not deviate from what you stand for. For example, if you say that your products are user-friendly, your stores and website also need to be simple and easy to use.
A brand is a promise made to consumers. Therefore, the way in which consumers interact and experience your brand determines whether you have lived up to the brand promise or not. This is why I believe that design plays an integral role in brand building as it relates back to your brand purpose, vision and promise.
What stands out the most for me about this quote is “PEOPLE”.
In this case, "people” refers to everyone – all your stakeholders. These are your customers, consumers, suppliers, investors, employees, shareholders, etc. These are PEOPLE interacting with your brand on a regular basis, or people who are looking to invest in your company. These are PEOPLE who are interested in buying your products or services. These are people who work for you - selling and growing your vision on a daily basis. Therefore, when designing your product packaging, store look and feel, website, etc. You need to keep your PEOPLE in mind.
People are emotional beings and your brand (through design) needs to connect with them. Having a simple user-friendly website makes people feel satisfied and positive about your brand because they are able to get what they are looking for. When your people are happy and satisfied, chances of them spreading the word about your brand are much higher. A recent study by Nielsen revealed that 92% of people believe recommendations from friends and family over all forms of advertising.
Here are a couple of things I suggest you keep in mind when designing (mostly everything) for your brand:
· Design for outcomes
What are your objectives for designing this? What results are you hoping to achieve? For example, if you want to generate website leads, then your website needs to be designed in a way that visitors are easily be converted into leads. This means including contact detail forms, call me back forms, an online chat, etc. However, if your objective is for website visitors to spend time reading your blog, this design will be different.
· Design for actual use
As a business owner or designer, you probably have an idea of how your consumers are using your products and touch points right? But, do you really know how they are ACTUALLY using them? Or, how they would like to use them? I did a course in UX Design (User Experience) at Red & Yellow some time ago. It was interesting to learn that when most people visit a website, the first place they look is the top right corner. Therefore, for a website hoping to generate leads, placing call-to-action buttons on the top right corner makes more sense. This means that your chances of converting visitors into leads (in the first few seconds) are higher. Finding out what your customer pain points are, will not only help you improve your product, it will help you build solid relationships with them. This does not necessarily need a huge research budget; you can simply ask your existing customers what they think about your offering.
· Design to create a positive experience
What do you want people to feel when interacting with your brand? Do you want them to feel happy, intrigued, special, angry, etc.? Believe it or not, how your brand is designed has the ability to create a positive or a negative experience for people interacting with your brand. You should aim to create positive experiences through design. There are tons of benefits that come with this – word of mouth, brand ambassadorship, brand loyalty, etc.
In closing, whether you are designing products, services, website, social media, store, marketing collateral, uniform, etc. remember that you are designing for PEOPLE - not just your brand. Understand what people’s struggles are and what they're happy with. Basically, the trick is to find ways of how your design speaks to who you are as a brand, as well as resonates and connects with people.
All the best with your brand building endeavors!
Written by Mr : Anbar
