Do you have brand guidelines and do you stick with them? I know what it's like, you're trying to get your social media posts created and you know how you should be putting them together, but you've seen someone else's look and feel and like a shining magnet, it's calling you. You love it and you would like to replicate it within your brand.
Whilst firstly this isn't exactly the best way to create your visuals, plagiarism comes to mind, and the fact that you could be stealing someone's copyright, I would argue that consistency is even more important.
Ah yes, consistency. That word that runs off of every marketeer's lips in just about every conversation you have with them. There is a reason for that. If you are prone to chopping and changing your brand look you stand to:
Confuse your client base. Is this you or is it someone else?
Very much annoy the person you stole the idea from and leave yourself open to a court case.
Avoid not communicating who you are properly to your ideal client.
Your brand should be thoroughly thought out and used to connect with your clients on a subconscious level via psychology and colour theory. It should be curated with your clients in mind. So if you are often changing the look and feel it communicates that you are uncertain about your brand, and if you are uncertain, your potential clients will question if you will be able to come through with your claims.
As I have established above, you know how important a well-thought-out brand look and feel is for your business and just how important consistency is. But, what if you are a creative soul? You like creating visuals and having the ultimate control over what you put out in the world. You also, feel constrained by your brand guidelines and feel stuck with ways to bring it to life.
Maybe you should consider having a flexible brand upgrade. I have just completed this for one of my clients. She had done everything DIY up until now, and although she was happy with certain aspects, she also knew that it wasn't quite hitting the mark. After talking about her brand, her goals and aspirations for it, we decided on a path which allowed me to go into her brand and perfect it in a more professional approach all whilst having guidelines and options for her to grow.
This included different types of logos, some with taglines, some without, and some with the space for a tagline if a new service is created. This new brand has logos in multiple colours and her brand colours have 6 main colours to again give her a more flexible approach and to use her brand in different ways whilst still being CONSISTENT!
Let me ask you, do you need a flexible brand?
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