Designing with strategy in mind is paramount to establishing an effective brand. Every brand has to connect to customers and create relationships. There are thousands of brands all competing with each other. Without brand awareness, loyalty, and interaction customers are going to attach themselves elsewhere. The rise of technology has decreased our attention span, so the drive to conquer to the last frontier of human attention has grown even more important. I’ve mentioned before that branding is a graphic representation of a company’s USP, their why, and is why customers will choose one company over another. It is also about building that relationship and connection with a potential customer. It is based on research and strategy that sets up a business for a successful future.

80% of entrepreneurs believe that graphic design and branding are the same thing.  However, graphic design is what helps to establish good branding by making a company’s strategy take on a tangible form. Design comes after the strategy. It is used to implement the strategy. It is about now that we have a strategy how does it get seen and shared with everyone?

Moria Cullen, Senior Director of Global Design for The Hershey Company says, “Design plays an essential role in creating and building brands. Design differentiates and embodies the intangibles -emotion, context, and essence- that matter most to consumers.” Design provides companies the assets that let customers see and feel their brand. The strategy dictates what needs to be designed in order to achieve business goals. And from that strategy, a whole system with many touchpoints that engage your current and future customers is created.

With the strategy completed, it’s time to work on the brand identity.  This is design and the part of the branding that people actually see. One of the biggest parts of the identity is the logo. This is not necessarily something for explaining your brand but for identifying. It needs to be memorable and recognizable. It’s the entry gate for the rest of the brand. Like I said, it’s part of a larger system. That system contains the look and feel of the brand. If the brand was a person what would they look like? Type, colors, and images all contribute to that. The biggest brands with the most recognition could get rid of their logo and you would still know who they are. Say I showed you a picture of a burger with a red and yellow background and asked you what brand that was. I’m sure you’d know the brand to whom I am referring without even seeing the golden arches.

But what happens if you already have a brand and believe that the identity no longer represents your business? What if the identity no longer aligns with your goals and values and its giving people the wrong message? Then it may be time for a rebrand. This has happened with several of our clients.  Their old branding no longer represented the company’s abilities and values and so it was time to go back to the drawing board for strategy and branding.

Rebranding also requires a lot of strategy and it can be even more tricky depending on the size. How much of the original equity needs to be maintained? Does this rebrand require just an adjustment or a complete overhaul? Whose buy in is needed to make a rebrand successful? You need to rebrand for the right reasons.

Here is a relatively famous example of not only rebranding but how much branding can affect a business. In 2009, Pepsi decided to rebrand their packaging for Tropicana, their orange juice brand.  They decided to change their packaging to a more diluted and generic design. However, the full name of the juice is Tropicana Pure Premium. How did a generic look align with a product that is supposed to be premium? They also wanted to show the juice itself but do customers actually need to be reminded what juice looks like? For whatever reason they decided to rebrand it didn’t work.  After pushing out the new packaging Pepsi lost $33 million in sales in two months. Of course, they immediately went back to the old packaging. The poor strategy resulted in a design that confused and swayed customers to other products.

As you can see branding and design are vital for any business no matter how large. In a world with so many choices companies need to prove to customers why they should be chosen over the next. With the right branding and design you can build that recognition and loyalty that any successful business needs.

Graphic design sets up your brand for success, and successful branding propels business growth. If graphic elements are at odds with one another across a brand, you will never win the race to capture your audience’s attention.  Branding holds value, otherwise known as brand equity.  Brand equity is the value or revenue generated from having a well-established, recognizable brand.  Therefore, by establishing a successful brand, a company drives revenue.  Think of branding like selling your home.  You can hire a real estate agent who knows the market (strategy) and a professional to stage your home (brand or graphic designer), so potential buyers can actually see themselves in the home, thereby helping you get top dollar for your home, or you can choose to not declutter your home or just leave your home empty and for the best.  Successful branding based on strategy gets you top dollar.