It only takes two simple steps to start creating and defining your brands’ aesthetic: identify what you like visually and identify what you don’t like visually.
Does that sound too simple to be true?
Well, it’s not!
Sure, there are some nuances around how to identify what you like and dislike, and that’s exactly what we are going to cover in this article.
Nailing down a strong visual aesthetic for your brand is key
The most important thing to define when creating a new brand (or revamping an old one) is your brand’s aesthetic.
You may have a sense of what you like and don?t like when it comes to imagery and design but when you try to put it into words your mind goes blank!
Or even worse, you tell a designer what you want and they come up with the exact opposite!?
Art and artistic style is subjective and people?s tastes vary dramatically.?
Getting a hold of your specific aesthetic is essential when developing a strong brand. You want to identify not only how YOU want your brand?s aesthetic to look but also make sure it?s one that your TARGET AUDIENCE (potential buyer) will like.?
If you are designing your own website it?s even more important to define a strong visual aesthetic early on.
When you know how you want things to look aesthetically you:
- Can better communicate that to your whole team
- Enjoy the process of collaboration with graphic designers because things come out looking right
- Save yourself tireless revisions on your website
- Develop a strong, recognizable brand that appeals to your target audience
Defining your brand aesthetic in two steps:
Get clear about your artistic style is honing in on what you like and don?t like visually.?
Websites like Behance and Pinterest are great places to start.
Look through different illustrations and graphic designs.
- Make a folder of all the designs you like
- Then make another folder of all the designs you don?t like
You can also collect examples of brands whose aesthetic you do and don’t like.?
- Pick one of your favorite brands and look at their website. Begin dissecting their color pallette choice, fonts, and overall style and take notes about what you like about it
- Now find a website that you don?t like (it can be helpful if this site is in a similar industry and yours). Pull apart what you don?t like about it and try to put it in detailed words.
When we work with clients at Reflective Brands one of the first steps we take in creating the ?brand guidelines? is having clients point to brands that they like and ones they don?t.
Next, we help clients to articulate and understand what it is that they do or don?t like about any given website or brand.
As a creative agency, it is so important for us to understand what a client?s specific aesthetic is along with what will appeal to their target persona.
If you have yet to find a designer to work with, or have decided to do it yourself, having these guidelines in place will save you countless headaches.
By knowing exactly what you want aesthetically from the get-go you set yourself up for success in the long run.?
The benefits of defining your brand aesthetic are endless
This is just the beginning of refining and creating your own personal design aesthetic, but its a great place to start!
As you develop a clearer and clearer idea of your design preferences you will find success across all your marketing platforms.?
Once you establish a strong brand aesthetic you can showcase it on social media posts, blogs, digital ads, and your website.
By having a cohesive image your potential buyers will begin to trust your brand on a deeper level – and that’s the definition of a strong brand.?
If you need help with clarifying and developing your brand let’s talk!
Here is to a creative aesthetic that is uniquely you!