how to build a timeless brand.
How to Build a Timeless Brand | Dotted Design
Do you feel like you are never completely satisfied with your visual branding? Are you one of those people who is always wanting to do a brand or website redesign? Maybe you are constantly changing your blog post images or updating the color palette on your website. I have good news: you can stop this madness!
While brands are always evolving and websites are never final, you CAN create a brand that you love and make it last for a long time. Building something timeless means that it has to represent what you do at your core and not what fits a top ten list of the current month.
My best tips for building this timeless brand:
Take the time to define your brand's values. Understanding what makes you unique is critical in designing a brand that will last beyond next week. When you know what you have to offer and you know the exact type of customer you want to attract, you can then build the visual brand that represents these facts. Honing in on specifics not only makes building your brand easier, but also helps you run your business better!
Just say no to trends. Don't get me wrong: I love gold foil prints and gold office supplies, but it seems that you can't go anywhere right now and not run into it. If you jump on bandwagons like these, not only might your brand be out of vogue in a few months, it is going to look just like everyone else's. If your customer researches five websites and they all share the exact same aesthetic trend, what about yours is going to be memorable? You have to be yourself in order to stand out.
Consistency is queen. The simplest way to build a brand that is timeless and recognizable is through a consistent style. While it can be fun to experiment with a different graphic style every time you create something new, this can actually hurt you. It doesn't make your graphics tired - it actually makes them strongly branded. You want people to see your images and say, "Hey! I know whose graphic that is!" Develop a style for your blog posts, you social media images, and your documents that is consistent throughout.
Stop playing the comparison game. This is another one that is oh-so easy to do. You find a new blog or brand that you love, and it makes you want to redesign something of your own. Stop that! Easier said than done, I know. But, if you've taken the time to think thoughtfully and thoroughly through your branding process, you won't need to compare it to others because it will be you. It's actually good if someone is doing something different than you - it means that you are bringing something unique to the table.
Hire a designer to help you. It is easiest to want to do a brand tweak or redesign when you take the D.I.Y. approach - you feel like it's no big deal to redo something when you aren't paying someone else. Make the investment in a professional who cannot only bring some stellar creativity to the project, but also help you focus and stay impartial in a way you can't. The designer won't have the emotional investment in the business that you do, and therefore she can help make decisions based on what works and what will best represent your brand to your audience.
What steps have you taken to make your brand timeless and not trendy? What questions do you still face about achieving that?
P.S. Looking to work with a designer and build that strong brand? Get in touch - I'd love to hear about your business!