Does Your 2021 Visual Branding Cover These 4 Must-Haves?
With this new year reaching the end of its first quarter, so much has changed since top-of-the-year 2020—most notably, what brands and businesses need out of their visual branding.
Customers and audiences are looking for different things from your business compared to that which peaked their interests and needs a year ago. There are a few things that VVITCH knows will be non-negotiable in the year ahead.
To help you process how your visual branding should align with these non-negotiables from your target audience, here are four must-haves you need to consider in 2021:
Be honest.
One of the strongest ways to differentiate your business within your given industry is to allow people to personally connect with who you are — as a brand, and as the person (or people) behind that brand — while highlighting the reasons why you do what you do. You more than likely already spend hours upon hours crafting digital content that invites your target audience into your story.
Guess what? Your visual branding needs to achieve the exact same thing! It should communicate who you are, not solely what you do, and needs to always be honest. If you expect to lean on trendy designs and call it a day, that is an ill-advised approach.
Today, consumers demand honesty as a prerequisite for brand loyalty and they are emotionally intelligent enough to see through a brand’s attempt to use a trendy design to appear “current.”
In 2021, being “current” is not as important as being honest — stay true to the spirit of your brand’s guiding principles. Do not let shiny object syndrome pull your business into a visual identity that does not feel like you and/or your team.
Be human-first.
With honesty in mind, your brand also needs to be reflective of the audience you serve. This reflection should go beyond your own product(s), service, and personality.
How can you be human-first? Think about what traits your ideal customer has. Are they a quirky, fun-loving goofball? Maybe they are a pensive introvert, or a bold risk-taker? Any of these traits are fine because an individual should be themself, the important thing is that your brand ensures whoever your ideal customer is shows up in your branding.
Tailoring your branding to be human-first not only increases the likelihood a connection will be made with your ideal customer and could lead to conversion in sales, it also allows your target audience to feel seen and understood by your brand — in something that is external to themselves.
Being human-first is how value for your brand is formed. Forming values with your customer base is especially significant in a year where personal connection has been difficult to experience.
Be inclusive.
Accessibility has become a hot topic and focus area online in recent years.
It is absolutely unacceptable to feign ignorance around the challenges of people with disabilities as well as other marginalized groups. As new research and new solutions become available in the area of online accessibility, there also are ways in which your brand can be actionable with this crucial element in your branding and website design.
At a minimum, you should pay attention to the color contrast available to you within your brand color palette to make sure that you are not using color combinations that would make it hard for potential customers with certain visual impairments or challenges to read your content. At VVITCH, this is a step we never skip with our small business clients who hire us for branding services.
And, although this goes beyond the topic of visual branding, ensure you are using plain language while avoiding ableist language in your brand messaging. This includes such things as not using jargon, idioms, or obscure references. You can learn more about this from Autistic Hoya and begin practicing these areas of accessibility as you improve your visual branding.
Be flexible.
Digital marketing remains a necessary part of business this year as in-person marketing is still a challenge to safely achieve. With this in mind, this means your brand must exist across several digital platforms at once and remain flexible enough to appear cohesive, intentional, and well-designed in all online scenarios.
How can this impact your business? Well, no longer can you only rely on just having a single logo and some poppy colors. Other factors you need to consider are do you have a version of your logo that looks great in your business’ email signature? How about one that aligns perfectly on your website header or footer? Do you have a logo that will read well when scaled down for the stickers you use on your packaging? And what about on for the half-inch wide profile image on Instagram?
It can seem like there are many versions of a logo and scenarios you need to be prepared for, but in 2021 you do need core assets that can be worked into any use case. And here we have only touched on your logo!
There are fonts to consider for user-friendliness and reading ease on your website. Then there are fonts that are eye-catching as your ideal customer thumbs through their Instagram Story feed during lunch. Do you have these fonts planned and ready? Now is the time to execute in these areas.
Other branded elements such as illustrations, icons, or patterns need to translate well for social media assets — i.e. within a testimonial post or layered over static image post — which can allow your brand to make non-graphic imagery feel more intentional and cohesive. Do you include these visual branding elements currently? Now is the time to integrate this approach.
Ultimately, your visual brand must work on all of the marketing platforms widely used today by your target audience and must be designed accordingly. This applies whether you are on a given platform today or have plans to use it in your marketing plan in the future.
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Meet the Authors
Carly Teigeler, Brand, Graphic, and Web Designer
Carly has been working in branding & web design for five years. After spending several years studying both architectural design and dance, Carly took her critical design eye, passion for choreographing experiences, and ability to learn quickly on her feet, and dove headfirst into the world of marketing strategy for small businesses.
Kate Schaefer, Brand and Marketing Specialist
Kate has worked in digital marketing and publishing for seven years. In 2013, she identified a hole in the wedding market and started H&H Weddings, a wedding resource specifically for the LGBTQ+ community. Kate believes every business should thrive and is dedicated to helping marginalized folks even the financial playing field because capitalism is a bitch.
Brittinee Phillips, Copywriter
Brittinee has worked in marketing for a little over ten years. She has a passion and talent for storytelling. Brittinee's philosophy is that storytelling is the most integral part of the consumer and product experience, which is why she makes it a focal point in her approach to product and brand messaging.
