Stop Selling Products! Sell Your Brand!

Expressing your Brand Identity through your Website

You’re ready to take your business nation-wide! No, world-wide! It’s time for a website. A website provides business owners the ability to share their products and services with the world in seconds. But is that it? An effective website will not only sell products, it will sell the brand itself.

Your brand identity consists of the visual and non-visual elements that allow consumers to identify your brand and distinguish you from your competitors. Elements such as logos, colors, fonts, textures, and style create an image of your brand in the mid of your customers. It’s important to make sure these visual identifiers and public image align with your brand purpose. For example, if you own a restaurant & club and you are branding yourself as “The Biggest Party in Town”, you wouldn’t want a mostly white website with serious font type, muted colors, and pictures of people having a romantic dinners.

Let’s use my most recent website design as an example. Da Crib Clothing Co. is a clothing line targeting lower to middle class liberal men and women from urban neighborhoods, ages 20 to 40. The brand pays homage to historical neighborhoods and community pride. We will look at the way the brand identity is conveyed on company websites.

LOGO

A company’s logo is the face of your company, it shows your brand personality. Displaying your logo clearly and prominently is important to building brand recognition. Da Crib’s logo has a gritty feel with a hint of tropical since it is Miami-inspired. The name itself speaks directly to the brand’s purpose, giving individuals the opportunity to represent their homes, using the cultural colloquial “da crib” or “the crib” meaning home. The target audience can identify the brands logo and name directly to its purpose. This logo is shown at the top of the site and is cohesive with the styling of the rest of the site.

LOOK & FEEL

The fonts, colors, tones, components, and textures shown on your site should align with the story your brand is trying to convey. Da Crib’s website has a dark look, with rough, rugged textures and font types. Da Crib targets urban inner-city areas which is consistent with the look and feel of the site and consistent with the logo. The color palette is indicative of the brand message as well: black (power, bold, traditional), red (bold, energy, passion), white (hope, purity), gray (stability, strength). Every aspect of your website should be intentional and should be cohesive with your brand messaging.

IMAGERY

Imagery are the visuals that send your message to consumers about your brand. Da Crib products are made for specific historical neighborhoods so its important that their website uses imagery that people are familiar with and can relate to. Each design corresponds with a neighborhood and each neighborhood is represented by an image of a historical landmark that has an emotional association for those connected to it. These images, such as the first one shown “Da City” or Liberty City shows one of the largest housing projects in Miami which is one of the most known housing projects in the world. The nostalgia it brings to those from the area allows an emotional connection to be made to the brand.

UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION

Unique value proposition speaks to what sets your brand apart from competitors. Why should people buy into your brand? Why should they purchase from you over your competition? Its important that your unique value is explained AND displayed on the website Da Crib’s home page shares a blurb identifying the brand’s purpose “pay(ing) homage to Miami’s historical, yet often overlooked neighborhoods and its people”, “representing our home with pride, amplify the common language and experiences”. This brand speaks directly to an overlooked population which is under-represented therefore they are offering designs that aren’t widely available to this audience. Your website should highlight what differentiates your brand from others.

Your company’s website isn’t just about a pretty or cool looking site, it should tell the story of your brand. Make sure you message is clear and your brand identity resonates through. The more people buy into your brand, the more they will buy your products.