Your brand identity needs to be fused into every stage of your web design. Even if you have a well-built, functional site, it’s completely worthless if it doesn’t show the essence of your brand and you’ll be forgotten in a heartbeat. Here are some Illicit tips on how to champion brand identity in your web design (and further afield) and create an unmistakable online presence.
1. Define your brand voice
How do you want to be perceived by your audience? What values do you want to stand for? How will you project the awesome essence of your brand? Answer these questions to get started on your brand identity journey.
2. Be flexible but instantly recognisable
Your brand must be recognisable from any angle and from any space. Think about how the ‘swoosh’ doesn’t even need the word ‘Nike’ under it anymore for you to know exactly what it is – it’s truly adaptable. Logos can be clever, but they shouldn’t be confusing; the best logos are eye-catching and leave an impression.
The same goes for your colour palette – don’t be afraid to push the boat out with the colours and styles you use (black and white is dead and gone, let’s be honest), but if you start to disregard your original scheme, it won’t be your brand anymore.
3. Create an immersive experience
Your logo, tagline, voice, and colour scheme should all be unified under the banner of your brand identity. Once you’ve nailed this consistency, it needs to be present across the design of your site and beyond. Any piece of content you put out there should be unmistakably yours, even if your brand name doesn’t appear. You need to bow down and worship your brand like a god – let nothing you do come before this identity you’ve created.
4. Consider the anti-brand
Ok bear with us here because this might sound like a contradiction. A lot of people are done with the same old advertising and sales techniques. Don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd and express your individuality by standing out from the crowd and rejecting the traditional tropes of branding if they don’t reflect who you are. Celebrate your imperfections and forge your own path, rather than following strict rules about what constitutes ‘branding’.
5. Stand for something
As the world heads towards being more and more ‘woke’ – knowing more and more about the environmental, social and political issues that haunt us, you need to make sure your audience knows what you stand for, and that needs to be echoed across your website. Shout about your initiatives and policies from the rooftop – they deserve it.
Illicit case studies
Clean Up My Shhh…
Clean Up My Shhh… are an awesome brand who provide eco-friendly, super-effective cleaning services. We did the branding for them as well as the site. There’s a real sense of fun driving through the whole site, while still keeping the design as clean as they keep their clients’ workplaces. We also think the logo rocks – a leaf-motif robot whose eyes follow the cursor around the page.
Girling Jones
You don’t get more corporate and potentially soulless than the recruitment industry. Girling Jones run a different type of show. They’re a seriously funny bunch of guys, their team LOVE what they do and they have an awesome time doing it.
The video backdrop we created for their homepage reflects this, with bold print, colours, and statements throughout the site, all with that great laid-back, tongue-in-cheek vibe that makes these guys so great.
It’s worth mentioning that their logo (which we didn’t design) is pretty corporate and nondescript, but it really doesn’t matter when the site pops like this and brings the brand to life.
We hope this honest insight into the Illicit approach to branding has been an eye-opener for you! If you need someone to incorporate brand identity into your web design, don’t be scared to say hello and see how we can help.