Understanding Brand Cohesion
You know those days when you throw on a jumper, some jeans, and call it your best yet. Sometimes you get to work, look in the mirror, and realise that maybe you donât quite look as put-together as you thought. It happens more often than weâd like to admit. When we look in the mirror, weâre used to seeing ourselves from one angle.
From afar or on a screen, though, every detail is much more apparent. Your brand can fall into the same trap if youâre not careful. If you donât spend enough time on the little things, they can start looking a bit odd and out of place. Brand cohesion is all about making sure your brand looks consistently excellent from every angle and across every platform.
It seems obvious at first - good design means good brand image. But thatâs not always true. A well-designed brochure, website, or social media post doesnât automatically communicate your brand identity if itâs not designed with the intention of communicating that identity. A cohesive brand is likely easy to spot - whether in person or through a screen.
A well-designed customer journey and experience means that theyâll have a memorable one that will keep them coming back for more. Sort of.
The Importance of Consistent Color Palettes
Imagine walking into a store where the staff uniforms, the logo at the entrance, and the sale banners all seemed to come from completely different places on the colour wheel. Itâs confusing at best, uncomfortable at worst - customers arenât quite sure where they are reportedly or what they should feel about your business. I think there are very few things as important in visual branding as sticking to a consistent set of colours.
And itâs not just about slapping a logo with the right colours everywhere you go. Having the same three or four shades pop up consistently across every digital and physical touchpoint works wonders for brand recall.
People might forget a name or miss a message, but when your perfectly coordinated branding pops up on their feed, they instantly remember who you are and how much they liked your last product post. This doesnât mean you need to use every colour in your palette for each new design asset though - too much repetition can sort of get boring quickly. Instead, take time to intentionally choose which parts of your branding need to stay exactly the same and which can be played with.
A bit of structure is always nice but sometimes you want to have fun and break out of restrictive rules. Iâve found that picking one or two dominant colours to play with can be useful for making memorable assets that donât all look exactly alike.
But this is an area where less is more - most brands have five or fewer core colours that they use and switch things up by using more negative space than usual or creating patterns from their existing palette. Sort of. This isnât an area where you want to bring in all those colours youâve never used before just because theyâre trendy this season. I think consistency comes from intentional design decisions instead of doing something because everyone else is doing it.
It shows in creative assets when brands have developed their palettes over time instead of switching out pastels for neons overnight because all thatâs left behind is confusion about who they are and what they stand for.
Typography: Choosing Fonts That Align with Your Brand
Typography is one of those subtle details in branding that can really make or break a visual identity. The way I see it, a lot of times when i see a brand that looks well put together, the first thing i notice is the font choices. They seem to speak louder than youâd imagine - people catch on to fonts and their messaging without realising it. Itâs not always easy to decide what fonts to go with.
Fonts can be anything from fun and quirky to professional and sophisticated. Something to remember is your brand values and the audience youâre addressing, which will help narrow down what youâre looking for in a font. For instance, if youâre a finance brand, you might want your typeface to be more serious and trustworthy, while if youâre a hair salon you might want something more playful that feels less uptight.
At this point, testing out combinations of fonts becomes important because different styles work for different brands. It seems like another thing i often notice is that keeping things simple with fonts and making sure they are readable is a good way to go about it. If a viewer has any trouble reading it then it will make things unnecessarily complicated.
There are three types of font styles â serif, sans serif, and script. It might be helpful to try them all in your logo and see what fits best with the brand vibe and value system. Deciding on what typography represents the brand could be an ongoing process as trends change and so do design styles - but most importantly it should be easy on the eyes and readable for most people so they donât miss out on your message.
Visual Elements: Icons and Graphics for Unity
I remember sitting in a meeting once with a team who was pitching their brand concept. It looked good. But something felt off.
It looked disjointed, it lacked unity. The company logo and tagline was everywhere, but the visual elements were all over the place. More or less. Itâs one thing to have a killer logo and a catchy tagline, but without consistent use of graphics and icons that are all cohesive - your brand identity falls flat and becomes an empty hull.
Everything from the fonts you choose, to the style of images and illustrations need to be given equal thought. When someone stumbles onto your website or sees your business card on a counter somewhere, there has to be an instant sense of familiarity and recognition. This is what builds trust.
Now this can be done in a number of ways - hand drawn illustrations, using stock images, getting custom graphics made by a designer etc. , but it all needs to come together as one seamless experience for the person interacting with your brand. Even if youâre not sure about creating these visual assets yourself, you could work with a graphic designer or branding expert who can help you figure out what works best for your audience or customers.
The way I see it, this is where a style guide comes in handy. Create one if you havenât already and stick to it like gospel. Visuals play a huge role in how people see your brand so make sure every element ties into your main branding identity.
Creating a Cohesive User Experience Across Platforms
Imagine visiting your favourite online store only to be met with a confusing menu and mismatched colours on your phone. Implies That you go back, thinking you made a mistake, only to find the same mess on your laptop. Itâs like walking into a shop that changes its layout every week, and before you know it, youâre clicking out of frustration. It might not seem like much on the surface, but even slight inconsistencies in design can snowball into a full-blown brand crisis.
In fact, you might not notice the good work but will surely feel irked at the bad ones. It can be annoying at times, especially when youâre trying to pay but instead end up leaving without making any purchases. But creating cohesive experiences across platforms isnât about sticking to a uniform script or copying everything everywhere. It's about building a recognisable aesthetic while also being aware of what the platform is capable of.
The way we build websites for desktops is vastly different from how we do it for mobiles â while still having the same goal: to make sure people are having a pleasant time. This means consistent branding elements like fonts and logos across platforms, but when it comes to functionality and placement, things have to change so users don't end up frustrated or lost in the process.
Consistency should never come at the cost of convenience. I sometimes struggle with this myself â do I put everything up front or do I let people take their time. Weâve all wondered which would get us better results, but what ultimately matters is that we care enough about our users' experience that they end up coming back wanting more â it's all about finding that sweet spot between creative freedom and self-fulfilling design rules where people feel at home with our brands no matter where they're coming from.
Case Studies: Brands That Nail Cohesion
Think about your favourite luxury brand. You know exactly what youâre going to get, even before you log onto their website. Take Gucci, for example, a leader in fashion and luxury goods that showcases how to nail cohesion across every touchpoint. The instantly recognisable green and red stripes, the double-G monogram, and their elegant use of serif fontsâit's all intentional.
When you step into one of their stores, you notice how these elements come together harmoniously. Everything from their store fixtures to the choice of lighting is an extension of the brandâs identity, echoing the experience they want to deliver. Even their product packaging and design touchpoints reinforce this sense of âI know exactly what Iâm getting.
â You can tell there is arguably great attention to detail behind these choices that make every interaction with Gucci feel like a cohesive and elevated experience. Another brand I have always admired is Jacquemus, and not just because he has such a unique take on creating beautiful garments. What makes Jacquemus different from most other brands is relatively its ability to show authenticity through storytelling. Simon Porte Jacquemus integrates his French heritage into each campaign launch, making it a central part of their brand identity that never fails to feel fresh and exciting.
Sort of. You can always spot a Jacquemus ad simply by looking at the colour palette or the location it was shot in. More or less. Building on this idea of storytelling, letâs talk about Nike.
They are another example of a brand that does an excellent job in maintaining cohesion across different channels. Known for their trademark swoosh logo and âJust Do Itâ slogan, the companyâs strength lies in consistently communicating its core values around sports performance, motivation and inclusivity. Nikeâs holistic approach to branding makes it easy for consumers to connect with the label.