In order to develop a digital brand that is easily recognizable and nurtures the like, know and trust factor with your potential clients/customers, there are certain styling elements that MUST be consistent.
Logo and Variations
Your business’s logo and any alternative logos should ALWAYS be consistent. A logo is often the most visible brand styling element so it’s crucial that it always be displayed in the same manner. It’s a good idea to include any alternative forms of your logo. For example, many clients have a primary logo and one or two secondary logos that are used for promotional purposes.
It’s important to clarify which colors are to be used in logos (and variations) as well as any size and placement guidelines.
Color Palette
Your color palette is also something that should be carried throughout ALL of your brand’s touch points. It’s a good idea to have a 1-2 dominant colors and then a few supporting colors to add depth and contrast to your palette. You will also want to choose a light color for backgrounds and black (or other very dark shade for text).
If you need some color inspiration (I LOVE collecting color palettes), my Pinterest board has a TON of different options.
Typography
One of my pet peeves is the OVERUSE of typography styles in branding materials. At most, you should have 2 different font families on your website (I’m not including body font in this). There are plenty of resources to pair fonts, but you can never go wrong with a serif and sans serif combo.
Limiting the number of different fonts prevents your audience from becoming distracted or overwhelmed by your text. Keep it simple and make sure the fonts you use work well together and are large enough to read easily on mobile. Need some help with font pairing? This Pinterest board has some really fun matchups!
Tone
Tone is something that is often overlooked in branding materials and customer experience. When you know your digital branding style, it’s easy to hone in on the tone you should be using throughout your branding. If your brand style is luxurious and elegant, you will likely strike a more formal tone in your language and conversations with potential clients.
Alternatively, if you have a more natural and lively digital brand style, you will likely use more informal language and interact with your customers in a “girl/guy next door” manner.
Imagery
One of the styling elements that I see fall by the wayside is consistent imagery. As visual beings, the images you use for your brand are a KEY element in your digital branding strategy.
As the digital sphere continues to shift towards less text and more visual elements, stock photography and product photography have become increasingly more important. If you include people in your photos, make sure those individuals resemble your target customers.
Work your brand colors into your photography with props, accessories and pops of color.