Why What Works is More Important Than What You Like

Voted #1 Best Branding Agency in Nashville, Brentwood & Franklin TN

Written by: Nice Branding Agency

Categories: Branding Tips

Published On: 1.29.2019

As branding experts, it’s our job to create brands that work to help you achieve the goals that are set out for your organization. We start with research and then we dive into who you are as a company, what you’re offering your clients, and who your competitors are. Our team of brand strategists, design professionals, and project managers assembles to embark on a strategy session that takes into account all elements of who you are and how you want to be perceived. Our branding process then dictates that we determine four foundational pillars: positioning, attributes, visual direction, and voice. Only then do we put pen to paper to sit down and work on the things that you would consider to be your brand. As branding, marketing, and design pros, we’ve literally seen it all. We’ve developed all sorts of brand elements for all sorts of clients, and we also make it a priority to stay on top of the latest trends.

Trust the Branding Experts You Hired

Simply put, we know what we’re doing. And we’re doing what we’re doing in your best interest. We’ve said it before, but we’ll keep preaching: you’ve really got to trust the branding experts you’ve hired. All this to say that ultimately we’re going to create a brand that will work for you. This means that what we put together for your organization will be developed strategically to help you achieve your goal. For some, that goal is to drive traffic; for others, the goal is to be a disruptor in their industry; and others simply want to be perceived as trustworthy. There are so many facets that will be considered as we work through the project, and we will always be tracking toward your goal. Sometimes, when we develop a brand direction and the foundational elements for the brand (or even a simple graphic design piece), we encounter a situation where the client mentions that they don’t like a certain aspect of what has been created.

But What About My Opinions?

Personal opinions are certainly welcomed, however, it’s important for you to take into account that we will want to understand your why. We want to know what doesn’t seem to jive with you, and why you think it needs to be altered. You see, we aren’t in the business of being a technician manipulating the design programs to show you this, that, and the other thing based upon your fleeting desires or favorite colors. Instead, we’re here to guide you. We take your preferences into consideration, but we also weigh in from the perspective of the expert. Just to make this tangible, here are a few hypothetical examples of situations we’ve encountered:

Client:

I don’t like these colors in the logo you’ve created. My favorite color is red. Can we incorporate red into the logo?

Branding Experts:

Our team takes color pretty seriously. We aren’t spinning a color wheel and picking out any old hues. Instead, we’re taking into consideration industry standards for your business, as well as color psychology. We’re using the colors in your brand to create a certain feeling in those who encounter your organization. Additionally, we are seeking to create color pairings that complement one another well, and set you up well for the development of future brand support. Now, all that to say that if you have certain shades or colors that you want to implement, definitely let us know. However, be prepared for us to provide our honest opinion on why those will or will not work well for you.

Client:

I really like websites that have everything in the navigation menu. Can you add everything we offer to the nav bar?

Branding Experts:

Oh, websites. Web trends have changed so much over the past couple of years. In years past, we sought to include tons of information on a website, with little regard to helping the user find it all. Now, user experience is literally everything. We take a user-driven, mobile-first approach to website design, which means that offering up too many choices in the nav bar is a no-no. Instead, we put the most important pages at the top, along with a call to action in the top right corner. Everything else gets shifted to the footer menu. Of course, as the client, you should have a say in what goes in the prime real estate that is the header menu. However, don’t try to throw in everything but the kitchen sink. And trust us when we try to help you to whittle it down. This process will actually help you structure your business better, as you practice prioritizing what’s important to you.

Client:

Can you use these two fonts in my logo instead?

Branding Experts:

We pair fonts that complement one another and convey a certain emotion. There is so much to font selection and pairing. We really seek to select a typeface that is simultaneously on trend and not trendy. At Nice Branding Agency, we create logos that should last you about 10 years, so timeless fonts are key. I mean, remember when comic sans was actually acceptable?! Yeah, we don’t want to give you anything that will be laughable in less than 10 years. Also, we must take into consideration how the fonts will appear in application. What’s going to embroider well? What will show up well on a billboard? What’s web-friendly? And so on and so forth.

Client:

I know I don’t have yellow in my brand, but can we just use it on the website and nowhere else?

Branding Experts:

You’ve got to be relentless in keeping your brand intact. We aren’t saying that the answer to the above question has to be no. However, what we are saying is that any disconnect in the brand will open the door to the possibility that you might lose the attention of the customer. That said, we aren’t opposed to incorporating elements in one piece that might not be in another, but there’s got to be a good, solid reason for introducing something that might be perceived as a disconnect. You see, we’re not trying to turn you down at every intersection. It’s not fun for us to tell you no. Really, it’s not. We hate it. But you’ve charged us with building or protecting our brand. You’ve hired us because you know you need an expert. And when things go down the drain, we know you’ll be looking to us for answers. So, we know what works, and we are dead set on making it work for you. This doesn’t mean that your ideas are not valued. It does mean that when something isn’t in the best interest of your brand, we’re certainly not going to roll over. We’re going to stand up and speak up. If you’re in need of a branding agency that’s not afraid to protect the brand at all costs, give us a call. We’re your girls.