Expressing brand identity in website design

A brand is often understood too superficially or narrowly. It refers to a holistic experience that consists of emotions and reputation. A brand is the feeling and perception people associate with products, individuals, companies, or trademarks. While a company can influence the development of its brand through its actions, the brand is never fully under its control—customers' and users' opinions and experiences always play a part in shaping it.

A strong brand helps focus business goals and operations. When a brand's values and vision are clear, all decisions can be made based on them, enhancing efficiency and ensuring a unified direction.

Brand strategy is a critical element of website design. It lays the foundation for a cohesive, effective, and engaging online service that supports the company's business objectives and strengthens the brand. Without a clear brand strategy, a website can become confusing and inconsistent, potentially harming the brand image and negatively impacting the business.

Visual identity creates the first impression of a brand. It’s often the first point of contact between the user and the brand. It comprises selected visual elements such as logos, colors, typography, images, symbols, and other graphical components. This visual language helps to identify and remember the brand.

When designing a visual identity, it’s essential to consider several factors to ensure it captures the target audience's attention and supports the brand's goals.

• Audience-appropriate: Visual elements should resonate with the target audience and evoke the right emotions. Every visual decision should serve a purpose and convey the desired brand values.
• Distinctive: The visual identity must stand out from competitors. It should be easily recognizable and memorable.
• Simple: A good visual identity is clear and easy to understand. Simplicity improves comprehension.
• Timeless: While the visual identity should be adaptable to changing times, it must also endure and evolve with the brand. The goal is to create a look that is not too tied to fleeting trends.
• Scalable: The visual identity must function seamlessly across different channels. It should be easily replicable in digital channels, print materials, and physical environments.

Brand guidelines often include detailed instructions on how the identity should be reflected in digital environments. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In some instances, the brand identity doesn’t translate at all into the digital space, especially when it comes to accessibility.
In the beginning of the project, we at Wunder review the existing brand guidelines with the client and agree how to utilize them in the design process. Defining the guidelines together is crucial as it helps to reduce unnecessary iterations and provides clear parameters for the project.

If the brand guidelines are missing or incomplete, we can help to refine and design a brand identity that resonates with the target audience and supports the business goals. This should include not just the visual identity but also other elements that support the brand.

In the following sections, we will cover some key aspects of visual brand identity that are particularly important in the digital environment.

The right typography

Typography is a key component of brand identity. It plays a vital role in creating mood, setting the tone, and increasing brand recognition. Typography can create a cohesive and harmonious visual identity. Good typography should be versatile, accessible, and timeless.

The choice of typefaces, or fonts, may have been based on their availability in employees' operating systems. Alternatively, custom fonts may have been used without thoroughly considering their licensing costs or functionality in digital environments. In these cases, it is recommended to define typography that works especially in the digital environment and utilize, for example, license-free font families that are tested for readability and accessibility. This does not mean that you must rely on Google or Adobe, as font hosting can be handled independently for privacy reasons, avoiding dependency on third-party services. In some cases, using third-party services can also slow down website loading speeds, negatively impacting user experience.

A brand guideline should include instructions for both visual and communication elements. This guide serves as a framework for all website design and content production. Even if the brand guideline is years old and outdated, it doesn’t necessarily mean it requires a complete overhaul. Often, it’s more about how the guidelines are interpreted and applied. A proper brand identity evolves over time and acts as a living organism within a company or community.

In addition to brand guidelines, design systems help designers and developers create user-friendly, accessible, and brand-aligned digital services. A design system is a scalable and continuously evolving framework. It includes reusable components, guidelines, and documentation that guide the design and development of products or services. A well-executed design system ensures a consistent user experience across all channels and devices, which is essential for building a strong brand.

Design systems also make ongoing service design and development more cost-efficient by eliminating the need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, existing components and solutions can be reused in both design and technical implementation.

Read more about design systems

In addition to visual elements, application and website design and development must consider the user's overall experience. A more comprehensive brand experience can be created by viewing the process as a chain where user experience is part of a broader whole.

User Experience (UX) focuses on how a user interacts with a product or service. Its goal is to make the experience easy, efficient, and enjoyable. Good UX ensures that the application or website is user-friendly, intuitive, and meets the user’s needs. Customer Experience (CX) expands on UX to encompass all touchpoints between the audience and the brand. This includes customer service, marketing, sales, and all other interactions. Good CX ensures a positive and cohesive experience across all channels. Brand Experience (BX) is the overall experience a customer has with a branded product or service. It includes emotions, perceptions, and memories associated with the brand. Strong brand experience fosters an emotional connection between the customer and the brand, leading to loyalty and advocacy.

By integrating UX, CX, and BX into the design process, you build trust, satisfaction, and loyalty toward the brand.

User feedback is invaluable for understanding how users perceive a product or service and for identifying areas for improvement. Feedback can be categorized into two types: direct and indirect.

Direct feedback is collected explicitly from users through methods such as surveys, interviews, or usability testing.

Indirect feedback is gathered by observing user behavior without direct interaction. Tools like analytics and user tracking provide insights into metrics such as page views, clicks, and time spent on a page. Indirect feedback can also be collected through A/B testing, comparing two versions of a product or service to determine which performs better.

User feedback strengthens the brand experience. It should be actively collected, and actionable insights should be implemented to improve both user and customer satisfaction. By continuously collecting feedback, you can develop better products and strengthen customer relationships.

A consistent and well-designed brand identity is the foundation of your website’s success. It provides clarity, builds trust, and delivers a positive user experience. When your brand identity is present in everything you do on your website, you create a cohesive and compelling brand experience that captures your audience, builds trust, and drives sales. Remember: Consistency is the key to success.