Design Problems To Watch Out For

Whether it’s a well-known global brand or the mom-and-pop shop around the corner, there are two main design problems our designers commonly encounter within the world of branding.

But the word ‘design’ is so vague–what does it actually mean?

When we say ‘design’ we’re talking about the logos, color palettes, typography, layouts, icons, and any other visual elements that comprise a brand. For Fidelis, as an example, that includes our signature oil drop icon and a dark and moody website that matches our stark dark (black) building.

Of course, there are the obvious issues of fast turnarounds, finding the right clients, etc. when working in the world of design, but these two issues below can cause a real headache.

1. Frankensteining

Believe it or not, “frankenstein” is a word that gets thrown around often in the Fidelis shop. When a brand isn’t cohesive, pieced together haphazardly and difficult to resonate with, that’s what we call a frankensteined brand. This happens when you get a logo made by your cousin in art school, flyers from a $5/hour designer on Fivver, and a Squarespace site created by your son who may be a little too in touch with current Gen Z trends for your professional financial advising firm.

Yeah, they may all have the same company name, but are all the design elements really cohesive and show a unified brand? Or did some things get lost in translation during the creation process? 

We’ve seen with our own eyes how worldwide coffee chains with tens of thousands of locations frankenstein their own brand despite having a dedicated team for this exact reason. It not only discredits your coherence as a business entity, but it also looks like you just cut corners (say goodbye to your credibility). 

To help the brands we’ve worked with avoid frankensteining, we create a custom Brand Schematic for each branding client that comes through our doors. It serves as a guide for all future brand communications, providing guide rails that make frankensteining extremely difficult, if not impossible, to do.  Every logo, icon, color, and font of the brand is beautifully displayed in a frame as a constant reminder of the hard work that was put into building your brand. No more mismatched logos on all your collateral!

2. Lack of Differentiation

Differentiation is also an important thing to consider with your design, especially when your business lives in an industry that has a standard look and feel. Who doesn’t want to stand out from the crowd a little and get some extra attention? That is unless, of course, you are a financial advisor who would prefer to not look like TikTok threw up on you.

Certainly you want your advisory firm to appear competent and dependable, but do you really want to add to the overly-saturated market of uninterestingly designed competitors? No way! There’s a fine line between blending in with your industry so you’re taken seriously and also having a distinctive brand that is appealing (but not conceited or excessive). Funky fonts, neon colors, and a logo written in marker might lean more childish than what you’re going for, and although it’s unusual, it could attract the wrong audience or no audience at all.

At Fidelis, we strive to show off our clients’ unique value proposition and winning qualities through all of our branding and marketing efforts, and we do that by adding an extra 2 oz of fun to make your brand distinctive. If you’re ready to dive deep into the world of branding, give us a shout! 

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