15 Deadly Disasters Of Not Creating Your Brand Identity Design

Here’s the thing, if someone tells you that your business will be fine without branding, they are only messing with you. Many times in the world of business, we meet people who may get a logo but refuse to expand their visual identity for various reasons that mostly include a tight budget or unawareness of the importance of having one. Because of this ignorance and denial, their businesses suffer in ways they may or may not realize is because of not investing in professional brand identity.

Here are a few ways in which not having a brand identity could hurt your business. Find out what some branding experts and entrepreneurs have to say about the troubles one can face for not designing a visual identity; and also the benefits of having one.

1. Lack Of A Customized Branding Can Hurt Your Company’s Legitimacy

When we see any information online, we look for the name of the author or perhaps the brand’s logo in advertisements. Why do we do this? Because it is difficult to believe anything (no matter if it is true or we agree with it) without the source.

CEO of Life Insurance Star, Sam Lowy says, “A lack of visual brand identity may hurt a company’s legitimacy in a big way” and this is so true even with product packaging. Would you buy the black cola bottle on the shelf with no logo of let’s say well-established brands like Pepsi or Coke? Highly unlikely.

Another thing to note is that if you take part in trade show events without a business card, it will get tough for you to make B2B or B2C connections. If you don’t have proper details on your visiting card, for example, Lowy says, “People will question whether or not you offer proper services because they don’t know how to get in touch or to check what services or products you offer.” Thus, it is crucial to create a brand’s visual identity for all its communications so that it successfully establishes itself as an authentic and reliable entity in the market.

2. Without A Brand Identity, You Can’t Create An Association Between The Brand And The Customers

Let’s say, your business offers quality leather shoes in a small European town in the suburbs and it is doing rather well for some time. You enjoyed your monopoly. However, another shoe shop just opened a mile away from yours. With a competition, how long will you be able to run your ancestral trade without a proper brand identity?

Founder and CEO of BrandLoom, Avinash Chandra says, “Your customers need the right image to associate with you, and to connect with you” and without a unique logo design, for example, you have nothing to a) stamp on the products you produce, and b) to create a solid link between your brand and its customers with new and increasing traders.

It is important for businesses to grow and for this, entrepreneurs need to invest in a “defined brand identity” so that the moment you release any sort of message people know it is from you. Chandra also says, “poor brand identity management might have a deep running impact on the business.” Without a nice-looking logo, a professional website, customized business cards, your business won’t be able to reach the heights it has the potential to conquer.

3. Sans Brand Identity, Creating Valuable Engagement With Customers Becomes Harder

The thing is that in this digitally optimized world, the word “engagement” has gained priority. Thus, it is important to add the different visual elements of your brand’s identity to your social media profile picture and cover image, posts containing custom images and videos, paid social advertisements, and all the other marketing items on-screen or in print so that people know it is you who they’re engaging with.

Also, when sharing messages or information about your business, try to add elements and principles of design to make them attractive and memorable to increase the chances of valuable interaction. In engaging customers, Co-founder and CEO of Literal Humans, Paul David says, “Hit them with great copy, striking visuals, powerful audio stories, tactile experiences, and pungent scents” so make the effort to have an organic relationship with your brand.

As a business owner in a digital age, you need to know that visuals account for more on the web than plain text. Around 70% of marketers believe visuals will reap better results for businesses in 2021. David also stresses the value of visual media, he says, “Brands that invest in graphics and an overall strong visual brand generate higher, more sustained engagement from their audiences” and that’s so true.

4. No Website Design For Brands Means Decreased Level Of Trust And Missed Opportunities

A responsive web design genuinely helps businesses reach a global market of potential buyers waiting to discover information online. Not just this, Reuben Yonatan, Founder and CEO of GetVoIp says, “If a company lacks a website, the trust level decreases. The first thing people do when they hear of a brand is google it. If they cannot find the brand on google, they assume it is not legitimate.” Thus, it has become ever so important for businesses to get themselves listed on Google My Business or Yelp. If you don’t make a website or get listed online, people won’t be able to find you.

5. A Brandless Business Cannot Stand Out In A Growing Market Full Of Increasing Competitors

By 2019, there were over 30 million small businesses in the United States of America, and now the number has only grown, especially online. Adam Rowles, CEO of Inbound Marketing Agency asserts, “The competition is growing with each passing moment, and you will need a strong pillar to stand tall. Your brand image does that for you. Your unique brand identity will make you stand out from the crowd and draw the attention of potential customers.” With the help of a brand identity that begins with a good logo design and a befitting color palette, businesses can tell their customers who they are and build a unique image around their campaigns.

6. Brand Without A Unique Logo Design Can Be Perceived As Questionable And Untrustworthy By The Target Market

Those entrepreneurs who have invested in a complete brand identity know how much of a (positive) difference it made to their business. Martynas Kavaliauskas, Co-Founder and CEO at TrackingFox says, “A visual brand identity like a logo is like a person’s face. Just imagine if a person does not have a face, it spells disaster because you wouldn’t know who that person exactly is, and of course, you wouldn’t trust him. The same goes for brands.” The reason the word “identity” is attached to a brand is that once a brand is created, it is almost like a living thing. You need to make it look appealing, feed it with the right things, and help it socialize.

Kavaliauskas also cautions, “If a brand doesn’t build its visual identity, then it would not be taken seriously, most especially when there are lots of brands out there that have invested in theirs. If you don’t have a visual brand identity, then you are next to nothing.” This simply means that without a name, a face, or a personality you don’t really exist.

7. No Visual brand Identity Means Your Business Has No Proper Purpose And No Mission In The Market

When you see logos of brands like McDonalds and Apple, you instantly know what they stand for. Not only do their slogans suggest something, but their entire branding creates a distinctive persona and a sui generis experience. Yuuna Morishita, Owner of The Japanese Way says, “Businesses without visual brand identity don’t exactly know or understand their mission, purpose, even they can’t tell others what things and goals they aspire to do.” Without a visual identity, brands have no way to (instantly) deliver and explain the reason for their existence: who they are, why they are here, what they offer and why.

8. Your Brand Will Go Unnoticed Online If There Is No Professional Website Design With Your Logo On It

In branding and marketing, you need to make sure that everything is linked. By this, I mean there should always be a connection between your brand and anything you share, publish, or print. How do you do that? A simple and quick way is to add your unique logo design to every piece of visual content that you make. Make sure that your logo design concept is not generic or overused.

Brandon Brown, CEO of Grin says, “Logos should get potential customers intrigued to learn more about the purpose of the organizations” especially when they are placed on a business card, leaflet or brochure, or mobile app design. It is important to note, “visually appealing logos and websites add plenty of value to businesses, in the long run”, says Brown.

9. Without A Customized Brand Identity, You Have Nothing To Establish Trust

Establishing a belief about your brand in the hearts of customers takes a lot of effort. Akram Assaf, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Bayt says, “Your visual identity displays dedication, trust, and prestige” and if you don’t have an appealing and professional visual brand identity, then chances are people will not want to associate themselves with your business so yes, this is how much design matters.

Everything from the shapes to the colors matter because they build your brand’s character. In fact, some colors suggest certain meanings that become associated with your brand over time. For example, security service logos are in either blue that represents safety, or red that warns of danger. In the same way, Bayt uses a blue and white color palette to suggest trustworthiness.

10. Absence Of A Visual Identity Means Your Brand Has No Voice, Let Alone A Tone

We are all made up of voices — some of us consistently speak about the rights of women, some talk about their interest in cricket, and some are always discussing food recipes. With this, we usually figure out what a person is passionate about. In the same way, businesses need to have a brand voice to let people know them better.

This said a brand voice needs to have a certain tone as well. These days, because of conversational commerce, brands are required to humanize branding. A non-human voice sounds robotic, untrustworthy, and unrelatable. A brand voice and vocabulary help to position a business as an identifiable expert in a certain industry.

Polly Kay, Senior Marketing Manager at English Blinds says, “Brand visuals should build and generate associations in the minds of prospects and customers, and act as a form of reassurance, as well as saying something about the company and their tone and style as much as what they do.” The type of medium, visual media, communication design, and textual content are all the things that help in brand positioning. The best way to create your brand voice is to develop a graphic style guide for it.

11. With No Brand Identity, It Becomes Extremely Hard For Businesses To Come Off As Professional

When doing business, it is crucial to possess and deliver a sense of professionalism: showing your competence to those that matter to your brand. Without a visual brand identity, Hedy Zhou, Founder at Happily Hedy says, “You could come off as someone who is not seriously doing it as a business, but rather a side-gig for friends and family, for example.” This is a good point to bookmark because to expand your business into something official and legit, you need to “have a proper logo and website” along with other branding and marketing collateral.

12. Brands Without A Visual Identity Are Unable To Mark Their Presence And Differentiate Themselves In Competitive Markets

Pick any industry and there will be thousands of brands doing similar business but customers will prefer one over the other, why? This is because each business has a unique brand identity design that has a certain brand voice and tone, a particular look and appeal, and a different purpose and mission.

Matt Bertram, CEO & SEO Strategist at EWR Digital says, “Businesses without a visual brand identity find it harder to establish their presence in a crowded marketplace. They will struggle to differentiate themselves from their competitors, their marketing campaigns will be less memorable and they will fail to inspire customer loyalty.” In a swarm of businesses, not having a custom brand design is a bad idea.

13. Without A Brand Identity, Your Business Message Will Be Unclear And Inconsistent

If we would have seen black posters with the phrase, “Just Do It”, we would have never guessed it is from Nike unless a logo or an image of the product was placed on each print. David Cusick, Chief Strategy Officer at House Method asserts, “A lack of visual identity will make it hard for customers to recognize your brand, resulting in poor brand awareness.” Let us take another example of a fast food chain. If you see online web banner ads with photographs of pizza, you will not likely click it unless you see a logo from Dominos or Pizza Hut. This is why it is necessary to be consistent and clear all the time.

14. A Brand With No Visual Identity Design Has Nothing To Make An Impression With In The Marketplace

In a room full of people at a party, the ones that stand out are those who can influence or inspire others with their looks, dressing, or personality. Erna Blooms, Founder of Bloomingaces says, “Visual brand identity is the first impression that a company gets to make in their first encounter with a potential client or audience” and without it, businesses cannot fully leverage the opportunity of making their mark.

15. A Brand Will Never Make A Permanent Place In The Customers’ Minds If It Has No Logo And Branding

To have customers remember your brand, there must be something that catches their eye and then remains in their memory. A signage company, Signs.com conducted an interesting memory test, in which they asked over 155 Americans aged 20 to 70, to sketch 10 of the world’s most famous logos with as much accuracy as they can from recollections.

Michael Humphreys, Founder & CEO at Z Grills Australia says, “Without proper visual branding, a business will most likely fail. Many successful businesses continue to survive even through crises because they’ve become a household name.” Logos like Burger King, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Target, and Ikea are all among the ones that excessively brand themselves in all their marketing, public relations, and advertising efforts and this is why when you hear their name, you instantly associate a visual with them.

Wrapping It Up

From what we have read so far, it is evident that without a professional brand identity, a business finds it hard to flourish because it hasn’t been given the resources for growth and prosperity.

Not having a graphic brand identity design is probably okay when you have no competition at all, but where can you find a utopia like that. Even though Google dominates the search engine market, it still brands itself with a colorful logo that goes really well with its minimalist website design.

No matter the type, niche, or size of your business, it needs a visual brand identity.

START A CONTEST