What is brand?
Brand is a unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality and satisfaction in the consumer’s mind. Thus brands help harried consumers in a crowded and complex marketplace by standing for certain benefits and values.
Brand & “U”
How do you relate or connect to any brand?
You have a relationship with some brands, so much so that they often spark certain emotions or qualities within you. To give a few examples, Cadbury Dairy Milk offers happiness as it conveys the sentiment of celebrating small joys in our lives by having something sweet to eat. Whereas Nike makes you feel confident and determined, Colgate, on the other hand has become a symbol of trust and first choice of toothpaste for most of the people.
People connect to brands through a variety of media like Images, Sounds, Names, Colors, Reputation, Experience, Brand Ambassadors, Campaigns, Emotions and so on…
Research reveals that the connections we make with brands can be as deep and emotional as the relationships we have with other people. With some brands, we have wild, short-term flings. With others, we “fall in love” and enter a mutually beneficial relationship.
Brand recognition & recall
Brand cognition is the consumers’ perception of a brand concept. A brand promise (statements, actions and experience) is interpreted by consumers and manifested as an expectation (the assumption that the brand will act in a given manner).
Brand recognition refers to a consumers’ ability to recognize a brand when prompted with the actual name, while brand recall is the ability to recall the name of a brand when given a particular category, class, product or service. For example: Showing the logo of Pepsi to a person and asking to recognize is brand recognition and giving the category of soft drinks and asking him to recall the brands is brand recall.
So, how do you recognize a brand?
You are watching a movie, and one of the characters is talking on the phone. It is a very short scene, just a few seconds, but that is enough for you to discover the brand of the phone. That same process happens when you are in a supermarket. Your brain analyses hundreds of products at the same time and helps you locate your favorite brand- recognize it.
Brand recognition is how we access information in our memory to identify a brand. It could also be negative: you recognize a terrible ice cream brand just by looking at the logo.
Guess the brand
So which brands did you recognize instantly and why? Think about it!
Brand recognition factors in visual experience design
Branding plays a very important role in designing a software product- be it a website, web application or mobile application. Brands set expectations, and when faced with uncertainty people tend to pick the safer option. People know what to expect from a brand they are familiar with.
Few things that could help increase brand recognition are:
Colors: The choice of a good color palette is very important in branding. Color is not just aesthetics – it stimulates various emotions and carries with it subconscious associations to various things and characteristics.
Character: Shape your brand’s character towards something which your audience is likely to associate themselves with. For example – Infusing your brand with anthropomorphic elements can be a good way to give it character.
Emotions: What feelings and emotions do you want people to experience when they visit your site? Crafting the aesthetics of your site should not be about following the latest design trends but to invoke the right emotions so people can recall and recognize your brand.
Consistency: To build a successful brand you need to make it memorable. What do you do to make people remember things? You repeat them.
Tone of voice: It’s not just about what you say – it’s about how you say it. You can say the same thing in different voices and get the same meaning across, but the personality that this voice emanates will be different; so choose a tone of voice that suits your brand’s character and audience.
Uniqueness: This will not only stand you out from your competitors but you will be more memorable, and that means a better chance that your visitors will come back for more.
This is not an exhaustive list, and I’m sure there are many more factors that help brand recognition. Can you think of some? Respond through the comment section of this blog.
Amplify your brand presence with the best UX design studio that truly aligns your needs with those of your consumers! Get in touch with us at YUJ Designs, today!
