In part three we look at using copy and design in your brand and also ways in which copy and design can work together.
Using Copy and Design in your Brand
Brand copy, on its own, can do wonders for communicating your brand’s value and what it has to offer a customer. These efforts, however, are much more effective when married with design.
Just as copy explains and translates design, design illustrates and brings copy to life. Just think of a storybook with and without pictures. While the book without pictures certainly can work on its own, the story becomes considerably more engaging once there is an illustrated design that goes with it. Copy and design work in that exact same way to help tell your brand’s story.
Take a look at these two pieces of brand copy:
• These looks are the hottest, no matter if it’s day or night
• Fun and versatile styles that you’ll love
Both communicate the same concept. They both illustrate the point that the clothes can go with anything while also promising the buyer will be happy with their purchase. Notice, however, their wildly different ways of expressing that thought. Generally speaking, a brand that uses the first example isn’t likely to use the second.
It’s the same for brand designs. You wouldn’t see a brand whose design was a cowboy on a horse use futuristic or gothic fonts.
Copy and Design: A Dynamic Duo in Action
When using brand copy, there is a good chance you’re going to be using other forms of copy as well. In most instances, brand copy will work to communicate the company’s value (also known as a unique value proposition) while another copy acts to convince the person to “buy” what you’re selling.
A brand copy will, in a concise manner, communicate these key things:
• What benefits are offered
• How you can best resolve the prospect’s issue
• How your product is superior to your competitor’s
Now, depending on what you have to offer, this may be difficult to fully communicate in a brief statement. This is where visual designs come in. Using designs allows you to illustrate the message and make it clearer.
If you look at the Frank Body website above, you’ll see this is very much the case. Both the brand copy as well as the visual design are working in tandem with one another to properly convey their brand’s personality: fun and cheeky.
Another great example is Kind Socks. Thanks to their stellar copy and amazing design, they can make their brand stand out as a fun and environmentally friendly company. Their use of bright and vibrant colors on their website and product design perfectly illustrates that they are fun and quirky and that you’ve got to be fun and quirky too to “get” them.
Their copy brand is just as engaging. While the design is fun and silly, the copy stresses a sense of kindness, both for your feet as well as for the environment as a whole. This level of consistency is found throughout the entirety of their website, ensuring their customers and users never break with the brand’s personality or persona.
