Branding is not just about marketing, advertising or designing a logo. Branding is more about how your brand communicates with the audience or how your audience interacts with your brand. Each point of interaction with the brand is how you create a unique perception of your customers about your brand. Therefore, branding is an ongoing process that starts at the start of your company and continues until your product is dead. This is why it is important to work on improving the experience of your customers whenever and wherever they interact with your brand, whether they are in your store or visiting your website or using your mobile app.
When it comes to your website, the user experience of your website also contributes to the branding. If your website does not resonate with your brand identity or your website’s UI/UX doesn’t align with your brand’s look and feel, your branding will not be that effective.
Brand Style
Since the website is also the part of your brand, it is important that it follows the same brand identity. This means the same color palette, typography, and other visual elements. If you look at some big names, for example, Facebook, you will notice that the entire platform follows a single brand identity, including their spin-off app Messenger. This is because branding is about communication and visual elements are the part of the communication process. The consistency of these visual elements on the UI of the website or app is key to delivering the user experience that will contribute positively to the branding process.
Splash Pages
For mobile apps, it is common to have a splash page. A splash page is the first thing your user will see. Therefore, you must ensure that sets the stage for delivering quality user experience. When designing the splash page, you must ensure that it complies with your brand style, which defines your brand identity. You can keep it simple by putting up the logo on a flat background color, which would your brand’s primary color. You can also make it lively by putting up an illustration or secondary color in the background as well, both of which should be part of your brand identity.
Loading Screen
When transitioning from one page to another or when providing a response to the user’s input, it is common to have some loading screen. This is another place which you should use for branding. For example, you can have an animated version of your logo to represent loading.
Icons
Using icons on a web page or mobile app is common. However, most designers make a mistake when they put up icons in greyscale or default color. The icons on the screen should look lively. This can be done by using color from your brand identity for them or by making the icons animated. This can be done through CSS or Javascript. Animated icons improve the user experience with prompt response to user’s input.