Why should today any business consider investing their time, money & energy in design before even they launch?
A lot of time I come across these frequently asked questions, such as
What will happen if I use graphic design?
Will my business increase? Will people recognize my business only through design?
Isn’t text enough to convey what I sell?
Are people going to look at design or they are going to look at my product/ service or what I have to offer, or if I am a famous person my brand will sell by itself.
I know many of you must have all of these apprehensions and more, and in this audio podcast I am going to break it down in 7 steps to stand out different from your competition.
Businesses communicate well through design, and not only to customers, but it can create a business image in the minds of employees and every stakeholder of the business. Hiring a branding design agency can solve all the design-related problems efficiently.
Good design makes it easier for customers to use your website, attracts the right people to your brand, and conveys your brand values in a matter of seconds.
Through building trust, making strong first impressions, building customer relationships, and even executing successful campaigns, good design helps make your business more profitable. At the end of the day, the technology or the differentiating factor in your business can only take you so far.
In this audio podcast I am going to share top 7 Secrets from my personal experience which will help you differentiate/ stand out from the rest of the competition. So plug in headphones, earphones or connect to your new Bluetooth speakers or Alexa go and grab your notepads, grab a cup of chai/ coffee, sit in a quiet place, and get ready to make notes. Ready? Let’s get started
Secret No. 1 Research & Copy :-
A good way to start is to find at-least 10-20 different websites similar to your niche and document everything. Copy their ideas as it is. It is indeed to copy initially and build your sketch. If required, do watch some videos on YouTube, read blogs, listen to audio-podcast of a specific brand or CEO’s podcast, note down your questions,
Do this exercise for at least for 30 days. I recommend at least 3-4 weeks just to keep on documenting and creating your mood boards. It really helps. When you spend time reading, watching, listening & thinking, it gives you a lot of great ideas and can help you avoid unnecessary pitfalls.
Secret No. 2 Good Brand Name
Once you have done your research. Please understand that the secret to a successful business, is this. “The entire game is, its all in the name”. I will repeat it just for you because I quoted it myself. How cool is that.
Just google some of the most successful companies, and you will find a unique one word name, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Nike, Apple, Amazon, Samsung, Tesla, SpaceX, Bose, NASA, Reliance, TATA, BIRLA, Toyota, Adidas, BMW, Honda, Ford Motors, McDonalds, Burger King, The list goes on….Every brand has a unique name which means something.
Secret No. 3 Color
Great brands understand the psychology of color. Color gives a unique identification to a brand and makes it successful. It can even elevate the brand in the minds of consumer to achieve a leadership position. Top companies have researched very well of how their potential buyer will interact with their brand before even they launch their campaign. Its all part of a gigantic plan. The idea is to build a successful “Brand Identity”. A memorable brand which will live for decades, or may be another 100 years. For example, Red in tooth Paste segment, Means Colgate. Red in shoes means Bata. What an iconic Brand? What a memorable brand.?
Secret No. 4 Story :-
Every brand has great story. Without story it would be very less likely to become a successful brand. The essence of great branding is all about story telling. It is the foundation that hooks people on to something and ultimately they get glued toward a specific brand. They start attaching their own thinking, emotions, or attributes to a brand that they fall in love with. Those companies what today we call as Brand, chose a name which is unique and has a compelling story which they have been building and communicating with the people around the world.
Story telling is a powerful concept and is highly misunderstood and ignored in today’s digital marketing.
Secret No. 5 Think outside the box :-
You all must have heard about this statement a hundred times. I did. But I didn’t understand what was it to think outside the box, while I was working in a corporate company. I mean every time my seniors or my managers told me or yelled at me, “Saurabh, think outside box, be creative”. And I used to wonder, what to say to them? Though I didn’t find them ever coming up with creative ideas or not even lame ideas, I used to literally go outside the building/ outside the office and used to think in my tea-breaks. What did they mean?
Do I have it in me to think creatively? And I used to stare at the building and think, does it mean that the building is box, or the managers cabin is a box, and they literally want me to go outside, think and build some ideas and then come back inside and present to them. Hilarious, isn’t it. You must be laughing, cause I am laughing too.
To an extent, when you go outside, you tend to observe everything, what’s happening around you and inside of you. Your brain starts ticking. It starts to wander, and if you stretch yourself a little more, your thoughts become concrete. Suddenly everything makes sense and then it all adds up. And one fine day you get a complement, Saurabh I liked your approach. You are indeed a creative person.
Thinking outside the box means to think differently, unconventionally, or form a new perspective. Today it has become my second nature to think creatively, I mean literally make it a practice before I produce anything. And it has served me very well.
Secret No. 6 Logo Design
When you hear logo design? Which brand logo instantly comes in your mind? Which logo do you resonate with. Most of them, I am sure would say, Apple, Pepsi, Coke, Nike, Adidas, Puma, BMW, Mercedes Benz.
There’s a reason great brands have great logos. And great logos are done by great people.
Logo Design is not about designing a fancy shape or a symbol anymore. In Greek philosophy the word logo meant, to give form and meaning. It involves a lot of creative thinking, a lot of research, a lot of practice and most importantly a lot of imagination. Its more than just a skill.
Secret No. 7 Change
I remember a quote by Robin Sharma, he says “Change is Hard at the Beginning, Messy in the Middle and Gorgeous at the End. Change is one of the most difficult things for humans to readily accept. How true.
But how do we install change in differentiating ourselves to stand out from the competition. Most people fail to understand one simple fact, and that is Change is basically a variation in the common way of doing things.
Common sense. Did it ring a bell. I will repeat again for you, “Change is basically a variation in the common way of doing things”
As Shiv Khera quoted wisely, and he says, “Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently”.
Whenever you start to perform a task in a certain way, don’t get used to it. Try to do it differently. Take multiple approach. In simple words, Keep innovating. Renovate. Revise. Because the only thing that is permanent is Change. Everything else is just temporary. As Mahatma Gandhi rightly said…
Be the change you want to see in this world.
So change for the greater good. And if you find this podcast valuable and has impacted your life, don’t forget to give me a thumbs-up, comment and most importantly share it in your friends and families. Ladies and gentlemen this is Saurabh Hirlekar signing off and I will be back with my next audio-podcast very soon. Stay Safe. Stay Creative.