The power of brand experience design

In a world of constant information, your brand is your calling card. Having an unclear brand identity can mean that people forget about your company the moment it’s out of view, or worse, confuse you with a competitor.

Seeing as it’s so important, it makes sense that you should want complete control over it. The more you can take your brand by the reigns and design each interaction, the more you can be sure people are picking up what you’re putting down.

Enter brand experience design! If you want to safely guide your audience through your company narrative, you won’t get far without it.

What is brand experience design?

To fully understand what brand experience design is, you first need to know what brand experience means.

Every single interaction that a customer has with a brand, both in person and online, is brought together to form the brand experience. It isn’t simply your products or interface, though. It encompasses feelings, perceptions, and associations that can develop.

Brand experience can include:

• Visual identity
• Messaging
• Customer service
• Packaging
• Special events
• Physical environments
• Public relations

To fully design your brand experience, you need to be in control of all these touchpoints and ensure they are cohesive, memorable, and overwhelmingly positive. While it’s a lot of work, it ultimately leads to customer loyalty, advocacy, and business growth.

What does a brand experience designer do?

Because the concept of brand experience design is so all-encompassing, it can be difficult to visualize exactly what the role of a brand experience designer would be. What do they get up to all day?

In reality, this role is as vast as the brand experience itself. The designer could spend their time doing any number of things, including:

• Understanding the brand – Honing the brand’s values, mission, target audience, and unique selling points.

• Researching user needs – Sifting through customer feedback, and seeking out reviews and research to fully understand the brand’s target audience and craft experiences that resonate with them.

• Brainstorming ideas – Finding innovative ways to bring the brand to life by sketching, planning, and creating visual and experiential concepts that capture the brand’s essence.

• Creating experiences – Designing every touchpoint, including websites, mobile apps, physical spaces, virtual events, and more.

• Making things understandable – The last thing you want is to overwhelm your audience with information. A brand experience designer will create designs and visuals to simplify complex concepts for your customers.

• Cross-team collaboration – Brand experiences encompass elements of nearly every department, the designer will work with marketers, copywriters, developers, sales teams, and even IT to bring everything together.

Ultimately, a brand designer will be ensuring that customers’ experience of the brand is consistent and awesome.

Why is a brand experience design important?

Let’s be real, when we buy something it’s usually based on a gut feeling. That’s not uncommon. Nearly 95% of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously, or based on “vibes”.

Having a designer specifically in charge of those vibes then becomes vital to your company staying on top of people’s lists. It can foster some pretty spectacular things like:

• Brand awareness – If you can make every interaction with your company memorable, you’re going to generate some buzz
• Customer loyalty – Consistency builds trust, and trust is crucial for building loyalty and bringing customers back again and again
• Increased sales – The biggest benefit by far is a boost in sales! Positive interactions with your brand help build social proof and ultimately bring in new customers

With a clear and impactful brand experience design, your business will be top-of-mind for every user.

Principles of effective brand experience design

While your brand experience should be unique and tailored for your customers, there are a few key principles that can help you stand out for all the right reasons.

1.    Keep it classic

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make with their brand experience is trying to be too trendy. While staying updated with current design trends is important, it’s crucial to maintain a timeless and classic look that will continue to resonate with customers over time.

2.    Tell a story

We are predisposed to love and connect with stories. Every single brand experience design decision should tie back to the story of your brand, its values, and its journey. This creates a deeper emotional connection with your customers and helps them understand and connect with your brand on a deeper level.

3.    Test, test, test

Just like with any design process, testing is essential in brand experience design. Conduct surveys, track analytics, and seek feedback from your target audience on your brand experience. This will help you refine and improve your design to create a more effective and engaging experience for your customers.

4.    Make space

If your visual design is music, then negative space is the rhythm. Without space between notes, a song is a mess of sound, and without blank space, your visuals will be a cacophony as well.  Giving your design space to breathe keeps it elegant and fresh, like visual jazz.

This is true of customer interactions as well. If you overcrowd users, they aren’t going to have time to appreciate your user experience. You can even cross the line into becoming a nuisance. Give your brand and your customers the room they need to grow.

5.    Stay consistent

When it comes down to it, the most important part of brand experience is consistency. Even one negative or messy experience can mess with your carefully crafted image. What’s more, if you don’t have a clear visual identity, then any positive interactions run the risk of being misremembered and not connected back to your brand. Keep it consistent, no matter what.

Designing the perfect brand experience

With these design principles in mind, you’re ready to jump in and start designing your brand experience. There’s a simple, step-by-step approach that can help your company stand out from the crowd.

Step one: Define your brand identity

Before you can even begin to design your brand experience, you need to have a unique brand identity. This includes your:

• • • Brand values
    • Mission statement
    • Target audience
    • History
    • Goals

These elements will guide the entire design process and ensure consistency in your brand experience.

Step two: Develop a visual identity

Your customers should be able to connect with your brand on sight. This means being specific and consistent with your:

• • • Color pallet
    • Logo
    • Typography

To keep these strong and identifiable, go back to the story your brand is trying to tell. A company catering to young rebellious types will have a different color pallet than a classy, traditional brand.

Step three: Craft user experience

Remember, every interaction a customer has with your brand should play into your brand experience. This means your website, social media, and customer service lines need to be easy to use and feel good.

Think about the entire customer journey and make sure your brand’s story is being told every step of the way.

Measuring the success of brand experience design

It can be difficult to tell how successful your brand experience design is, especially since there’s so much creativity involved in its execution. However, there are a few KPIs you can keep an eye on to make sure you’re on the right track.

1.    Social media engagement

If people are having positive experiences with your brand, and find it memorable, they’re going to take to the web and let it be known. Even if it’s just an Instagram follow, that can mean a lot! 90% of consumers are more likely to buy from companies they follow on social media.

2.    Data collection

The more data your team collects on users, the more fine-tuned your brand experience can become. Think of it like this – the more you know about your audience, the more you can tailor your brand experience to their needs and preferences. This can include tracking website traffic, email open rates, or survey data.

3.    Customer feedback

One of the most important aspects of brand experience design is gathering feedback from your customers. This can be in the form of reviews, surveys, or direct communication. This feedback not only helps you understand how customers perceive your brand but also provides valuable insights for improving and evolving your brand experience.

Meet Kaltura Events – create, manage, and measure all your events on a single platform using customizable templates for every need

When you put the amount of effort you should into your brand experience design, you need to ensure that it stays consistent across all platforms and touchpoints. This is especially true of virtual events, where users are engaging fully with your team and ready for a memorable experience.

Kaltura gives you complete control over your event so you can ensure your design is carried through in the visuals, quality, and interactivity. Our stress-free interface and fun virtual interactions ensure that every user feels included and excited to be involved.

Even starting with one of our timeless templates, you can fully customize everything to fit your brand. In the end, with Kaltura, you can rest assured that your brand experience design is in good hands and will be a key part of every virtual event.