A brand is so much more than a logo, name, or visual identity—it’s what people think about your business, product, or individual. It encompasses every experience, interaction, and message that shapes how someone feels about your brand.
Brands are built one impression at a time. Through strategically chosen visuals—your logo, website, signage, images and advertising—your brand sends an instant message to the viewer’s brain before any words are read or digested. Often, viewers aren’t even aware of the fact that a brand is being built in their mind by these images, but it is.
Fonts, colors, and images speak a language that is profoundly effective because the brain is drawn towards visuals. They are quicker to digest than words, allowing a viewer to make a split-second decision subconsciously before they are even aware of their reaction. In short, your brand visuals form a mental picture that either draws the viewer in or tells them there is nothing here of interest.
That’s why professional communicators and designers are constantly seeking to understand the human brain and how it processes information. They understand that the human brain is drawn towards efficiency, and that visuals often come with meaning that are tied to demographics, culture, and experiences. They know that it takes mental energy to process visuals. Think, for example, of how hard you must work to process being immersed in a new culture and city—where the visual experience is very different from what you are used to.
Since humans have only so much mental energy, we naturally move towards things that we are used to, easy to process and comfortable with. This allows us to conserve our mental energy for the inevitable “new” experiences that present every day. It also means that things that are known, like brands, can provide comfort and connection.
Over time, brand visuals will provide both a mental shortcut and a low-effort reminder to potential customers that your brand is still there—and that you offer something they need or want. Sometimes this inspires an instant response, like a product sale on Instagram, and sometimes there is a much longer lead time, like when you are looking for a homebuilder or purchasing a new car.
Especially as our visual experiences intensify with continued exposure to content feeds, consistency, repetition and alignment of your visuals become more and more important. Visual representation of a brand is sophisticated work that is fluid as markets and trends shift. But a strong, relevant visual brand makes it easy for your followers to return to the familiar and reinforce the connection to your brand.
Bringing the knowledge of what visuals people are drawn to, what symbolism is in certain images, and how images, design, fonts and colors influence human behavior is a vital asset to today’s business. Good design is so much more than creating something pretty—it’s an art deeply rooted in an understand of the human mind, and how visuals create connection and inspire action.