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Writer's pictureScott Stevens

4 Huge benefits to creating a Visual Brand Language

4 huge benefits to creating a visual brand language (VBL) for your products. This post is not how to create VBLs. Let me give you a little context and we'll get into the list.


The users who interact with your products and those who see your advertisements create an association with your business's name, logo, and products. A reputation has been created. That reputation is your brand and you can capitalize off of it. If you create consistent, not shit experiences people will begin to trust your brand.


The 4 benefits are Recognition, Reassurance, the Delay of Commoditization, and Reduced Timelines.


1) Recognition:

What's the quickest way someone can recognize your product? It's not a logo. Products with a visual brand language can be recognized immediately, from a distance, & without seeing the logo. I'm going to use a fun example to make my point. The product is an iron and the brand is Milwaukee Tool.


Sketch of a iron that looks like it was made by Milwaukee Tool

These two worlds don't intersect but as you can see from my rendering, people familiar with the Milwaukee Tool brand should be able to identify it immediately.


Here are 3 benefits of recognition

- All of the meaning that past users have created with your brand will be associated with the new product.

- Out in the world, purchasers recognize those who are similar to themselves. A tribe is being identified. It reinforced that the purchase was a good decision.

- Non-purchasers will recognize your product as people use it. This is a form of free advertisement. When a large amount of people are seen using your product, it can create social pressure to purchase. Think about what Apple did with white earbuds. Every brand at that time made black ones. All the Apple users stood out and were identifiable. Apple used a contrarian idea to get attention.


2) Reassurance

Humans judge a new product on their past experiences. A VBL reassures potential customers that they will have the same great experience they've had before. It reinforces your brand's reputation and continues to build trust.


3) Delays Commoditization

A clear and well-entrenched VBL makes it difficult for competitors to come in and duplicate your success. They either have to show they can consistently deliver great experiences & build a trustworthy brand or offer something innovative that captures the market. One takes a lot of time and the other is difficult to achieve.


4) Reduced Timelines

The VBL gives your design team clear direction on how your product looks, feels, and works. This significantly reduces your design team's exploration time to find a direction. Now the designers can focus on implementing the VBL and refining the new product. The team has a clear reference point.

to make decisions throughout the development process.

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