6 signs of а bad tech company branding
In 2019 we completed over 30 projects for tech products at Embacy. This article is the first attempt to develop a theory based on our practical experience. Since there is no silver bullet when it comes to branding, I’ll try to outline the six signs of branding done wrong.
1. No metaphor, image or (at least) idea
A metaphor is the foundation of a brand. It helps the public understand and recognize the company.
Tech products benefit the most from having a metaphor because there is nothing material about them. You can take a picture of a beautiful hotel, but there is no point of taking screenshots of well-written code.
Our favorite example is TunnelBear VPN: a metaphor done great. A bear traveling through tunnels helps them stand out from 999 similar services.
Take a look at how the idea translates to icons:
Metaphors are awesome, but might not work if you are running a serious b2b campaign. In that case, you can stick to the image that is somehow tied to the product. That’s what we did for Oohdesk by illustrating the most famous outdoor advertising placements of Moscow. If this is too much too, leave some room for a small idea that represents only your product.
2. Logocentricity
Branding is not logo making. Millions of impressions on Instagram Stories and Facebook, website main page and e-mails. That’s what makes the first impression of your company. Not your logo. For instance, Ozon rebranded earlier this year, but the ads running are still old.
Take a look at how Chronobank used to look. This is how it looks now. Notice how the logo hasn’t changed too much.
3. Giving false promises
A brand is a promise given to your customer through image and text. Creating false expectations is a bad strategy in the long run. If there are issues with your product, quality or anything else, you can’t sweep it under the rug with pretty pictures. Even the most beautiful of lies won’t help. The brand is going to be ruined after the first buy. There is no point in making a contemporary branding when you’re running a company that’s not.
4. A 254 pages (yeah,that’s real) brand book PDF
PDF is old-school. Searching for social media post style between pages 228 and 240 is inconvenient. It’s more comfortable for the designer when all the material he needs is put in his instrument.
That’s why the final work should be in Figma. The only client who sent us branding guides in Figma was Skyeng. Be like Skyeng. If you have a PDF, PSD of Sketch, then transfer it to Figma. When you get the results, send me a thank you card or just message me on Facebook.
5. Stock images
It’s usually better not to use photos, icons, and illustrations at all rather than using stock ones. Sometimes powerful copywrite is enough. If you are on a budget, do a photoshoot yourself. Using stocks sucks. It’s not only about the website, but the ads too since they make your image.
Strangely enough, we had requests from guys who had custom illustrations that were no different than stocks ones. Rockets in space, people shaking hands, a person with a laptop, etc. That’s not an option too. To avoid this go back to point #1.
6. Text lacks meaning
Without powerful copywright you’ll just have conceptual pictures. You can kill all the beauty with «thinking outside the box» and«pushing the envelope».
I like Voice and Tone by Mailchimp the most by far. Airbnb’s Content strategy is a runner-up. The striking similarity between their main principles being «plainspoken» and «straightforward» is amazing. Both are about simplicity, clarity, and truthfulness but in different proportions.
I can’t promise that by reading this article you’ll start to create miraculous IT products branding. Though I hope it helps you not to make a bad one.
I’ll wait for additions and alternative opinions down in the comments
