How to Make a Strong Connection Using the Psychology of Branding

How to make a strong emotional connection with your audience – the psychology of branding for your business.

Why you need a Brand Identity

How do others relate to your business? Just like individuals have personalities, your brand also has personality traits. It is the job of your brand identity – your logo, colours, type and imagery to all work together to form a personality.

But why does your business need a personality, to begin with? Well, we as humans connect with personalities, not features & benefits.

We will choose to interact with brands based on traits we personally look for in people – trustworthy, honest, wholesome, or creative just to name a few.

We are drawn to traits that we see in ourselves. More than anything, we strive to connect with others that are like us and understand us. At the most basic level, we are wired for connection and belonging.

Therefore, defining your brand personality is how you start to make an emotional connection with your audience.

So, let’s break down the psychology of branding in the various components that make up a brand identity:

Your Brand Mark (Logo)

The brand mark or logo is the face of your brand. It’s the first thing people associate with branding and it is an important part of the overall identity.

Your logo will usually be the first visual interaction someone has with your business so it’s important that it is memorable.

Logo design for Unwind with Steph by Vanessa Bucceri Creative

Logo style says a lot about you and your business. There are so many styles to list, that I could probably dedicate a whole month of blogging to all the different types and what they visually communicate.

But remember, every aspect of it from its shape, weight, style, and energy communicates something. There’s a vast difference between a stable and elegant wordmark to a cartoony and youthful illustration. Make sure your brand mark is putting out what you hope to receive back.

The Psychology of Branding with Colour

We associate colours with certain emotions. These emotions impact our perceptions.

With branding, these emotions and perceptions need to align with your brand personality and how you want people to think and feel about your business.

Here are some examples:

Colour palette for Vanessa Bucceri Creative

The Psychology of Branding with Typography

Typefaces & font families have different characteristics or traits all of their own.

Serif fonts are reliable and more traditional while sans-serif fonts are modern and stable. Script fonts can be elegant or romantic whereas modern fonts may be chic or progressive. Display fonts can signal all sorts of traits depending on the typeface.

For some great infographics on the topic, this round-up post by digitalsynopsis.com is worth a look.

How Image Style Reflects Brand Personality

Now more than ever, photography and videography play an increasingly important role in business branding.

Social media requires brands to be constantly engaging with their audience in a highly visual way. Even Twitter, which is a text focused medium, is filled with imagery.

Image Style for The Base Coat Nail Boutique | How to Brand your Instagram

The style of your images should further communicate your brand message in a cohesive way and compliment the personality of your logo, brand colour palette and typeface selections.

Are your images editorial and black & white or vibrant and full of life? Do you focus on images with groups of people or is your style more of flat lays and still life? Whatever your image style may be, it’s important to be consistent with the rest of your visual message.

How your Brand Design Creates Connection

Brand identity includes every visual aspect of your brand:

Each one of these elements portrays subtle messages about what your business stands for.

When your design elements aren’t aligned with each other, the results are confusing to your audience. But, when they are aligned and work together, your brand will tell a clear story. If this story resonates with your target client, then you’ve achieved an emotional connection. ✨