Once upon a time, when branding was a literal term. A company owner would engrave a logo on a wooden crate, or a rancher would brand a hot iron on cattle, and it was done. The purpose was not to elicit an emotion, but rather, this is mine.
Graphic design and packaging had been a very transactional sandbox for decades. You have a designer design a pretty letterhead or a clean cardboard box. It was a process that was limited and functional.
So much has changed in the last ten years that it’s hard to imagine how the place has changed in just a decade. Branding today is not just a thing, it’s an ecosystem. One of the most intriguing aspects of today’s business landscape is the progression from a single-purpose custom design to a comprehensive brand approach. This is how we arrived here, and what it means for businesses attempting to grab consumer attention today.
The Birth of the Visual Identity
The transformation began in the mid-50s. Shelves started to stockpile the same type of products as mass production accelerated. A bar of soap is a bar of soap. Companies had to have more than a trademark; they had to have a personality to be distinguished.
The corporate identity came into existence in this period. Early agencies started asking companies to start considering consistency. You had to have a good logo on the window, billboard, TV and on the letterhead.
Custom design solutions were no longer viewed as a backstop to poor sales figures, but rather a means to building the business plan.
From Looking Good to Feeling Right
With a more competitive landscape, it became more about consistency than it became about competition. Brands needed to shift from visual to emotional.
It is here that the custom design really took off. Designers no longer asked themselves the question “What look good together?” and began to ask themselves “How can we make a consumer feel secure, adventurous, or elite?”.
Branding was transformed to anthropology and psychology. From the micro copy in a website’s error page to the feel of a product container, every touchpoint was made a deliberate decision.
Digital Explosion and High-Touch Reality
With the advent of the internet generation, it was thought that the branding era would end soon. The rationale was straightforward: with retail going online, the physical presence has lesser significance.
It turned out it would be the exact opposite.
As consumers spend hours looking at flat, glass screens, they’ve developed a craving for tactile, high-touch physical experiences, as well. An e-commerce package delivered to a customer is more than just a shipping container, it’s the brand itself. It’s everywhere from the store front, to the customer service rep, to the decor inside.
This discovery changed the packaging industry. The simple corrugated paper boxes are not enough for high quality brands. Rather, companies put a lot of money into the construction of a structure such as custom collapsible rigid boxes , in order to fill the void between convenience and luxury. They combine the strength and magnetic seals of luxury gift boxes, and they do not require the space of traditional high-end gift boxes.
A beautifully designed box – when it is opened by a consumer – tells all that what the brand stands for. That is not custom design but experiential marketing!
The Pillars of Modern Branding
In today’s context, a successful brand strategy treats custom design solutions as interwoven legs. If you’re looking to create a brand that not only attracts organic traffic but also has a loyal following, you need to have these three elements working together.
- Narrative-Driven Aesthetics
Your visual elements need to have a story. When your brand is all about sustainability, your colors should be organic, your digital designs should be clean and spacious, and your physical products should be made out of sustainable materials. The design should be in line with ethos.
Realistic, consistent and distinct across realities.
Realistic, consistent and distinct in realities.
A customer’s journey from your Instagram ad, through your Shopify store, to the actual unboxing moment in their living room should be seamless. Your site looks cool and minimalistic, but your packaging looks jumbled or low quality, the psychological relationship with the customer isn’t there.
- The Sensory Experience
Modern brands appeal more than just to the eyes. It takes into account the feel of a paper stock, the weight of a container, the sound of a lid coming open, and the ease of navigating digitally. The more senses that you have engaged, the more valuable is your product perceived.
Looking Ahead
It’s time for us to become aware that consumers can tell a generic, template-driven asset from a mile away. It can be generic web designs, or ordinary and uninspiring shipping materials, generic solutions are a sign of not caring.
One important lesson that can be learned from the evolution of custom design to modern branding is that attention to detail is the key differentiator.
When you make each element of your digital presence and touch points as a canvas for your brand’s core values, you’re no longer playing a game of sales but a game of audience building. Brands that value design as more than just aesthetics interpret it as a reflection of their respect for the customer experience will be the ones that will make it to the future.
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