Product design can either elevate your brand to iconic status or leave it floating in a sea of forgettable products. A design that screams a specific personality, vibe, or story leads to a magical moment when a product isn’t just a product anymore. It’s an extension of a brand’s soul.
Now, how can you make sure that your product design oozes the essence of your brand’s personality? Let’s find out.
Understand Your Brand Inside and Out
Before diving into design mode, it’s crucial to know your brand like the back of your hand.
What’s your brand’s vibe? Is it playful and quirky or serious and sophisticated? Maybe it’s something in between – edgy but refined.
Every brand has a unique voice, values, and personality traits that should come through in the product design. Fail to catch that essence, and you’re essentially setting up the product – or worse, the brand – for failure.
Take Facebook’s rebranding to Meta as an example. Facebook’s rebranding to Meta was intended to shift the company’s focus toward the metaverse, but it created confusion and disconnection.
Facebook had built its identity around connecting people and communities. The new futuristic direction of Meta was seen as abstract, detached from the social aspect that Facebook was known for.
Hence, take the time to reflect on the core values of your brand. Ask yourself, if your brand were an outfit, what would it wear? If it were a playlist, what songs would be on it?
Once you’ve got a solid grasp of your brand’s identity, you can guide the design process so it aligns perfectly with your personality. The goal here is consistency. Every touchpoint, whether it’s packaging or the product itself, should mirror the same character, making your brand easily recognizable.
Carefully Communicate the Brand Guidelines to the Designer
Designers are talented, but they aren’t mind-readers. You can’t expect them to magically understand the tone, mood, and aesthetic you’re aiming for unless you spell it out. A clear, detailed brand guideline document is what you need here.
This document should include everything from the brand’s mission to its core values, color palette, typography, etc. The more specific you are, the better. If your brand is all about minimalism, tell your designer.
If you want them to evoke nostalgia in the design, make sure they know that too. Think of it like giving a chef your favorite recipe. Sure, they could wing it or give it their own spin, but wouldn’t you rather know they’ve got the right ingredients?
Of course, describing the style guide or guidelines to your product or marketing teams can be easily done through a simple PDF document. However, at present, you can also use a digital asset manager or brand guideline platform to do the same.
As mentioned on Lingo’s brand guidelines platform, through such levels of digitization, people can grab the content or assets they need with ease. At the same time, they can learn how to use the assets or content in the same spot.
Balance Creativity with Brand Consistency
Creativity and consistency can be tricky to balance, but when done right, they create magic. You don’t want your product design to look like every other product on the shelf. At the same time, you also don’t want it to stray so far from your established brand identity that it confuses customers.
Think of your brand as a house. You can rearrange the furniture and paint the walls a different color. However, you wouldn’t knock the whole thing down every time you want to change things up, right?
This is where your designer’s creativity meets your brand’s guidelines. Encourage experimentation but with boundaries. Let them play with new ideas, but make sure the design still feels true to your brand.
A fresh design can still have familiar elements, like your brand’s signature colors or distinctive fonts. It’s these little touches that help your brand stand out without losing its identity.
Never Underestimate the Power of Storytelling
Behind every great product is an even greater story. Humans are wired for storytelling, and we naturally gravitate towards products that have one.
What’s the story behind your product? Maybe it’s how your brand started out of a garage, or perhaps it’s how this particular product solves a unique problem. Whatever it is, let the design help tell that story.
Consider Apple’s product design. Their sleek, minimalist approach isn’t just about aesthetics; it tells a story of innovation, simplicity, and user-friendliness. Apple’s design process goes beyond a mere methodology; it’s a philosophy rooted in prioritizing user experience, simplicity, and refined elegance.
You don’t need to slap a narrative directly on the packaging; subtle hints in the design can do the talking. A thoughtfully designed product will carry the essence of your brand’s story, giving it depth and meaning beyond the surface.
Just like a book, every detail adds to the narrative – from the font on the label to the shape of the packaging. When done well, this storytelling builds a deeper connection with your customers and strengthens your brand’s presence in their lives.
Bringing It All Together
Product design is more than just pretty packaging. It’s a powerful tool that can bring your brand’s personality to life. Understanding your brand, communicating guidelines clearly, balancing creativity and consistency, evoking emotion, and using storytelling set you up for success.
As you stick to the tips discussed above, the next time someone sees your product, they won’t just see an object. They’ll feel the brand, connect with its story, and maybe, just maybe, fall in love with it.
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