₦airaland Forum

Inspiring...

nonny1212:
Bro, everything in Nigeria is all about money. This is Nigeria. Lets behave like Nigerians

Whatever tickles your fancy.
If it's mediocrity, so be it.

Cheers.

GSteve001:
Brother, this isn't about terminology. The Nigerian sphere is one of the most miseducated when it comes to design. if designers continue to do this, it's not going to help anyone knowledge-wise. When clients come with these ideologies, it's only good on our path to correct them. it'll make them even appreciate the craft the more.

This is part of the reasons it's even more important as designers to read and scale up our knowledge of design.

please next time your client come with these assertions, correct them. it will help us all.

Thanks bro...

It's getting tiring seeing so-called designers don't know any better than the clients.

It's all about the money to most, and it's really reflecting badly on everyone else.

nonny1212:
But u re forgetting that those client bring samples of the said "3D logo" Op posted and ask for the exact design.

Some go as far as telling u to put contact information like what op posted. And guess what, they love it very much.

No clients cares about terminology. All the want is get the job done.

70% of Nigerian clients will go for what the OP posted as 3D to what u posted as 3D. Thats whats trending

My dear brother, forget terminology, lets satisfy clients first.

When your client is ignorant, then you are doing more harm than good trying to satisfy such client.

Your job is not limited to design softwares and collecting money, education is a very vital part of it.

I've also had clients come to me for such and the first thing I do is to expose them to the meaning of their requests and its likely consequences. If after that they still insist, then so be it.

But you owe your clients more than just collecting money from them and 'satisfying' them even when you know they are clearly ignorant and misinformed.

Eventually someone else will expose them to their ignorance and do you think they'll ever return to you for something else?

Why do you people keep misinforming and misleading the populace?
You are supposed to know better considering you are claiming to be masters in this field.
You guys keep parading logo mockups as 3D logos knowing most clients don't know any better.
It's sad the need to cut corners (or will I call it ignorance) will make you go down such a shady path.

Below are examples of 3D logo designs...

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Mpc5_QbFMus/maxresdefault.jpg

https://www.designevo.com/res/templates/thumb_small/3d-red-and-white-triangle.png

https://assets.awwwards.com/awards/images/2011/03/logo-illustrator-tutorial-12.jpg

https://d3ui957tjb5bqd.cloudfront.net/uploads/2017/01/Rocket-by-Yoga-Perdana.jpg

You guys should please stop distorting facts just for your personal gains.

Thank you.

PrecioussB:
Bobo cleaners lol

See what a Nairalander has been doing during this Covid-19 Period

https://www.nairaland.com/5857964/see-what-nairalander-been-doing

Why exactly are you so desperate for publicity?

qodwynn:
Saw on their website that you need at least 8gb of ram; so I'm kinda confused.

I'm sure they stated 8gb ram for best performance.
A 4gb ram will work alright.

qodwynn:
Hello guys. Will a system with a core i3 processor and 4gb ram with integrated graphics be able to handle softwares like adobe illustrator, photoshop and corel draw?
Need all the help I can get.

It will.

VickyRotex:
we were told the young shall grow

Growth is constant and part of life.

Btw, who's that pervert?

Like...
How carelessly sick some people can be.
I feel mark angel should report and block such people though.
Overlooking in this sort of situation might not be the best action to take.
Silence can as well be indulgence.

NaijaFutbol:
Very few brands featured this year

That's because designers were not motivated to post their works since Seun and Lalasticlala refused to move it to Frontpage.

I've suggested it over a million times and they just turned a blind eye to it.

It is well.

3verblazing:
Give more details ..whats is findhelp all about ?

Haba!
Even if you'll ask this question, should it be here or on Instagram?
The contest is happening on Instagram, not on Nairaland.
The ideal thing to do is to go there and dig up any and all info you can get on the company from their instagram profile and past posts.

Clients won't always spoon-feed you.

itsRhamzy:
Oga erad and seun. why not help us and other designers market ourselves by pushing to front page?

Trust me, you are more powerful in that aspect than me.
I've lost count of the number of suggestions I've made for frontpage.

Tag Seun and talk to him directly,
He'll respond.

Seun:
any error message?

Woaw!
You are are still here.
O ga o.

Enjoy.

Branding is chronically misunderstood.

From people operating under the impression that branding is something that can be “done” in an afternoon to companies ignoring it altogether, it’s a key area that can make or break your business, especially in the long run.

Today, we’ve gathered together 20 of the biggest and most common branding mistakes made by small and medium businesses like yours. The intention isn’t to scare or depress you – it’s to let you know where the potholes are and show you how you to avoid them.

Do you know what the biggest branding mistake of all is, though? Doing nothing!

Branding doesn’t evolve by itself. It’s a blueprint for how you want the world to see your business and blueprints are planned and researched documents. Brand yourself and then show the world, and don’t let the world do the branding!


1. Failing to grasp the meaning of branding

What is branding? We mentioned it above – it’s a blueprint for how you want the world to see your business. Take time to really understand the concept and find an explanation or understanding that suits you and what you do. You need to wholly understand what branding is to apply it to your business, so don’t skimp on your own education.

“Your brand is the set of perceptions people have about your company.
But branding is the set of actions you take to cultivate that brand.”
Deanna DeBara

2. Confusing marketing and branding

Ooh, this one’s a doozy. Branding is defining who or what your brand is – and marketing is making other people aware of it. They’re closely related and there’s a lot of crossover, but not being clear on the differences means you can’t do either effectively. Still confused? Here’s a pro tip: take care of branding first, then tackle marketing second.

3. Skipping professional help

Sure, some of us lucky entrepreneurs have a solid understanding of psychology, graphic design, fonts, and copywriting, but even more of us don’t. Branding is significantly more complicated than it first seems, which is why we think you should always hire a professional.

4. Equating branding to a logo

There is a lot more to branding than the design, even though sometimes people equate the two. Branding is bigger than one or two brand assets, like business cards or even a logo (and don’t get us wrong – logos are important), but branding is the conceptual act of defining your business, not just making some pretty designs in the company colors.

5. Being too edgy

Some businesses, especially younger, more digital brands, try hard to differentiate themselves from the competition. This is a good thing – it’s hard to stand out if the public can’t distinguish your brand of beard oil from the next. More than one company, however, has crossed a line in their quest for uniqueness and it’s ended badly. Interesting is fine or even positive – just don’t accidentally stray into questionable. It can take quite a bit of legwork to return to the land of the respectable!

6. Playing too safe

On the other end of this spectrum is the business that plays it too safe when it comes to branding. If there’s nothing interesting, unusual, or unique about your brand, it’s going to be really hard to carve out market share. You can combat this with lots of competitor research – it will help you find a niche and root out gaps in your competitor’s offering that perhaps you can fill. Don’t swing too far the other way in this search for a differentiator, but at the same try, do try to find something that will allow you to stand on your own two feet.

7. Forgetting brand guidelines

Once you’ve passed the major milestone of creating your brand, make sure you take out the insurance that is your brand guidelines. As well as helping ensure consistency and authenticity across people, departments, channels, and material in-house, they’ll be a major help to any 3rd party professionals you employ to help with marketing, content, graphic design, product design, and more.

8. Lacking consistency across channels

Once you’ve got branding in place, you really need to ensure that it is represented similarly across all the channels your business is present on – print, the company blog, TV, video, social media, events, PR, etc. Being inconsistent sends a mixed message to the public, and the one place you really need to hold fast is your brand. Your brand guidelines, if you create them effectively, will help with this.

9. Lacking consistency across collateral

It can be surprisingly easy to ensure consistency in the really obvious places and forget about it in situations or events that happen less frequently. Make sure anything that is issued by your business – from compliment slips to invoices – is just on-brand as your Instagram account. As well as those brand guidelines (see how useful they are?), take steps to ensure that a culture of brand loyalty and awareness is present in all employees, from c-level to mailing room.

10. Refusing to admit mistakes

Branding mistakes? Yup, we’ve seen a few and so has pretty much everyone else on the internet. Even the most experienced brands mess up sometimes, but if you do, the only way to claw yourself back some reputation is by owning up to the error, apologizing, and looking contrite. Admit your mistake early and you’ll hopefully be in with a chance to remedy it. Even some of the most heinous brand faux pas can fade into the background if they are graciously handled.

For example, Ikea once removed all the women from its catalog in Saudi Arabia. It caused outrage at the time, but an apology soon followed and, 7 years later, most people would be hard-pressed to even remember the event.

11. Being too trend-driven

Becoming a fashion victim can happen to both new brands and old hands, so everyone needs to stay aware. Every year brings hot new trends in design and, while it’s ok to use them for inspiration or as a base, copying them verbatim or going all-in can look desperate and age fast. Jumping from trend to trend is also a no-no – it’s a type of inconsistency like we discussed above. Better to find a happy medium that will last the distance because, hopefully, your brand will be around for quite some time to come.

12. Alienating your origins

Here’s a tip for the well-established brands. It can be hard to get the balance between old and new just right, but if your brand has been around for a while, at least consider that you may have plenty of fans who love you for your traditional, familiar, and comforting brand. Updates that stray too far from origins like this can sometimes fall flat, so tread carefully and do lots of research before you refresh your classic brand. Most rebranding fails can be rescued eventually, but it tends to cost lots (and lots) of money!

13. Thinking too small

Local company? Possibly not as much as you think. Sure, some online businesses are very local, but an increasing number of companies have a global reach, even without trying. Make sure your branding doesn’t offend any of your international clients by employing a professional and doing your due diligence before making any changes. Even if you don’t make any terrible faux pas, sometimes tiny details can make the difference between international clients feeling fine – or just slightly uncomfortable.

14. Attaching your brand to the wrong things

Even though the result of this can be both baffling and hilarious, be really careful about what you allow your brand name to be attached too. For every association that brings in new business and extra revenue, there are 10 more that just leave customers scratching their heads, which is never a good sign for business.

15. Forgetting about copy

Branding is a very visual endeavor, but don’t make the mistake of forgetting about the text when you concentrate on graphic design. Even though copywriting may play a lesser role in your branding, it’s hugely important and worth examining professionally. Core messages, mission statements, tag lines, and content are all essential brand elements – and they all rest on the written word. Great copywriting not only increases sales and conversions, but it also has a major impact on how people view your brand in terms of authenticity, reputation, and trustworthiness.

16. Stripping all personality

We’ve extolled the virtues of consistency and we stick by that, but never varying from the strictest confines of your brand guidelines can make for a very boring brand. Once you are intimately familiar with your company’s branding, use that familiarity to inject a little personality and character into your brand actions. Adding personality through humor is for experts, but even brand noobs can add a little character by telling stories or adding a touch of nostalgia to their (on-brand) content. This article is aimed at personal brands on Instagram, but the advice holds true for all kinds of businesses.

17. Neglecting the update

If you’ve already got your branding done and dusted, set a reminder to take a look at it on an annual or bi-annual basis. Sure, we don’t want our brand to be molded by every passing trend, but we also want to avoid it looking tired, old fashioned, or irrelevant. Getting the balance right can be hard, but it’s a balance you’re going to need to perfect.

18. Trying too hard

Trying too hard looks desperate. Unfortunately, it’s a problem that comes across loud and clear when it contaminates branding. Aim to let your brand develop naturally and organically, and avoid the temptation to shoehorn it into a cool trend, ready-made identity, or newsworthy role. The same goes for trying to be clever, or attempting to get involved in too many things – the public can smell inauthenticity a mile away, and it never turns out well.

19. Attempting to appeal to everyone

Today we’re talking branding, but the concept stands in lots of circumstances – you cannot be all things to all people and neither should you try. Attempting to appeal to more people by toning down certain elements of your brand or ramping up others won’t help you attract more customers – it will leave your existing customers confused and repel new ones who are finding it hard to identify with your wishy-washy brand. Embrace your brand and walk the walk – this clarity will help your people find you.

20. Skipping the branding deadline

For many businesses, branding is still a work – or a refresh – in progress. That’s ok – solid branding takes a bit of effort and isn’t something you can finish in a weekend. That said, always set yourself an end goal and a deadline to wrap everything up. Some companies are never quite happy and continue poking their brand to “get it just right”. A brand that’s always in motion can never grow roots, and it’s those roots that are key to your brand being the foundation your business is built on. Think of them like the foundations of a house – if they’re missing, everything else you build will be shaky.


Conclusion

So there you have it. 20 common – but avoidable – ways that businesses mess up branding and hinder their growth. Some of them are riskiest in the planning stages, but many can steer your brand off course after years or even decades in existence. Keeping these mistakes at the forefront of your mind should keep your brand safe now and for many years to come.

When you employ a branding professional, the person or agency will be the ones looking out for these possible pitfalls. If you’ve decided to take care of branding yourself, well, you’ll have to personally remain alert. Branding already involves juggling many balls, which is why we recommend getting help, but if you’re determined to go it alone you should, at the very least, know what you’re facing.

Branding isn’t easy and it’s often not quick, but if you keep your eyes open and your head down, you should emerge victorious on the other side of the branding process with a strong brand that can pilot your company well into the future.


Author Bio:
Claire is a marketing executive with Design Wizard.
When she’s not at work you can find her keeping up with social media and walking her dog Storm.


Source:
https://justcreative.com/2019/11/16/20-common-branding-mistakes

See also Nairaland Portfolio For Logo Designers:
https://www.nairaland.com/5650151/nairaland-portfolio-logo-designers-2020

Olodonairaland:
Hopefully this post make it to front-page

Hopefully my brother...

It's a set of very simple yet extraordinary images.

You can only upload jpeg and png to nairaland.

The race is on...

Tidy up the post please and let's see if it can make frontpage.

This story is becoming more and more senseless...

Fine she was trying to plug in her phone,
She was sweaty,
She was probably standing at that point...
Let's assume people choose to overlook every other inaccuracies in the story...

How exactly does someone charging her phone end up on the floor with the phone on her chest and still plugged in?

Is that how long the charging cable was?
Is that how precious the phone was that the initial shock wasn't enough to make her drop her phone but was enough to electrocute her?

Too many inconsistencies in my opinion.

Obviously my opinion doesn't count.

Cool...

Please start making mockups.
There's a large market for it especially among designers.