As a designer committed to making branding feel more accessible, one of my main issues with the industry is how our use of language negatively affects our audiences. If you’ve been researching branding, you might have noticed some unfamiliar language. If you find it confusing, you’re not alone.

In the wee early stages of building your brand, there’s a lot going on in your mind. It’s full of thoughts, ideas, experiences, and possibility. But, it lacks cohesive, tangible structure and meaning. Each element has potential, but there’s no clear path from randomness to purpose. Lots of good starts, not a lot of complete ideas. Gobs of inspiration, not much direction. It makes for a start-and-stop cycle and you’re left endlessly spinning your wheels. Any attempts to bring it together ends in word salad. So, what do you do?

There’s a lot of designers in the world. That’s good news for you, if you’re running a business and looking for branding. You’ve got options! Congratulations.

It’s not all rosy, though. More options doesn’t necessarily make decisions any easier. In fact, it makes them way more complicated. Ever heard of choice overload?

Brand voice is the personality attributes you take in all aspects of verbal and written communication. This includes language and word choice, tone, and style. Your brand’s voice determines the execution of internal communication (staff emails, memos, meetings, interviews) and external communication (marketing, customer service, social media, packaging, blogs, ads). Brand voice is a little more elusive than visual design, but it’s just as important to creating a brand that works like a system.

Even if you’re not a super visual person or someone who works with images a lot, moodboarding is an incredible tool for any situation that requires creative and visual thinking. Moodboards help you collect ideas and reference material, and provide a way to translate abstract ideas into concrete visual examples. Leaning into a feeling and sensory-based process provides context for your ideas. What’s hard to describe in words can often be better conveyed through images.
But not all mooodboards are created equal.

Our brains have evolved to latch onto stories. We remember information better when it’s presented in a narrative than we do when presented with straight facts and numbers. This is why brand storytelling is important. We’ve all experienced the feeling of connection that stories create. Our ability to connect with our own stories connects us to our audiences, and this is infinitely more powerful than any marketing tactic. Human-scale brand design is an approach that highlights this quality and inherently challenges the status quo.