8 Tips for creating design consistency across a campaign

illustration design consistency
Design consistency is a NEED in any industry.

I read about two reasons why Apple’s late founder, Steve Jobs, always dressed in the same black turtleneck, jeans, and sneakers.

According to one account, when he visited Japan, he saw the effectiveness of uniforms and decided to make them mandatory in his company. But since his employees refused to do so, he adopted it for himself.

Another story goes that he dressed consistently to avoid decision fatigue. He didn’t have to worry about what to wear every day because he knew what was in his closet. 

Both stories made sense and had something to do with branding and marketing.

Fashion designer Michael Kors and Segway inventor Dean Kamen
Fashion designer Michael Kors and Segway inventor Dean Kamen also dressed in a consistent style.

“Famous business people and politicians are known to be consistent with their wardrobe because it’s their brand identity,” says Dan Schawbel, a branding expert and best-selling author.

“All kinds of consistency are what build brands,” Schawbel adds. 

“People who wear the same thing, have a catchphrase or two, and hang out with the same people are more memorable than those who don’t. It helps people identify with them while allowing themselves to be real”.

Consistency is the building block of branding

Design consistency is the act of having a theme or message flow through all marketing materials and channels. This also provides your clients with a consistent experience when interacting with your brand. 

Consistency will help them remember and return to your brand.

Two-thirds of all shoppers make purchases through more than one channel, according to a study conducted by The Verde Group and the Wharton School of Business

With so many opportunities to make an impression both online and offline, it is more important than ever to have consistent designs across all touchpoints.

Is it worth it?

When you design a campaign, you think about what your target audience needs to see and do, assuming you have their full attention. 

But the truth is that most people will not read your entire message. They scan it and skip around, picking up bits and pieces here and there.

If a potential client sees your ads in different places but they don’t look the same, they’ll be confused about what your business is selling. It will be more difficult to read and remember the message.

A consistent theme, such as Steve Jobs’ uniform, reduces decision fatigue for potential clients. It facilitates decision-making. Campaign images that are well-assembled appear more professional and are easier to remember.

8 Tips for design consistency

Refer to the branding guide, always

When working across multiple mediums and projects, a branding guide is an excellent resource. 

It contains all of the information about your brand that you and your designer would need to know. It can be used as a reference for current and future projects.

It’s useful, especially if you have two or more designers working on your campaign. 

Everyone involved in the campaign must adhere to the branding guidelines because deviations from the guides (for example, using a completely different colour palette) will break the consistency.

Incorporate your company’s logo

The most important thing to remember is that your logo should be easily identifiable no matter where it is placed on. 

The designer does not have to include your logo in every design, but you should remind them to use it in a noticeable and professional manner.

If you have your own Deer Designer team, you can ask the designer to remember your preferred logo placement and apply it to your designs every time. There’s no need to keep repeating yourself.

Use a uniform colour palette

In design, a consistent colour scheme is essential. It can give the campaign a unified feel without using the same images, fonts, or other visual elements.

How does one go about creating a consistent colour palette? Consider your target audience and your company’s branding. For example, if you sell products to children, you probably don’t want your colours to be too dark or too bright.

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can use the colours of a well-known brand to draw attention, as KFC Spain did with Ikea’s logo. 

KFC Spain copied the right logo because (1) Ikea is a well-known brand. (2) The colours of the two brands are completely different, and (3) they are not direct competitors.

KFC logo looking like IKEA
KFC breaking design consistency as a campaign strategy to attract attention.

Schedule Content

Make use of a shared team calendar to ensure that content is posted on a regular basis. Consistency will be undermined if the content is distributed infrequently. The most important aspect of a consistent campaign is message reinforcement.

Humans are creatures of habit. That’s why hashtags like #ThrowbackThursdays or #SundayFunday became popular. 

People began to anticipate that they would receive specific content on a specific day and that they could participate by using the same hashtag.

Bring offline marketing events into your online branding strategy

Inform your online audience if your company is attending a trade show, receiving an award, or taking part in a community event.

It is part of your brand-building efforts when you or your company is recognised as a leader in your industry or community. 

Promote these milestones via blog posts, social media, and video. Remember to include your brand’s name or logo in any photos or videos you post.

Pay attention to internal branding

Sometimes the sales and marketing departments, as well as business owners, are so focused on capturing the target market that they overlook internal customers. 

Employees in your organisation must also believe in the brand and show this to the outside world. Is your company involved in any of the following?

  • Incorporate brand values into onboarding and training
  • Distribute company swag (shirts, mugs, business cards, laptop cases) to foster internal brand loyalty
  • Enable employees to advocate for the company on social media

Your employees are also touchpoints. Your potential clients will interact with them, and they will respond. When your internal audience understands and embraces the brand, they can help to ensure that the brand experience is consistent.

Participate in platforms that support your brand’s identity and your client’s preferences

Each new online marketing trend and platform has the potential to distract you.

– Since everyone is using TikTok, perhaps my company should too.

– According to a sales expert, participating in the latest #dancechallenge will increase the visibility of my brand.

Before following the crowd to a new platform or trend, consider the user experience and the types of people who are involved. 

Check to see if it fits in with your overall marketing strategy. If it does, it makes sense to devote time and effort to creating content for it.

Align your brand with the right influencers

Influencer marketing is popular at the moment. Unfortunately, many marketers have rushed in and made mistakes when it comes to choosing the right influencer to represent their brands. 

Influencers serve as mascots for your brand. The campaign will fail if they do not look good together.

Before you decide to work with one, take this into consideration:

  • Does this influencer have a following in my target market?
  • Is their personality compatible with my brand?
  • Will they use my brand appropriately in their content?

There is an Instagram influencer known for her do-it-yourself tutorials. I saw a photo of her holding a branded flytrap in my feed one day. 

She literally held it up to the camera, as if she were a model promoting a shampoo brand. It was filthy. I might have remembered the brand, but it was so bad that my brain rejected it.

Consistency is control

Consistency is extremely powerful. Why else would phrases like “Share a Coke” and “Got Milk?” hold such significance? These are just two examples of successful marketing campaigns that propelled brands to the forefront of consumers’ minds.

Despite their creativity and emotional appeal, these campaigns would not have succeeded without consistency. Would these slogans have the same impact on society if only one commercial or poster was released? Probably not.

You don’t have to be a big brand to create effective campaigns. On-demand design services can assist you in creating consistent campaigns at a fraction of the cost.

Potential clients frequently come up with their own ideas. The more consistent your brand, the less likely your target audience will be confused. If you are consistent, you will have more control over your content and how it is perceived.

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