How to maintain brand consistency in website design

When I was in college, I had this friend who was obsessed with brownies, like seriously obsessed. Every time we grabbed lunch together, he had to have one. 

Some days he’d bring homemade ones, and other days he’d munch on store-bought bites. But the best ones, according to him, were the ones with dark choco nibs on top. Yum!

Anyway, we had this huge fight over a school project towards the end of the semester, and I thought our friendship was over for good. I felt so bad about it and knew I had to do something to make things right.

So, I came up with a peace offering: a box of brownies! Genius, right? I was hoping it would do the trick.

When I saw him in the classroom, I handed him the box and waited for his reaction. But then he said, “I don’t like brownies anymore.” I was shocked and honestly thought my plan had failed.

But then I replied, “That’s unfortunate. This one has dark chocolate nibs,” and he smiled and took the box from me. We ended up making up and we’re friends again. 

Looking back, I realized how lucky I was that my friend loved brownies so much. If it wasn’t for that, I would have had to figure out a way to make it up to him on my own, and who knows how that would have gone.

Consistency makes designing easy

Consistency means being reliable and sticking to a set of rules or preferences. In branding, consistency is crucial because it helps people recognize your brand and become loyal customers.

It’s like when you know your favourite store’s logo and colours, you feel a sense of comfort and familiarity when you see it around.

When it comes to website design, consistency is key too! You want to make sure that your website design matches your brand’s personality and values. That’s where brand archetypes come in – they’re like personality types for your brand.

When your website design matches your brand archetype, it strengthens your branding and makes it more memorable for your customers.

Examples of consistency in digital design

Whenever you check social media and find an ad or a post that you like, there is a high chance that you will also check their website. If the website is not similar to the branding of the social media post, you will feel lost or tricked even.

This is the primary reason why digital design must be consistent in all channels. Take a look at these examples. 

From the website design, you will see that when it is translated into another channel or media, the branding is the same and recognizable.

Inconsistency is a sign of weakness

Here’s the thing, inconsistency can weaken your brand. Imagine if your website design didn’t match your brand personality at all. 

It would be confusing and unprofessional. That’s why it’s important to make sure your brand archetype and website design are consistent.

So, how can you maintain consistency? Easy peasy! 

Start by developing brand guidelines – these are like rules for your brand’s personality, colours, fonts, and imagery. Then, create a style guide for your website design, so everything looks and feels consistent across all pages.

Finally, communicate with your designers and stakeholders to make sure everyone is on the same page.

To sum it up, consistency is super important in design. It helps people recognize and remember your brand, which leads to loyal customers. 

So, make sure to match your brand archetype and website design, and follow those brand guidelines like your life depends on it!