Branding is the process of creating a brand. UX/UI design is one of the ways that help companies to come up with their unique identities.

Let us now consider all the factors included in the concept of branding that should not be overlooked by creative branding agencies. You will also learn how to understand what users like and how to create a design that you don’t have to redo later.

Branding formula

Sometimes branding is mistakenly understood as the sphere that only marketers should deal with. But this is not true. Branding includes all the aspects of the business, including web design and UX/UI design.

Branding includes:

1. Visual experience (VX, Visual Experience). This is the first thing customers think about when they hear the word “brand”. This is a logo, a color palette, shapes, animation. If the object is physical, then its decoration, texture, embroidery, etc. Creating a high-quality visual experience will increase the value of the product in the eyes of customers, help create a beautiful visual image, and increase company recognition.
2. User experience (UX, User Experience). UX describes the quality of experience when using a product or service. It forms certain impressions, emotions from the product. The experience itself includes practical, emotional, value elements of user interaction with the company and its product.
3. Buying Experience (BX, Buying Experience). This is the field of marketers. The shape “sales funnels” aimed at satisfying customer needs and generating profit for the company. Designers also participate in the sales funnel, creating high-quality, easy-to-use user interfaces.
4. Customer Experience (CX, Client Experience). This applies directly to customers who love your product or service. They will definitely return for the repeated satisfaction of their own desires. A positive customer experience where users feel respected makes them happy and improves loyalty to the brand.
5. Employee Experience (EX, Employee Experience). The experience of company employees is a group that you belong to. Your experience and impressions of working in a company may affect its brand in one way or another.
6. Experience with sales channels (ChX, Channel Experience). ChX depends on which channels you use. Do you sell directly or use intermediaries? When buying, people are influenced by many aspects of experience, including UX, customer experience, visual experience, etc. Based on these aspects, some sales channels can be more effective for your particular product, and you need to know which of them generate the most benefit.

To study channel experience, you need to work in a team with other colleagues, including sales managers and marketers.

As a designer, you should focus on creating positive visual (VX) and user (UX) experiences. Focusing on these points will help create a quality design and satisfy users who use your product.

In order for the experience to be positive, it is important to understand what the customer will like. You can use a style board for this.

What is a style board?

A style board is a graphic part of the project, an important part of online branding. It can not serve as a replacement for the development of UI, creating an architecture for high-quality UX, but it works with them in a complex process.

When creating a style board, basic styles and rules of graphic design are applied. You study colors, forms of web fields, textures, lines, composition, space, harmony, balance, rhythm, attention vectors, and other elements. This is necessary to understand what the client expects from your site visually. Then you visualize everything you have found out in a way that is convenient for a customer.

How to create a style board?

When creating a style board, select 2-3 topics. It can be “machine” or “man”, “minimalism” or “brightness”, “technical” or “humanistic”. After that, start visualizing each theme using graphic design techniques.

Use:

1. Colors;
2. Lines;
3. Textures;
4. Images;
5. Other elements exclusive to your project.

Also, do not forget about the principles of composition such as rhythm, balance, harmony, and attention vector. Decide whether the composition will be dynamic or static. Visualization of the process can be carried out abroad.

Create a style board, prepare it for customers. You can bring two or three versions of a style board and let your client choose the solution they like best. Get ready for customers’ feedback. After receiving the feedback, introduce necessary changes and combine the boards into one project-style board.

She will be the center of your future design. It will be wise to approve it with the client before starting work. Once approved, start prototyping using the information the client gave you.

Conclusion

Branding is a broad concept that includes several areas. When developing a UI or creating a website concept, focus on these two parameters: user experience and visual experience. 

You can use the style board technique to create a positive UX. It helps to find out what style the client wants, and on the basis of their feedback, prepare a high-quality design that will cause a positive UX response from the users.