There is a common misconception that good use of space is coating every inch of your marketing materials with data. However, even design needs room to breathe.

Think about it. When wandering through a big city maze of concrete and dizzyingly tall buildings, we crave large expanses of sky. In a crowded schedule, we crave an unoccupied moment. Amidst the noise of daily life, we crave silence. A business card crammed with information and images will leave the recipient craving visual respite. If a website, brochure or other marketing piece is too crowded with information, it loses impact. Often, nothing stands out and the piece will be overlooked completely.

A well-designed marketing piece, on the other hand, will include plenty of space and only elements that enhance its purpose. Take web sites, for example. To make the biggest impact, the information must be organized in way that is easy to navigate and visually appealing. This is something we at Visage strive for. However, you don’t have to take our word for it. The following links will take you to some well-known companies that illustrate this principle beautifully:

* Google
* Nike.com
* Tiffany & Co.
* Kenneth Cole
* FranklinCovey

We also have some great examples in our gallery.

Q | How can you set yourself apart?
A | Branding

So you’re in business. You know what makes your company great and why people should choose you over anyone else. But do your potential clients know that? In a marketplace flooded with products and services of every imaginable description, you have to stand out in order to survive. How can you set yourself apart?

The answer is branding. A company’s branding is a unique identifier like a signature or fingerprint. Good branding sends an intentional message. The more ways you send your message, the stronger your branding. By reiterating that message – in everything from advertising campaigns to the look of your storefront to the packaging of your product or results of your service – you make your voice a little louder and a little more likely to be heard above the din.

Your branding message should include more than just the black-and-white description of the type of business you’re in. It should be the emotional connection that keeps customers coming back. Look at the marketing strategies of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Neither company distinguishes itself through difference in physical properties (neither claims to be sweeter, more bubbly, have a higher concentration of “cola” flavor, etc.), but each has a very different “feel” when it comes to their branding. For example, Coca-Cola portrays itself as “classic” with a logo that has changed very little since the product’s inception over a century ago. Pepsi, on the other hand, reconfigures its logo every few years and markets itself as being for the “next generation.” I would venture to guess that most consumers’ loyalty to either product is based as much (or more) on identification with the brand as it is on taste.

Your company, whether large or small, is – intentionally or unintentionally – sending a message. What is it saying? What would you like it to say? The key is to let everyone know what sets you apart by broadcasting your message through branding.

Stay tuned for “Part 2 | Selling your Brand”