Graphic designers can do so much more than just make appealing visuals. For branding designers specifically, we learn to make a business stand out not only with logos and illustrations, but a specific voice. It is essential to help a client uncover and articulate their unique voice, which applies to how they think about and present their brand once you send them into the world with your designs.
Discovery
The first step will be asking the right questions. Clients themselves won’t always know what information to give to you, so asking strategically will make it far easier to come up with a brand strategy that you’re both happy with. Start with making an intake form and asking questions like: “What emotions do you want your customer to feel when they interact with your business?” Use open-ended questions that really get your client to dig deep and give detailed answers. Have an onboarding call and listen to how they talk about their brand, and the aspects that they are particularly passionate about and make a mental note to apply that element to the “voice.”
Values & Persona
Figure out what values are the most important to the client. Do they value playfulness and fun, or are they more focused on a straight-laced, by the book approach? This will help you narrow down and identify who they should be marketing to, and help you make a customer persona.
Say you’re working on a boutique selling goth items, you can naturally deduce that the customers will be goths, and that gives you room to play with the visuals and marketing aspects of the brand. You can use sarcastic and morbid humor, getting away with it far easier than if you were making content for a real estate office.
Characterization
Sometimes it helps when creating a brand voice to think of it as a character. That makes the concept far less abstract, as you can stop and think “how would this character speak,” instead of overthinking and getting bogged down. A character for a local coffee shop would speak in a warm and inviting way, hoping to make the customer feel cozy, whereas a doctor’s office would want to feel more professional and authoritative.
Don’t be “the Everything Store”
One of the hardest parts of this process is restraint. The client might be opening a bookstore, but also want to sell beads, boots, and cat toys. While the idea may bring them great joy, that would be a massive fumble from a positioning standpoint. Even Amazon started by just selling books first, and expanded to other products once they had a dedicated audience. First there needs to be clear brand goals, and a defined audience that you are selling to, in order to have an effective voice.
A Parting Note
A well-crafted brand voice is the bridge between visual design and meaningful communication. As a designer, the skill to being able to craft a brand voice is an essential tool in your belt that adds a ton of value to your services. This will help attract clients that are a joy to work with, and respect your insights for how to make their business shine.