Let’s start with a simple and basic question: What does branding mean to you?
For me, branding is everything I see: the laptop on which I’m writing this blog post, the phone I will use to talk later with my colleagues, the coffee cup I just took a sip out of.
For me, branding is not only a logo or a color. It is everything a company is doing to leave its mark on my experience with their product.
Today, branding is more than we think and more than what we can see. Branding is what we do with that product, how we relate to it, and how other people relate to us from the perspective of that product.
Let’s look at Facebook from a branding perspective. You already know the white “F” letter with blue background on your smartphone. And you know that if you tap on it, you’ll enter a world where you can talk with your friends, upload photos, and share others’ content.
That all closely aligns with the first thing Facebook says to you as you log in:
“Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.”
This is Facebook’s branding (or user experience, or whatever you want to call it) — Facebook helps to connect you to the world.
Branding guru Wally Olins said this:
“Overall, because branding is about creating and sustaining trust, it means delivering on promises. The best and most successful brands are completely coherent. Every aspect of what they do and what they are reinforces everything else.”
Based on this theory, I see the importance of branding in every infographic we create for our audiences.
Yet, according to a new study by marketing firm Lithium Technology, consumers are inundated with branding messages every day. Because of this, Lithium Technology CEO Katy Keim says that consumers today expect interactions with brands to be frictionless, tailored, and nearly instantaneous.
Not just a logo (though that’s important, too)
Branding in an infographic? Wait a minute. Isn’t that just a logo in the footer of the infographic?
The logo is part of it, but that’s not all. Branding in an infographic isn’t just about the graphic elements and the icons we use. It’s more than that — it’s about how you create a relationship with your community and the kind of experience they have with your infographic.
When talking about branding in an infographic, we have three main pillars:
- The logo
- The font
- The color
By the end of this post, you’ll have a better understanding of the roles these three pieces play in the branding of your infographic and how they work together to create a better, more enjoyable (and sharable!) experience for your readers.
1. The logo in your infographic
Having your company’s logo in your infographic is the equivalent of introducing yourself to someone when meeting him or her for the first time.
If you don’t tell them your name, how can you expect them to remember who you are?
It’s like putting a literal brand on an envelope: people will see that this piece of visual content was sealed by somebody who cares enough to create professional content and put their name on it.
For example, when we designed this infographic, we made sure to insert our logo at the bottom:
We wanted to let our audience know that this came from us and that we are here to help them if they have any questions related to the topic of our infographic.
When doing this, however, try to stay relative in regards to size. However tempted you may be, don’t make it as big as you can. Use whitespace to create separation, to ensure your logo can be easily recognized.
Also, use your brand colors (more on that below) or a negative color like white or black if the color palette is different from your branding.
You can either slip your logo in at the bottom of your infographic, or you can place it in the headline, like SalesForce did here.
Take away tip: If you want to create a trusted piece of content, use your logo.
2. The font in your infographic
The second thing to consider when creating an infographic is your choice of font styles. When picking a font to use in your infographic, pick the most readable ones that go together well.
Don’t use fancy, shiny, or childish fonts in your infographic. You want people to read your infographic, learn something from it, and share it with their community.
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If you don’t have a style guide and don’t know what kind of fonts to use, consider simple fonts that are easy to read. Think about fonts like Tahoma, Roboto, Arial, Verdana, Century Gothic, Futura, or Georgia.
At the same time, try not to use more than two different font styles. Having three or more fonts can make your infographic look jumbled, disorganized, and difficult to read.
Take a look at Neil Patel’s infographic from QuickSprout. He uses simple and readable fonts so that the audience can quickly read the content, understand the message, and share it on social media.
Take away tip: Don’t use more than two font styles or more than three font sizes (the top headline, the section headline, and the normal font) in your infographic.
3. The color in your infographic
The third major part to think about when making your infographic is the color scheme. Ask yourself questions like, “What kinds of colors should I use in this infographic? Should I use lots of colors or keep it simple?”
You can look at your brand guidelines (or some others from around the world) to see what colors you can use. This will help you maintain brand authenticity and create consistent visual content that will stand out from the crowd.
What if you don’t have a brand guide for your company? In that case, try using one of these 21 color apps for designers.
Take a look at a section of this infographic from Creative Market. They used a very limited and controlled color palette in this infographic about the History of Graphic Design:
Here, they limited their palette to one major color combination (green and brown) and very few color variations:
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Take away tip: Use your brand’s designated color palette for your infographic or use professional tools that will help you choose a beautiful and cohesive combination of colors.
Bringing it all together
If you’re looking for examples of infographics that tie together all three pillars of branding, check out infographics by VWO infographics, Kissmetrics, and QuickSprout.
All three brands create stunning infographics that are easy to read, beautiful to look at, and cohesive from a branding standpoint. Bringing together all of those qualities is something to aim for and appreciate.
