Crafting a Digital Identity: The Art and Science of Branding in Web Design

Brett Johnson [: 00:00:05

Welcome to The Circle Sessions featuring The Circle Of Experts. The Circle Of Experts are Yasmine Robles from Robles Designs, Tonnisha English Amamoo of TJE Communications, and Don The Idea Guy. I'm Brett Johnson from Circle 270 Media Podcast Consultants. Each week, one of The Circle Of Experts joins me to talk about critical aspects of growing your podcast. We'll focus on marketing, social media, monetization, and website design, and the implementation of all these together. This week, Yasmine is here from The Circle Of Experts. Yasmine works alongside clients to design a website that's driven by strategy, looks amazing, and that you can use to grow your podcast and in turn your business as well. Yasmine, thanks for joining me today.

Yasmine [: 00:00:46

Yeah. Thank you for having me here.

Brett Johnson [: 00:00:48

So let's take a look at crafting a digital identity. This is Kinda cool. I love this. The art and science of branding in website design Sessions the stage. I this is this is kinda Almost the key point of walking into it, it's like building a house, isn't it? It's that it's that what do I do first kinda thing. So when we talk about crafting A digital identity, what exactly does that entail and and why is it so crucial for that that website?

Yasmine [: 00:01:15

So, crafting a digital identity is really about shaping how you want the brand to be perceived online, and and you can expand that to a just an overall brand identity, but what we I focus on is digital. And that really involves blending all of the aesthetics and strategy to create this cohesive and really memorable brand image. In in this digital landscape, your website is often the 1st touchpoint making A compelling digital identity crucial for leaving a lasting impression. So, basically, what that means is your site is one of the first things that people will look for. It's one of the first places that they will stalk you at. It's one of the first things that they will make a judgment about you and your business and your podcast through, and so you want to make sure that the brand that you're portraying on your website, Which is owned by you is the best one that you can put out there.

Brett Johnson [: 00:02:11

Alright. To me, it almost It it I don't know if there's a great analogy, but it comes to mind is that thinking about the physical space when you walk into a store and if it's just Podgepodge put together, you can't even walk around, the experience is terrible, and then you go to the next door and you walk in going, wow, they really do have everything in line. It's just it's Smooth. It's it has a feel. I think we're talking about that with The website. Right?

Yasmine [: 00:02:37

Yeah. And it's even if you've ever driven Guy, So for ex this has happened to me. I find the name of a business, a small business that I want to let's say it's a coffee shop that I wanna go to. And as I'm driving by, the storefront might not look as great. It might be a little a little shady. I'm not Sure. I might just drive to another place. So, really, it's, what does that storefront look like? And then as I'm entering the storefront, so as I'm Entering past the homepage and scrolling through the site, then that's when you enter that store.

Yasmine [: 00:03:11

And what does that look like? And you like you said, if it's Unorganized, if the person behind the counter is just rude, you're probably going to leave and take your business elsewhere. That happens Exactly the same thing in digital, but it's so much faster. So it'll be within 3 seconds, people will say nope, and they will leave your website if it's not To their if it doesn't look professional.

Brett Johnson [: 00:03:33

Alright. Well, that leads us right into what you wanna talk about next is the aesthetics and emotion. Now, aesthetics plays in a significant role in branding. How can small businesses leverage the aesthetics of a web design to evoke that right emotion or emotions and build a connection with The audience, like you said, kind of immediately.

Yasmine [: 00:03:52

Yeah. So aesthetics are really the emotional bridge. Right? So it's The consistent color schemes, the typography, the visual elements that create this language, they just Tug at your heartstrings. They pull out these Sessions. And when this aligns with the brand's personality and values, it will really resonate with your audience And they will form a deeper connection. So they will attribute an emotion to your brand whether that was A an emotion that you said, oh, I'm not going to into that storefront or whether it's a coffee shop that you just remember that The person behind the counter was so kind, and they explained things, and the the vibe was just great. When you were in there, you were able to get work done. There is an emotional connection The, and that's a that's the same exact thing when it comes to your digital brand.

Brett Johnson [: 00:04:42

Alright. So that emotion Also Of plays into strategy and design, I'm assuming too, because you can't have a motion without some type of design for it. So, you know, on the flip side that strategy is equally as important. How can businesses ensure that the aesthetics align strategically with their overall brand goals?

Yasmine [: 00:05:01

Yeah. So strategic branding really involves aligning these aesthetics with the brand objectives. If you don't know the brand objectives, you can't really align them. Before diving into design, you need to really define the brand's personality, Who you're targeting and the key messaging, and I think we've talked about this in a couple of previous episodes, but really every visual element should serve The of these, strategic pillars. So they ensure that a cohesive and purposeful design is created on the site. What this really means is just know who you're targeting, know who your audience is, what are they expecting from you. So are they the type of person who Will go to Walmart and are looking for the cheapest option. They don't really care that it might be a little disorganized, or are they trying to find this perfect handbag At a Kate Spade store.

Yasmine [: 00:05:51

So those are 2 completely different stores, 2 completely different goals and outcomes that those people have who are walking in, and you want to make Sure that you know where you stand. So you know where that what the target market is expecting from you, and then what type of brand personality are you portraying. If you are a yoga studio, you might want to portray something that's calming and just pleasing and Clutter free if you are a, for example, one of the, a hit workout place, right, where or something where you really a place where you really wanna make people Sweat and kind of just like use barbells and whatever, then that's a completely different type of brand personality versus that yoga studio. So you wanna know what sort of vibe you're going to give off with your brand personality.

Brett Johnson [: 00:06:42

Right.

Yasmine [: 00:06:42

And really just define those. And then you can move into more of the pretty cool things like color and, and what sort of logo you'll have. Right.

Brett Johnson [: 00:06:52

And and in to in my mind, when you're talking about this, I we've talked about this before in previous episodes lightly about How that, website unfolds in front of you. That it's that is it lots of stuff going on and going, woah. Woah. Woah. Like you said in the yoga example, That's not what you'd want. You are calming, but it has to evolve somehow, of course. But then, you know, the other example being, yeah, You like all that Sessions, you know people are just gonna be excited. They their heart's pumping because they've been on your website too.

Brett Johnson [: 00:07:23

So I could see a lot of that. You think it's fancy, but it's like, woah, does it fit the goal that you really wanna use, for the end user to feel. So yeah. So that plays The memorable branding too. So now on Millions of websites standing out and being memorable is a challenge. I I think podcasters get that. They totally understand it because they had to be different than the next podcast, the next Yes. So what tips do you have for small businesses, which Of course relates to a podcaster, to ensure their branding stands out and leaves a lasting impact?

Yasmine [: 00:07:58

So memorable branding really stems from being authentic. And I know that there's a lot of talk about authenticity and be authentic to self and be your true self, but really be true the business be true to the your business your brand's essence. So incorporate unique elements, whether it's a distinctive logo, a signature color, or a member a memorable tagline, and be consistent throughout all of those touch points To reinforce that brand identity and make it really stick. What this really should mean to you so I'm working with, a yoga studio right now, And they're called Mat Happy, and they're inclusive, and they're just they they help you whether you're a beginner or whether you're you're a yoga pro. And so it's it's The inclusivity. It's happy. It's literally in their name, and the site just didn't look Happy. Right? We've also worked with another bakery here, a gluten free bakery in Columbus, Ohio, and Happy was also in their in their name.

Yasmine [: 00:08:59

And the website, again, did not give us that happy feeling. And so when we rebranded the site these 2 sites, We were looking to make sure that there was that the energy level would that is needed. So the yoga studio might be a bit more calm. The breakery was a little bit more amped up, But it was still focusing in on that authentic self that was they are happy. They were inclusive. They they are welcoming. Right? And that's not saying that other yoga studios don't do that. When we were doing competitive analysis for this one particular yoga studio, there are others that Just have a different vibe.

Yasmine [: 00:09:35

They are they they might still be that calming vibe, but their sites might be darker. They might be, there might be more florals on that site, a little bit more feminine. The photography's slightly different. And it's not saying that one is better than the other one, but you want to be authentic to the true brand identity when you're creating these these visuals.

Brett Johnson [: 00:09:58

When you are in a session with client trying to pull these things out, I mean, this sounds like a bit of a process. It's nothing that you just kinda do in 10 minutes, but I don't think it has to be a year's worth of work though either. Can you kinda talk a little bit about how to prep in your mind before they would call Somebody like you to kinda go, okay. I know I I just to be prepared for these I don't know answers or answers to your questions.

Yasmine [: 00:10:26

Yeah. So I we we have a an intake form and a couple worksheets that we give clients, but I would say the The ones that have been the most successful and that have easily filled out the form Mhmm. Have been clients who have really gotten to know who their target market is. So it's not that they're just saying, oh, we're gonna target women between the ages of 20 to 60. They have that 1 person in mind. Right? It could be their best friend. It's a person with a name and age whether let's say it's Melissa, age 35. She works in corporate, and she has 2 kids.

Yasmine [: 00:11:01

So they are very specific with who this person is Don to what their Personality is like in what they like, what they don't like, where they shop, where they don't shop. So they get to know their target audience really, really well. And so everything else that we do stems from what would this fake person, Melissa, Of to see on this, for example, yoga website, is she looking for really, like, friends and just a really happy place To just get away from our kids or is she looking for something completely different? So get to know your target audience and then get to know What type of brand you want to be recognized for? If you want to be all inclusive, fun, happy, You wanna have a really great energy. That's completely different from we want people to walk in and feel calm. We are all quiet before the class. There's nobody shouting. So that's completely different, and you want to know where you stand exactly so that it doesn't just it's It's almost like creating a culture. It it just you understand exactly where you wanna be, who is your business's authentic self, And who your target market is so that when you do, whether it's a DIY or when you come to us and we create a website and brand for you, It's a lot easier to say, okay, would fake Melissa profile would this Melissa really want to come to this website? And what gaps would she see in the branding? What would she love about it? What would delight Melissa on the site? And and that just Makes everything more complete.

Brett Johnson [: 00:12:37

Right. It sounds like you're talking about the crossroads between your target audience and yourself too.

Yasmine [: 00:12:43

Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah. And and it that also depends. So

Brett Johnson [: 00:12:46

Yeah.

Yasmine [: 00:12:47

If you are a larger company so for me, I we are a Small studio. So our brand is basically us. Yeah. If you are a larger, let's say, law firm that is targeting maybe, maybe you do divorce law. Right? Or you do, I don't know, commercial, anything like that. Yeah. You your site will be a little different because now you're a larger firm and you have too many personalities to truly say we're going to do a little bit of everyone, and you also want to appeal to your audience. So that's when it might start to shift a little bit.

Yasmine [: 00:13:17

It's not necessarily who you are. It's who is the firm, right, and how does a firm want to be perceived. But when you're smaller, we are a small team. We're a small boutique studio. A lot of our branding is going to be us.

Brett Johnson [: 00:13:31

Right. Yeah. What comes to mind is I remember, this has been a decade ago. You know, there was a a I don't think it's a local divorce attorney, but he was a divorce attorney advertising on radio, and he was specifically targeting men. So that that part of the divorce. So he wanted men going through divorce. So I'm sure he's doesn't have a lot of pink or flowery stuff on his website. You know? And I don't I've never went to his website.

Brett Johnson [: 00:13:56

I don't know what it looked like, but I'm sure The that color scheme was not there. It had a very macho feel to it. I'm sure, you know, to like that. I'm not gonna you know, I'm gonna gotta gotta go through this, but I know he's got my back kind of feel to it. Mhmm. But it's I don't know why The came to mind going, yeah. That was a very specific targeted, The divorce situation. He's the only one who working with men.

Brett Johnson [: 00:14:19

So it's gonna make you make you think a little bit differently. So for sure. So let's go over some practical insights and takeaways. You know, as we wrap up, what practical tips, some takeaways Can you share with our audience, especially small business owners, to master the art and science of branding in web design?

Yasmine [: 00:14:39

Yeah. So I would say just start with the strategic just being clear about what you need your needs are. So so strategic clarity, Embrace the authenticity and really weave your brand story into every design element. Be very consistent And just listen to your audience. Be open to to shifting your digital identity over time, and it doesn't mean you're going to flip from, for example, pink To green, it just means that you're open to evolving with the times and and with the needs of the business. So But really listen to that audience and see what The what feedback they're saying just like feedback that they might give to your podcast and to topics that we talk about. We need to listen to our audience when they are coming to the site, and you can do this by asking them. But you can also there's some free tools out there like Hotjar, and it'll record what people do on your site.

Yasmine [: 00:15:35

You can't tell who they are, but it'll record people. And that's another way of really seeing and listening to What they're doing, what they're saying, because if they skip over a page that you created on your site, for example, a membership page, How can you now maneuver and make shifts in your business to get them to look at that page and and really sign up for that membership?

Brett Johnson [: 00:15:58

Yeah. Great. So let's say they're beginning the journey. Maybe they haven't even started to think about or or know who their audience is. They know, but they've never had that interaction where they're there, they're ready to go. How can they get a hold of you to get this process started to really hone down on their brand identity, their digital identity on their website?

Yasmine [: 00:16:17

Yeah. They can anyone can reach out to me at roblesdesigns.com. That's roblesdesigns.com. There's a you can fill out the contact form, and we can hop on a call and and decipher all of the jargon and and help you out.

Brett Johnson [: 00:16:33

Yeah. And if you're ready for your a podcast for your business or just podcasting in general because you wanna build a business on it, Let's talk. Let's get you going for the next 12 months or so. Whether you're b to c or b to b, we can create a content strategy that's Gonna work for you. We're gonna bring in Yasmine as well, because it's all encompassing. Connect with me if you'd like to talk more about The. My calendar's available on my circle 2 Sessions media podcast consultants business website. That's circle 2 70media.com.

Brett Johnson [: 00:17:00

And until next time, thanks Yasmine for joining me.

Yasmine [: 00:17:03

Yeah. Thank you for having me.