Design & branding for startups


Being a founder isn’t easy, and getting a startup brand off the ground is a challenge. Of new ventures that go on to fail, a high percentage do so within the first year of business.

There are lots of factors that can prevent a project from succeeding. One of the most common is the inability to turn that great idea into a genuinely marketable, saleable concern. To generate the passion, excitement and belief in others that you have for your product. 

Communicating that is the role that brand identity fulfils. Confident branding can help make the right first impression and inspire trust.

87% of startups fail within the first year of business.


Design and branding are rarely priorities for startups, but getting good design on board early increases your chances of getting a foothold. People are more likely to take you seriously if you’re able to present yourself as a serious brand. Marketing Week highlight 5 ways startups can use design to boost brand equity.

Startups, by definition, don’t have years of brand recognition and product development history behind them. Their identity has to work extra hard to bridge the gap – as well as compete with the ever-growing number of start-up competitors.

 

As such, it’s easy to become fixated with appearing to ‘fit in’ to an established marketplace, and overlook the aspect that gives a genuine advantage – newness and innovation. It’s difficult to be taken seriously as a ‘disruptor’ if you look the same as everyone else.

 

And startups don’t stay new for long. Ideally they’ll be growing quickly and it’s important to have an identity clever and agile enough to adapt. There’s nothing worse than realising your quick-fix, temporary branding is holding you down just as you’re about to take off.

 

 


Good design isn’t a luxury reserved for established brands – it’s an essential for any business looking to get noticed, communicate their message and engage an audience.

If you’re looking for some design help or advice for your new brand venture, feel free to get in touch