Personalized online ads must work for the same reason advertising must work; it wouldn’t be a trillion-dollar industry if it didn’t work. Even supplements and organic food are only $140 billion, and those are really popular things that don’t work. Advertising is not popular at all but good luck succeeding without it.
Yet there are limits for what people accept without being uncomfortable. In robots and animation, that has long been termed the ‘uncanny valley’ – where something is not lifelike enough to look real but too lifelike to be acceptable. Some digital marketing has its own uncanny valley; where it becomes unsettling. Examples are people who say they mentioned something in the presence of their Amazon Echo and then ads on Facebook began to target them.
It’s technically impressive, but even more creepy. You feel like you’re walking around London and being monitored all of the time, except on your phone.
It doesn’t backfire on the technology backbone, it backfires on the companies in the ads, making you less likely to buy that brand even if you expressed interest in the general product. We all recognize we are under constant surveillance but resent when it becomes too obvious, according to a recent paper.
With over 1,800 online participants across three studies, the authors targeted some with advertisements for things like Nike sneakers and fabricated headphones after those were mentioned. The control groups were not digitally targeted. Then people rated how uncomfortable they felt and the authors created a Component Process Model of Creepiness.
It is pretty on-the-nose, even for the humanities, this was an online experiment using people paid through Amazon Mechanical Turk, not the normal population, but 75 percent who expressed discomfort were concerned about the manipulation and surveillance aspects of the technology. These are surveys, not behavior, and therefore only EXPLORATORY, but on a 7-point scale for intent to purchase, the authors said a 1-point increase in discomfort meant willingness to purchase the product by half a point.
Like people who declared they are boycotting Paramount Plus because the company is buying Warner Brothers Discovery but never subscribed to either, their opinions mean little. Bud Light, on the other hand, had a very real, very dramatic turn in revenue when they sought to use advertising to do more than sell beer.
That is what needs to be considered. If someone is searching for a product, they probably want to buy it, and for most people price/value overrules the fact that they got a targeted ad after searching for it on another device. Some of us even game the system; if I see something I might like but it is from weird name in a Facebook ad, I click on it and then click back, knowing a few minutes later a company that isn’t some Chinese drop-shipper will advertise it to me.
So companies are probably still smart to target people digitally, even considering blowback. Because advertising is about, as car executives in the 1960s said, “moving the iron”, not being worried about whether or not someone is annoyed. If your recents are decent and your price is competitive, you are winning just the same.
Tactile design is reshaping branding, packaging, and digital UI with texture, embossing, and material surfaces that make design feel as good as it looks.
Screens have flattened everything. Swipe, tap, scroll — interaction is mostly frictionless now. But a countermovement is gaining ground. Designers across branding, print, packaging, and even digital interfaces are leaning into texture. They are making surfaces that suggest weight, grain, and resistance. They are designing things that feel like something.
This is tactile design. It is not a single aesthetic. It is an approach — a commitment to material honesty and sensory depth. When a brand prints its identity on uncoated stock with debossed letterforms, the paper’s tooth becomes part of the message. When a package uses kraft board with a blind-embossed logo, the roughness and the relief tell a story about craft and care before the product is even opened.
Tactile Design in Branding and Packaging
The most effective tactile design in branding starts with material selection. Studios working across print and packaging consistently reach for surfaces that have presence: cotton rag stock, duplex boards, textured uncoated papers, and natural materials like linen and wood pulp. These choices carry meaning. An uncoated cream paper reads handmade. A heavy coated board reads luxury. Kraft reads honest and sustainable.
Finishing techniques add the next layer. Debossing presses type or imagery into the surface, creating a recessed impression that readers touch without thinking. Embossing does the opposite, raising forms above the sheet. Foil stamping adds metallic contrast while still referencing physical material. Letterpress printing, with its characteristic ink bite and impression, turns the act of reading into a physical encounter with the page.
Tactile Design in Digital and UI
UI designers have long experimented with material metaphors — subtle noise overlays, paper-grain backgrounds, and linen-pattern interfaces that recall physical surfaces. The goal is not skeuomorphism for its own sake. It is warmth. A slight texture on a background removes the sterile coldness of a pure flat surface. It grounds the interface in the physical world.
Haptic feedback in mobile design extends this logic. A well-timed vibration when a button activates does not just confirm the action — it adds a moment of physicality that flat audio feedback cannot replicate. As displays improve and surface materials evolve, tactile design will bridge the screen and the hand more precisely.
The best tactile work understands that texture is not decoration. It is communication. Every grain, every impression, every surface choice sends a signal about quality, intent, and care. The studios and designers pushing this work are not chasing a trend. They are recovering something that flat digital design left behind.
From Belfast to Brighton, creatives are swapping algorithm feeds for real conversation… and loving every minute of it.
If you’ve ever felt invisible in your own industry (heads down, working solo, scrolling through feeds and wondering where all the energy went), Creative Boom IRL might be what you’ve been looking for.
Creative Boom IRL is a series of free, informal gatherings for creative professionals happening in cities across Britain. There are no talks, no panels, no sponsors and no agenda. Just a relaxed venue, a drink in hand, and a room full of designers, illustrators, photographers, writers, strategists and other creatives who actually want to talk to each other, face to face.
Events are hosted by local volunteers from The Studio, Creative Boom’s private online community. And they’re open to all creatives, whether you’re freelance, in-house or running your own studio.
Manchester
Durham. Photographer: Steve AtkinsonNatty Harris (Bristol)
Leeds. Photographer: Michael GodsallSheffield
In a moment, we’ll share what’s been going on around the country in more detail. But first, for the uninitiated, how did this all come about?
How it began
Creative Boom was founded in 2009 as an online magazine celebrating creative work and the people behind it. Over the years, it has built a loyal following among designers and other creative professionals. But by the mid-2020s, that audience was increasingly telling us that algorithm-driven social platforms were letting them down.
Carefully crafted posts were vanishing into the void. Engagement had become performative. The genuine sense of connection that had once made the internet feel exciting was harder and harder to find. So in early 2025, we launched The Studio: a private, distraction-free space with no likes, no algorithms and no self-promotional noise. Just real conversations among people who are serious about their craft.
It grew fast, reaching over 4,500 members within months. Online events with industry leaders followed: intimate sessions on positioning, brand building, goal-setting and more. But members kept asking the same thing. When do we get to actually meet in real life?
Enter Creative Boom IRL.
Getting out there
The inaugural event in Manchester in April 2025 set the tone perfectly. Hosted at Common on Edge Street, photographer Pip Rustage welcomed 27 members for an evening that felt more like bumping into old friends than networking. No talks, no agenda, no awkward elevator pitches; just good people in a good space.
Leeds. Photographer: Michael GodsallEmily and Kirsty (Sheffield)
It worked. Conversations sparked, details were swapped, and everyone asked the same question on the way out: when’s the next one? From there, the momentum was unstoppable. Events rolled out across Britain, and the appetite was real.
In Sheffield, co-hosts Emily O’Brien and Kirsty Grafton took things into their own hands. Based at the newly opened Leah’s Yard in the city centre, they found a willing venue in Hop Hideout, whose owner, Jules, agreed to open exclusively for their events, for free. “There wasn’t much opportunity for creatives to meet each other that weren’t too industry-specific, expensive or cliquey,” says Emily. “So many people came to the first event as their very first creative industry event.”
The Sheffield events have since grown into a genuine community, with one particularly lovely outcome. Laura Poole, creative academy coordinator at Sheffield College, used her connections from the meetups to bring local creatives into the college to deliver lectures, set live briefs and run workshops; directly inspiring the next generation.
Kirsty sees the in-person element as the crucial ingredient. “Getting together in real life adds something extra,” she says. “We have the kind of chats you just wouldn’t have with a new connection on LinkedIn.”
Further north in Durham, Clare Lavelle of Aniseed Creative was determined to put her region on the map. “Durham is not particularly known as a creative hub, even though there’s plenty of creativity here,” she says. Her first event drew around 15 creatives on a rare boiling-hot summer’s day in the North East. Weirdly, many of them had already worked with the same people or in the same places.
Now regularly attracting 20–25 attendees, the Durham events have led to real connections. “I wouldn’t probably be co-hosting Billy No Mates alongside another local designer, Laura, without it,” says Clare. “A couple of local artists have connected up, and designers and marketers have been exchanging details for possible collaborations. It’s become a lovely community in a short space of time.”
In Leeds, designer Brett Kellett—who freely admits he hates networking—was talked into hosting by his relentlessly optimistic co-hosts Vicky Zaremba and Kate Campbell. “What matters is building community,” he says. “As someone who recently moved back to Leeds, it starts to turn something that can feel impenetrable and forbidding into something human.” At one event, he bumped into a former London colleague, now one of the founders of acclaimed Leeds studio Edna.
Meanwhile, in Birmingham, brand and packaging designer Louise O’Kane of LULACREATES has been quietly building something special at Kilder Bar near Moor Street Station. Her third event was the turning point: a buzzing room of design graduates, creative directors, photographers, videographers, illustrators, fashion designers and sound engineers. “A genuine cross-section of the creative community,” she recalls. “I felt utter delight.”
The need for each other
Brighton, famed as a creative hub, delivered from the start. Co-hosts Emily Penny of Becolourful and Michelle Mariathasan Holland of Make More Happen drew over 60 people to the Projects co-working space, complete with a beautiful sunset from the roof terrace. “I was slightly nervous we weren’t offering formal talks or structured entertainment,” says Michelle. But it turns out creatives don’t need programming; they need each other.”
One attendee travelled from Portsmouth and ended up meeting other Portsmouth creatives at the event. They all got the train home together. That’s exactly what it’s about. As Emily says, “Chance meetings can and do change futures.”
Birmingham. Photographer: Dray-Darnell Gonzales
Emily Penny (Brighton)Leeds: Photo by Jemma Mickleburgh
Gregg Reid (Belfast)Louise O’Kane (Birmingham)
In Bristol, senior designer Natty Harris has created a space where there’s genuinely no pressure to impress. “The last ones were still here at 11pm, and I had to kindly nudge them to leave!” she laughs. “Numbers and social handles were swapped, which is really lovely.” The response has been one of overwhelming gratitude from a freelance and remote-worker community that had been longing for exactly this kind of no-agenda gathering.
Over in Belfast, meanwhile, creative director Gregg Reid of Hundred Studio put £250 behind the bar at the Ulster Sports Club taproom and welcomed 50 people through the door. In the process, he was struck by the realisation of just how much creative talent the city contains: people working on blockbuster films, boutique hotels and global brands, often without knowing they were just down the road from each other. “It was killer to get loads of people in one room and not only realise how similar we all are, but to understand the real scope of our work,” he reflects.
In London, motion designer Michela Bruno and Benji Wiedemann, ECD and co-founder of brand consultancy Wiedemann Lampe, co-hosted the capital’s first event. Michela, who moved from Italy in 2011 and has worked remotely ever since, says Creative Boom IRL has filled a long-felt gap. “I work from home, always alone, but my creativity is fuelled by collaboration,” she explains. “I badly wanted to meet other creative people in person.”
Benji, in turn, was struck by how faithfully The Studio’s warmth translated into the physical world. “The vibe was genuine,” he reports. “It was all about openness, kindness, compassion and above all fun.” Benji and Michela run London’s event along with senior designer Arianna Cerroni and creative coach Ivy Malik.
Why this matters
Right now, the creative industry is having a tough time. Budgets are tighter, timelines are shorter, freelance work is drying up, and the AI conversation is impossible to ignore. Against that backdrop, Creative Boom IRL offers something both simple and badly needed: the reminder that you are not alone. As Emily O’Brien puts it: “Work right now is hard. Having this space to share that ‘it’s not just you’ really helped everyone feel reassured.”
Most importantly, Creative Boom IRL events are free, welcoming and deliberately low-key. There’s no agenda and no need for a pitch. Clare Lavelle in Durham puts it best: “It’s not your typical networking. It’s just making creative pals.” Come join us!
Bristol
Brighton. Photography by Alex BamfordEmily Penny and Michelle Mariathasan Holland at IRL Brighton
GB News is being urged to ‘reflect’ on the type of content it produces after a host complained about an advertising boycott yet again.
Presenter Nana Akua claimed during an episode of The Interview that potential advertisers were being “scared off” by human rights groups that argue the news and opinion channel is pushing division in the UK.
During an interview with former professional football coach, Steve Harrison, the 54-year-old said: “We’ve been through the whole thing where, you know, there was this [call], ‘Well, they’re horrible, don’t advertise with them’. Some were scared off from advertising on the channel.”
GB News has reportedly lost over £131 million since its launch in 2021 as major brands join a boycott started by the political pressure group Stop Funding Hate, which argued the channel uses “fear and division” to gain viewers.
The broadcaster has routinely come under fire for airing anti-LGBTQ+ views. Most notably was GB News host Josh Howie’s remark that the LGBTQ+ acronym includes “paedos,” as well as is on-air apology that denied the existence of trans people.
GB News host Josh Howie. (GB News/Instagram)
Stop Funding Hatemade a call to boycott the right-wing broadcaster in February 2021 – four months before the broadcaster officially launched – calling for prospective advertisers to pull support in the lead-up to its first broadcast.
Major brands including Ikea, Nivea and OVO Energy pulled advertising almost immediately following the channel’s launch, with many more pulling their sponsorships over the next few years.
During the broadcast, Harrison claimed that advertisers were “complicit” in the channel’s losses for “not standing up to Stop Funding Hate.”
Responding in a post on social media, the political pressure group called on GB News to “reflect on whether the content of GB News might explain this reluctance” for brands to advertise on the channel.
L-R: Former GB News hosts Laurence Fox, Dan Wootton and Calvin Robinson. (GB News)
“We’ve seen time and time again that when enough of us speak out & urge advertisers to avoid GB News, companies will respond,” they added. “This only works because it’s also very clear how toxic an environment GB News is – advertisers can see that the public has a point and is right to be concerned.”
Akua’s comments came just a week after fellow GB News host Charlie Downes claimed she was not truly British, despite being born in Newcastle.
During a heated debate, Downes claimed that Akua was not truly British because, in his view, “there’s a difference between someone who has come here within the last five years and gotten themselves a passport and somebody like me whose family have been in this country for thousands of years.”
The pair clashed after Downes claimed that Britishness is not defined by a “set of abstract, corporate values like democracy,” claiming instead that it was defined by what he called the “ancient peoples” of Britain.
Akua responded by citing Cheddar Man – a Mesolithic human male whose skeleton was found in Cheddar Gorge and is believed to be the oldest complete skeleton of a human found in Britain. In 2018, DNA analysis found that Cheddar Man was Black.
After Downes said he disagreed because of his Christian beliefs, Akua responded: “You might believe that, but science says otherwise.”
Feature image credit: GB News host Nana Akua (left) spoke with Steve Harrison (right) on the channel’s issues with advertisers. (screenshot/Facebook)
The rain hasn’t stopped for hours. Wind rattles the shelter’s windows as the storm outside swells, flooding the streets they used to call home. In a crowded gym, a family of four sit huddled together on makeshift beds pushed side by side each other. The parents wrap donated blankets around their shoulders; the teenagers lean against each other. Someone suggests a movie: something light, something old. They settle on a childhood favourite, a worn-out Pixar film, its colours flickering softly on the phone screen. Familiar voices, the opening music, the brand logo before the title… For a few minutes, it feels like the flood damage caused to their home no longer matters because they are together.
This is not just nostalgia. Research shows it is a form of collective coping. When the world feels unstable, why do we cling to familiar household brands and family rituals?
A study in everyday survival
In our recent research published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, we explored how families use everyday brands and consumer rituals to restore a shared sense of identity after major life-changing disruptions.
Drawing on interviews and the diaries of 22 French families during the Covid-19 lockdowns, we found that major life disruptions, sudden collective shocks like pandemics, wars, or natural disasters, destabilise shared identities. When crisis strikes, family units don’t merely adapt their routines; they rebuild who they are together through consumption.
Brands act as scaffolding for reconstructing “who we are together”. Products, platforms, and rituals, from Netflix series to board games to family meals, become tools for resilience and belonging.
And this pattern extends well beyond Covid. In an era of growing environmental volatility, it matters more than ever. According to global risk reports, the number of natural disasters causing major economic losses is at record highs. As more and more communities around the world face upheaval, these small, mundane gestures of consumption are likely to become even more vital.
How we make sense when the world stops making sense
The study identifies three-way people use shared consumption to soothe anxiety and reclaim a sense of belonging.
1) Ritualised structuring: re-creating routine
When time feels suspended, people rebuild daily habits through familiar brands. This can involve watching the same show every night at eight to mark family time or deciding that Tuesday night is reserved for a sisterly chat over WhatsApp while watching a cooking show. Even a simple coffee in a beloved mug every morning can signal the start of “normal” life again.
These rituals restore predictability and reinforce family structure: who does what, when, and with whom?
2) Collective revalorising: rediscovering shared fun
Shared consumption becomes a new form of togetherness. Families dust off old board games like Monopoly and Cluedo. Parents can cook with kids using brands that “belong” to the household (e.g. Nutella pancakes, Lego projects). The activity is not about the brand itself; it is about reasserting family character traits: “We’re playful,” “We’re resilient,” “We do this together.”
Families can also turn to the past for comfort, rewatching classics from childhood, cooking passed down recipes, or creating family newsletters to share stories across generations. These rituals ease anxiety by reconnecting with lineage and continuity. A form of quiet resistance to the fear that the future is slipping away.
Together, these practices form a kind of psychological architecture: a way to impose meaning, order, and belonging amidst chaos.
What brands really mean in a crisis
Not all brands can play that role. The ones that endure crises often do so not because they shout louder, but because they embody stability, shared experience, and emotional legacy.
During an economic downturn or after a parent’s layoff, trusted retailers can become family anchors and symbols that life can still be rearranged. A brand like Ikea, for example, could help families adjust to smaller homes by buying back larger furniture and offering adaptable, modular pieces that transform rooms into communal areas. That kind of gesture does more than move products: it helps families reimagine togetherness and regain a sense of control.
In climate disasters, local brands can strengthen communities and become symbols of solidarity. After the 2025 Texas flash floods, Walmart offered free meals to affected families. Initiatives like that could go further, for example by creating spaces where families gather, connect, and rest. The value is not just in the food; it is in rebuilding collective morale.
Even in political upheaval, cultural and media brands provide continuity. National broadcasters, for instance, can help by reviving beloved classic films that families can watch together. A subtle act of collective reassurance, reminding people of their shared cultural heritage.
The insight is simple but powerful: during disruption, consumption is not escapism. It’s sense making.
Belonging as a Business Asset
If brands can become emotional lifelines, it is because consumption in moments of rupture is not mindless escapism. Sharing a meal, lighting the same candle, queuing up the same movie… these acts whisper, “We’re still ourselves.”
The brands that subsist are not the ones that dominate conversations, but those that quietly fit into our family coping mechanisms. Our research shows that brands become vectors of family history, creators of gathering occasions, and delineators of individual, relational, and collective times and activities. They are, in effect, identity technologies which act as everyday anchors for group belonging and continuity.
As societies face mounting major challenges, from climate anxiety to digital disconnection and geopolitical tension, the emotional dimension of the marketplace will matter more than ever. When the world falls apart, the brands we hold onto are not about consumption at all; they are about remembering who we are.
As artificial intelligence continues to disrupt industries from law to media to public relations, you don’t need me to sing its praises. AI is most likely here to stay, and all of us—from agency owners to entry-level employees—need to accept our new reality.
If you fail to embrace AI, you will fail to adapt to a rapidly changing workplace. The most appealing workers know how to integrate AI into their daily workflows to broaden the horizons of their productivity, and the best employers know it.
However, we can’t overestimate AI either. There is (still) much more to the modern workplace than the power of large language models like ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Especially in fields like PR and marketing, many agencies are going all in to automate their processes with AI, but people are going to keep craving the human touch (yes, still). Agencies that double down on real, authentic relationships will be the ones that win because they will stand out more and more.
Countless surveys prove this. Whether we’re making a complex purchase, working with customer support or consulting a real doctor, we are human beings who want to see and speak with other people. Our need for social contact may have changed in recent years, but most people don’t want to just talk to bots all day.
Call it “the other AI,” or “authentic intelligence.” Being more human—from understanding human tendencies to communicating with personality—has emerged as a major competitive advantage for leading brands. We’re seeing companies lean into emotion as a form of brand personality, which is a key to breeding familiarity and loyalty. Remember: In order for people to know, like and trust you, they need to feel like you actually see eye to eye with them as a fellow human, like you’re on their same wavelength.
Trust is perhaps the most important currency for business leaders. You need people—from customers and clients to employees—to see you as someone who is operating in good faith, with people’s best interests at heart. When brands become overly automated with AI, they often lose their emotional resonance, and they may inevitably lose trust as their competitive advantage blends into what every other brand is doing—automating and automating some more.
In my experience, relationships always outperform algorithms. I have always placed a premium on developing real, human connections with people, whether it’s a vendor or a governmental official. When you see people you know, it’s best to smile, look them in the eye, give them a firm (but not too firm) handshake and tell them you are glad to see them. That type of personal connection will last for a long time and resonate more than any LLM response.
Empathy drives engagement. If you know what people are going through, and let people know you care, they will want to stay in touch with you. A journalist I’ve known since the 1990s recently broke her ankle, and her daughter was nearly killed while crossing the street. She was feeling very down in the dumps, so I sent her flowers with a handwritten note. That gesture will surely beat any bot telling her to feel better online. Hopefully, it keeps our relationship strong for the next 30 years.
People need to associate AI with amplification. It has the potential to make us more productive and keep us more informed, bringing out the very best of our humanity. AI amplifies human energy, but it does not replace us, and there is immense value in relying on smart humans for their brainpower to build and manage relationships.
Relationship management takes time. You have to be into networking and connecting for the long haul, and not just for instant gratification. You can’t just request a new connection on LinkedIn and expect them to become a new client or colleague overnight. And you certainly shouldn’t have a bot approach all of your LinkedIn contacts to pitch them new products and services.
Getting lazy with AI is not the right approach. Dehumanizing yourself, at the expense of others, is never the answer.
The right approach is to amplify your humanity with AI. Lean into artificial intelligence, but don’t forget authenticity along the way.
Some of the most controversial redesigns have had surprising staying power.
Over the last few years we’ve seen some truly headline-making rebrands. And if you know anything about the attention economy in the twenty-first century, you’ll know that headline-making equals controversial. Hate sells, and there’s nothing people love to hate more than a beloved brand trying out a bold new look.
Perhaps the most obvious example from recent memory is Jaguar, whose colourful and curvy new look prompted outcry in 2024. And then there’s Cracker Barrel, which angered MAGA (and more) by doing away with its ‘old timer’ mascot’ last year. The vitriol directed at these new identities was on another level, with real-world effects for the brands.
The ‘controversial’ Cracker Barrel rebrand (Image credit: Cracker Barrel)
One one hand, in today’s social media age, perhaps the response to these rebrands wasn’t surprising. Seeing figures like Elon Musk call Jaguar woke or Donald Trump Jr ask “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel” feel par for the course in the 2020s. By removing iconic assets, those rebrands were doing something bold and, yes, possibly foolish – even on paper, a Jaguar campaign without any cars sounds a bit daft.
But the alarming thing here is that these backlashes so clearly cowed the respective brands. Cracker Barrel was publicly contrite about its redesign, announcing on social media, “You’ve shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be” before wheeling back the rebrand. And this is despite the brand also offering a rationale for the new logo that actually made a lot of sense: to simplify the design for new, digital applications.
The response to the Jaguar rebrand has allegedly led to the firing of the brand’s design chief and the dropping of its ad agency (Image credit: Jaguar)
As for Jaguar, to an outsider, the rebrand appears to be going strong – it still adorns the brand’s website, along with the new tagline, “Copy nothing. Delete ordinary.” But behind the scenes, it sounds like the backlash has led to some profound changes, including the design chief being sacked and the advertising agency being dropped.
Now, rebrand U-turns are nothing new. We’ve been seeing brands ditch their new designs in response to controversy for decades. GAP’s 2010 rebrand lasted all of six days, while Tropicana’s 2009 redesign managed a few months. But the difference is that there was nothing political about those backlashes – they were purely about the loss of an iconic design. Both Jaguar and Cracker Barrel, however, were mostly criticised for “going woke”. And the noise got so loud so quickly that the brands bottled it.
GAP’s 2010 rebrand lasted all of six days (Image credit: Gap)
And what they perhaps forgot is that online noise does, eventually, die down. Some of the most controversial rebrands of the last couple of decades have proven to have remarkable staying power. Back in 2014, the new Airbnb logo faced an avalanche of criticism accusing it of everything from lack of originality to sexual symbolism. Twelve years later, it’s still going strong – and hardly anyone remembers the initial controversy.
Similarly, Instagram‘s switch from its realistic retro camera icon to a minimalist gradient in 2016 was initially wildly unpopular, with the bright gradient called childish and ugly at the time. Turns out Instagram was ahead of the curve – that skeuomorphic camera would look positively dated today, whereas the gradient Instagram logo is now one of the most recognisable in the world.
Who’s still complaining about the Airbnb logo?
What these examples show is that while the internet has always been quick to judge rebrands, perhaps the best judge is time. Once all of the noise has died down, longevity serves as pretty categorial proof that a rebrand was sound.
Indeed, some rebrands from the 2020s are now half a decade old, giving us the benefit of hindsight to decide what truly worked and what didn’t. Burger King’s flat design bonanza is still sizzling five years later. Conversely, in the wake of the recent news that it’s slashing its metaverse department, Facebook’s 2021 ‘Meta’ rebrand finally looks like a failure in 2026.
So while the internet will always be a wild west of lightning fast reactions, perhaps we ought to bear in mind that the true marker of a successful rebrand is time. Are people still complaining once the dust has settled five years later? Or is it, like Airbnb, now just a solid and recognizable brand identity? And perhaps the brands feeling threatened by cries of “Woke!” need to remember the same thing too.
Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel’s debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.
A recent report shows what might be the biggest shift in the history of consumer activity: AI is starting to take over shopping. Everything your business has done to build brand loyalty is at stake.
AI agents “can behave differently from human shoppers: they prioritize price, user ratings, delivery speed, and real-time inventory over brand familiarity or loyalty,” Boston Consulting Group reports. “This has the potential to reshape how retailers compete and how purchase decisions are made.”
There’s no time to waste in meeting this new reality. This year, 52% of consumers plan to use generative AI for online shopping, according to Adobe. Some will use it to simply get a list of options, and may pick their favourite brand from among them. But when they see those options listed together without brand identities or logos, price is even more likely to be the differentiator.
And soon, agentic AI will take on even more of the buying process. It’s like having “a personal shopper who deeply understands your preferences, lifestyle, and budget, effortlessly curating tailored product recommendations from thousands of options,” BCG says. “Your shopper seamlessly anticipates your needs, secures the best prices, and completes transactions autonomously.”
The way business works today, organizations will lose a lot through “disintermediation,” in which consumers bypass a brand’s e-commerce platform altogether, the report adds. “The growth of zero-click search and agent-driven interactions is eroding direct traffic—along with the retailer’s ability to observe, influence, and understand consumer behaviour at scale.”
There are steps businesses can and must take now to prepare.
Your Own Agentic Experiences
The most important step is to create your own platforms that make consumers want to come directly to you. These platforms must offer all the same end-to-end shopping as third party AI applications like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
The good news is that your business has a big advantage in this battle: proprietary information about customers. By combining that information with the power of AI, you can provide experiences that make people want to shop there.
Building an agentic experience requires taking all the data you have about each individual customer and using it to personalize their journey, making them feel recognized and valued. That means leaving nothing on the table. Be sure to gather every piece of information from every interaction your brand has ever had with each customer, across any and all channels.
A well designed Unified Customer Experience Management (UCXM) platform can achieve this. It serves not only as a way to consolidate information, but also as a system for everyone across a company to collaborate. This way, people across different functions access the same records; update them in real time; and contribute to finding solutions to customer challenges.
Since these tools keep learning over time, they become more precise and successful, guiding each customer to their best possible experience. Everything about an agentic experience can be hyper-personalized, from an agent’s voice to its manner of speaking to the products and services it recommends.
Building a ‘moat’
“To drive revenue growth and improve ROI, business leaders may need to commit to transformative AI possibilities,” McKinsey says. “As the hype around AI subsides and the focus shifts to value, there is a heightened attention on practical applications that can create competitive moats.”
Your brand is like its own castle. The experience of going to it can be so enjoyable that customers keep visiting. And by ensuring that competitors can’t get in — that they’re unable to access your precious customer data — you keep the experience distinctive.
Of course, this is not the only part of the solution to the seismic shift ahead in how people shop. BCG notes that brands must also work to ensure discoverability on popular AI tools, through both “earned visibility” and paid opportunities.
On this, brands have an opportunity as well. Adobe found that when people arrive at a retailer’s site from a generative AI source, they are 10% more engaged, with 32% longer visits and a 27% lower bounce rate. “This indicates that with AI tools, shoppers are becoming more informed and focusing on the most relevant retailers during the research/consideration phase,” Adobe’s report said.
With a UCXM in place, your brand can know exactly how a customer arrived at your site each time, and use that to tailor their experience.
As with so many other revolutions, the AI revolution presents an opportunity. By developing new strategies, you can compete and win in new ways. The key is to see the possibility — not just the problem.
Your portfolio looks incredible. Your work wins awards. Yet clients ghost you after initial interest, and competitors with weaker portfolios land bigger projects.
The disconnect isn’t your design skill. It’s your brand architecture.
Some design professionals treat branding as an aesthetic exercise—a logo here, a color palette there, maybe some Instagram templates. Meanwhile, strategic positioning sits neglected in a Google Doc nobody reads. This misalignment costs you clients, credibility, and eventually, confidence in your own expertise.
I’ve watched talented designers struggle for years before realizing their branding mistakes were systematic, not creative. The good news? Systems can be rebuilt. Let me show you the ten structural failures that undermine design brands and the frameworks that replace them.
Why Do So Many Design Brands Feel Identical Despite Different Aesthetics?
Because they confuse decoration with differentiation.
Two studios can have completely different visual styles yet occupy the exact same position in a client’s mind: “another freelance designer.” The brand foundation determines perception. Visuals simply express it.
Think about it. When a potential client visits your website, they’re not evaluating your Pantone choices. They’re asking: Do you understand my problem? Can I trust you to solve it? Why should I choose you instead of the dozens of others I’m considering?
Your brand foundation answers these questions before your portfolio ever loads.
What the Brand Foundation Framework Actually Includes
I call this the Strategic Core Architecture—five elements that must crystallize before you touch a single design file.
Mission Clarity: Not a fluffy statement about “creating beautiful experiences.” A concrete answer to what change you create in the world through design. For example: “We help sustainable fashion startups compete visually with fast fashion giants” is a mission. “We create meaningful brand experiences” is vapor.
Values Articulation: Specific principles that guide decisions and client relationships. Values like “transparency” mean nothing until you define them: “We share our complete process, including failures and pivots, in weekly client updates.”
Audience Precision: Demographics matter less than psychographics. Who exactly feels the pain you solve? A “small business owner” is too broad. “A second-generation family business owner trying to modernize without alienating their legacy customer base” is a person you can design for.
Offer Definition: What exactly are clients hiring you to deliver? “Brand identity” spans everything from a logo to a complete market repositioning. Specificity attracts. Ambiguity repels.
Positioning Statement: The single sentence that differentiates you. This isn’t a tagline. It’s strategic: “Unlike generalist agencies, we only work with healthcare technology companies navigating FDA compliance in their branding.”
Here’s what happens when you skip this foundation: You design a gorgeous visual identity that communicates nothing about who you serve or why you matter. Clients see pretty shapes. They don’t see relevance.
Branding Mistake #1: Building Visuals Before Strategy
Designers love creating. Strategy feels like homework. So they skip straight to mood boards and logo sketches, hoping the strategy will emerge from the aesthetics.
It never does.
The Consequence of Visual-First Branding
Without strategic grounding, your brand becomes a decoration engine. Beautiful, perhaps. But interchangeable. When a client can’t articulate why they chose you beyond “I liked your style,” you’re competing purely on taste—the most subjective, unreliable differentiator possible.
Additionally, visual-first branding leads to constant redesigns. Every trend shift makes you question your entire identity because you have no strategic anchor. Should you adopt that trendy gradient? Switch to that popular font? Without a strategy, you’re rudderless.
The Strategic-First Approach
Start with the Brand Foundation Framework I outlined above. Document every element. Be ruthlessly specific. Then, and only then, begin visual exploration.
Your visuals should express your strategy, not create it. When someone asks why you chose that particular colour palette, you should have a strategic answer rooted in audience psychology and positioning goals.
Furthermore, this approach makes design decisions easier. When you know exactly who you serve and what you stand for, typography choices become obvious. Colour psychology aligns with audience preferences. Every visual element supports the strategic foundation.
Branding Mistake #2: The “Everyone Is My Client” Delusion
Broad appeal sounds smart. Cast a wide net, catch more fish. Except branding doesn’t work like fishing.
Why Generalist Positioning Fails
When you position yourself as “a designer for everyone,” you trigger a psychological phenomenon I call Relevance Dilution. The human brain categorizes and simplifies. “Designer for everyone” translates to “designer for no one specific” in prospect psychology.
Moreover, generalist branding prevents word-of-mouth growth. Satisfied clients can’t refer you effectively because they don’t know who else you serve. “You should hire Alex, they’re a great designer” is weak. “You’re launching a fintech app? You need Alex—they exclusively brand financial technology startups” is powerful.
The Specialization Strategy Matrix
Choose your specialization axis deliberately. You have several options:
Industry Vertical: Serve only restaurants, or only SaaS companies, or only nonprofits. Deep industry knowledge becomes your competitive advantage.
Service Horizontal: Focus exclusively on one service—packaging design, environmental graphics, or digital product branding. Become the undisputed expert in that specific deliverable.
Audience Segment: Serve only women entrepreneurs, or only second-career professionals, or only Gen-Z founders. Understand their unique worldview intimately.
Problem Domain: Specialize in rebrands, launches, or legacy brand modernization. Each requires different expertise and attracts different clients.
Pick one. Dominate it. Then, if growth demands, expand strategically to adjacent specializations.
Branding Mistake #3: Inconsistent Visual Systems Across Touchpoints
Your website uses one colour palette, while your Instagram uses another. Meanwhile, your proposal templates look like they came from a different company entirely.
How Inconsistency Destroys Brand Equity
Every inconsistent touchpoint forces prospects to rebuild their mental model of your brand. This cognitive friction accumulates. Eventually, they just move on to a competitor whose brand feels coherent.
I’ve seen designers lose projects because their email signature used different fonts from their portfolio. It seems trivial. But these micro-inconsistencies signal sloppiness. If you can’t maintain consistency in your own brand, why would a client trust you with theirs?
Building the Brand System Architecture
Create what I call a Touchpoint Coherence System—a documented framework ensuring visual consistency everywhere your brand appears.
Colour Application Rules: Don’t just list hex codes. Define usage rules. Primary colours for headlines and CTAs. Secondary colours for accents. Neutral palette for body text and backgrounds. Specify ratios and combinations.
Typography Hierarchy: Assign specific roles. Heading font, subheading font, body font. Define sizes, weights, and spacing for each level. Document when to break these rules (rarely).
Logo Usage Guidelines: Clear space requirements. Minimum sizes. Approved backgrounds. Incorrect usage examples. Treat your logo like a legal trademark because it essentially is one.
Imagery Style: Define your photographic or illustrative approach. Lighting style, composition preferences, and subject matter themes. Create a visual reference board.
Layout Principles: Grid systems, alignment rules, white space standards. These invisible structures create visual consistency even when content varies.
Document everything in a living brand guide. Update it as your brand evolves. Reference it religiously.
Branding Mistake #4: Overengineered or Oversimplified Logo Design
Logos occupy a strange middle ground. Too complex, and they become unusable. Too simple, and they disappear into generic minimalism.
The Logo Complexity Paradox
I’ve watched designers spend months crafting intricate logos with symbolic meaning in every curve. Beautiful work. Completely impractical. When that logo shrinks to favicon size, it becomes an indistinct blob.
Conversely, the minimalism trend produced thousands of sans-serif wordmarks that achieve simplicity by sacrificing all personality. Your logo shouldn’t require a manifesto to explain it, but it also shouldn’t be indistinguishable from every other “modern” brand.
The Recognition-Scalability Framework
Effective logos balance three variables: distinctiveness, simplicity, and scalability. Optimize for all three simultaneously.
Distinctiveness means your logo doesn’t resemble competitors. Research your market thoroughly. If everyone uses geometric shapes, consider organic forms. If everyone goes minimal, explore expressive typography.
Simplicity means limiting elements ruthlessly. Can you achieve the same effect with two colours instead of five? One shape instead of three? Always simplify without losing character.
Scalability means testing rigorously. Print your logo at a half-inch width. Does it still read clearly? Convert it to solid black. Does the design hold up? Display it at billboard scale. Does it look intentional or accidentally enlarged?
Additionally, consider these practical constraints: Does it work in embroidery? On a pen? As an app icon? In a Zoom background? Real-world applications expose design weaknesses fast.
Branding Mistake #5: Cluttered Layouts That Bury Your Message
More elements seem more impressive. More colours, more fonts, more imagery, more information. Except the opposite is true.
The Cognitive Load Crisis
Every element you add increases cognitive load—the mental effort required to process your design. Humans have limited processing capacity. Overload it, and they disengage entirely.
I call this the Attention Budget Principle: Every viewer arrives with a fixed amount of attention. You can invest it wisely in communicating one strong message, or squander it across a dozen weak ones.
The Hierarchy-First Design Method
Start every layout by identifying your single primary message. Not your three main points. Your one essential takeaway. Everything else is secondary.
Visual Hierarchy means guiding the eye deliberately. Size, contrast, colour, and position all create hierarchy. Your primary message gets the strongest visual emphasis. Supporting elements recede proportionally.
White Space Strategy isn’t emptiness—it’s emphasis through absence. Space around an element makes it more prominent. Dense layouts make everything equally ignorable.
Element Reduction Protocol: Design your layout. Then remove 30% of the elements. Force yourself. You’ll discover most were redundant. The remaining 70% becomes significantly stronger.
Furthermore, establish a clear entry point for the viewer’s eye. Where should they look first? Then the second? Then the third? Intentional visual flow transforms chaos into clarity.
Branding Mistake #6: Typography That Undermines Professionalism
Font choices seem subjective. They’re not. Typography communicates at a subconscious level, triggering immediate associations about professionalism, trustworthiness, and quality.
How Typography Shapes Perception
Research shows people make judgments about your credibility within 50 milliseconds of viewing your content. Typography drives much of that instant assessment.
Default fonts signal carelessness. Overused fonts signal a lack of originality. Trendy fonts signal trendiness (which ages poorly). Incompatible font pairings signal poor attention to detail.
The Type System Framework
Limit your brand to a Type Trio: one font for headlines, one for body text, one optional accent font for special use.
Headline Font: Distinctive enough to create personality. Legible enough for quick scanning. Usually slightly heavier weight. This is your brand’s voice at its loudest.
Body Font: Maximum readability. Neutral enough to disappear into the reading experience. Generous x-height. Clear letterforms. This is where people spend most of their time.
Accent Font: Use sparingly for quotes, callouts, or special emphasis. This adds flavour without overwhelming. Many strong brands skip this entirely.
Additionally, master these technical fundamentals: appropriate line spacing (generally 1.4-1.6x font size), comfortable line length (50-75 characters), consistent hierarchy through size and weight, and adequate contrast ratios for accessibility.
Test your typography at actual usage sizes. A font that looks perfect in your design file might be illegible on mobile devices.
Branding Mistake #7: Cheap Visuals That Broadcast Amateur Status
Generic stock photos. Low-resolution images. Poorly composed photography. Outdated graphics. These visual choices communicate more about your brand than any mission statement.
The Image Quality Perception Effect
Humans are visual creatures. We process images 60,000 times faster than text. This means your imagery creates instant impressions before anyone reads a word.
Moreover, there’s a documented psychological phenomenon called the Aesthetic-Usability Effect: People perceive attractive designs as more usable, trustworthy, and professional, regardless of actual functionality.
The Visual Asset Strategy
You need a consistent approach to imagery across all brand touchpoints. This doesn’t mean every photo looks identical. It means they feel cohesively related.
Photography Style: Define your approach. High contrast or soft lighting? Composed or candid? Studio or environmental? Colour palette preferences? Depth of field standards?
Illustration Approach: If you use illustrations, maintain style consistency. Line weight, colour application, level of detail, and rendering technique should remain constant.
Custom Over Stock: Invest in original photography whenever possible. Stock images, even good ones, appear across thousands of brands. Custom imagery is exclusively yours.
Image Quality Standards: Establish minimum resolution requirements. Implement quality control before any image goes live. A single blurry photo undermines an otherwise polished brand.
Furthermore, consider image authenticity. Audiences increasingly detect and reject overly staged or artificial imagery. Authentic visuals build trust faster than perfection.
Branding Mistake #8: Inconsistent Voice Across Channels
Your website reads like a law firm, yet your Instagram captions sound like a teenager. To make matters worse, your email newsletters adopt a completely different personality. This fragmentation confuses your audience and dilutes your brand identity.
The Multi-Personality Brand Problem
Inconsistent voice triggers what I call Brand Dissonance—the uncomfortable feeling when different touchpoints send conflicting signals about who you are.
Clients start questioning which version represents the “real” you. This uncertainty prevents the trust-building necessary for high-value relationships. Additionally, an inconsistent voice makes your brand unmemorable because people can’t form a coherent mental model.
The Voice Architecture System
Document your brand voice with specific guidelines beyond generic descriptors like “professional” or “friendly.”
Voice Characteristics Matrix: Define where you fall on key spectrums. Formal vs. casual (and how formal/casual). Playful vs. serious. Authoritative vs. collaborative. Technical vs. accessible. Emotional vs. rational.
Vocabulary Guidelines: Maintain lists of preferred and forbidden words. Some brands say “clients,” others say “partners.” Some say “projects,” others say “collaborations.” These choices compound into personality.
Sentence Structure Patterns: Long, flowing sentences create different impressions than short, punchy ones. Document your preferences. Notice how your sentence structure is reading right now—direct and explanatory, establishing authority through clarity rather than complexity.
Perspective and Pronouns: Consistent use of “we,” “I,” or “you.” Each creates different relational dynamics. Choose deliberately based on your positioning.
Create a voice guide with specific examples. Show correct and incorrect usage. Make it actionable enough that anyone representing your brand can apply it consistently.
Branding Mistake #9: Trend-Chasing That Destroys Longevity
Gradients are hot, so you redesign around gradients. Brutalism trends, so you adopt harsh typography and raw layouts. Maximalism returns, so you add decorative elements everywhere.
The Trend Adoption Trap
Trends move in cycles. What’s fresh today looks dated in eighteen months. Constant redesigns to chase trends create multiple problems simultaneously.
First, recognition suffers. Brand recognition requires consistency over time. Frequent visual overhauls reset that recognition-building process to zero.
Second, resources drain. Every redesign costs time and money, better invested in delivering client value or developing real competitive advantages.
Third, positioning weakens. Trend-chasing signals that you follow rather than lead. Clients seeking innovative partners won’t choose the studio that desperately copies whatever’s currently popular.
The Timeless Foundation Method
Build your brand on Era-Resistant Principles—design approaches that transcend temporary aesthetics.
Classic Typography: Choose fonts with decades of proven performance. Helvetica, Garamond, Futura, Gill Sans. These have survived because they work, not because they’re trendy.
Fundamental Colour Theory: Instead of adopting the year’s colour trends, choose colours based on psychological impact and audience resonance. Blue for trust. Red for energy. These associations persist across trend cycles.
Structural Design Principles: Strong hierarchy, clear focus, intentional white space. These fundamentals never go out of style because they’re rooted in human perception, not fashion.
Trend Integration Guidelines: When you want to incorporate current aesthetics, do so as accent layers, not foundational elements. A trendy illustration style on your Instagram is fine. Rebuilding your entire visual identity around it is risky.
Strong brands evolve gradually. They refine rather than reinvent. They adapt without abandoning their core identity.
Branding Mistake #10: Neglecting Your Digital Brand Presence
Your website hasn’t been updated in two years, while your social media profiles still use outdated logos. Meanwhile, your Google Business listing shows closed, and your LinkedIn features work from 2019.
Digital Decay and Brand Credibility
Digital neglect communicates active messages, not passive absence. An outdated website doesn’t say “we’ve been busy.” It says “we don’t care about details” or worse, “we might be out of business.”
I’ve seen designers lose significant projects because prospects googled them and found inactive social accounts or broken portfolio links. The prospect didn’t reach out to ask. They simply moved to the next candidate.
The Digital Maintenance Protocol
Establish a Digital Touchpoint Audit System—a regular review of every digital property representing your brand.
Website Refresh Cadence: At a minimum, update your portfolio quarterly. Add new projects. Remove weaker old ones. Check all links. Verify load speeds. Test mobile responsiveness. Update your bio to reflect current positioning.
Social Media Consistency: If you maintain profiles, maintain them properly. Inconsistent posting is worse than no profile at all because it signals abandonment. Either commit to regular updates or redirect energy elsewhere.
Search Presence Management: Google your brand regularly. What appears? Outdated directory listings? Incorrect information? Dead links? Claim and update every listing you find.
Performance Optimization: Page speed impacts both user experience and search rankings. Compress images. Minimize code. Use modern hosting. A slow website broadcasts technical incompetence regardless of your actual skills.
Mobile-First Design: Over 60% of web traffic is mobile. If your site doesn’t work flawlessly on phones, you’re eliminating most potential clients from considering you.
Additionally, maintain consistency with offline brand materials. Your digital and physical presence should feel like the same brand, not distant cousins.
The Integration Framework: Making It All Work Together
Understanding individual branding mistakes helps. But real transformation requires systematic integration across all elements.
Building Your Brand Operating System
Think of your brand as an operating system, not a collection of isolated assets. Every component connects to and reinforces the others.
Your strategic foundation informs your positioning, which in turn determines your visual identity. Through consistent touchpoints, that visual identity gets expressed to your audience. Meanwhile, your voice reinforces your positioning across every interaction. Finally, your digital presence maintains accessibility to all of these elements.
Implementation Sequence: Start with strategy, move to core visuals, document systems, roll out consistently, then maintain actively. Skipping steps or reversing order creates the mistakes we’ve covered.
Quality Control Mechanisms: Establish approval processes before anything goes public. Every piece of content should pass through a brand alignment check: Does this support our positioning? Does it maintain our voice? Does it meet our visual standards?
Evolution Planning: Your brand should evolve, not revolve. Plan refinements annually, major updates every 3-5 years. Document the reasons for changes so evolution remains strategic, not reactive.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to fix branding mistakes and build a strong foundation?
Strategic foundation work typically requires 2-4 weeks of focused effort. Visual identity development adds another 4-8 weeks. Full implementation across all touchpoints might span 3-6 months. However, you’ll see benefits immediately as each element improves. Don’t wait for perfection before launching improvements.
Can I fix my branding mistakes gradually, or do I need a complete rebrand?
Gradual refinement works if your foundation is sound, but execution is inconsistent. Complete rebranding becomes necessary when your positioning is fundamentally wrong, or your visual identity actively contradicts your strategy. Assess honestly: are you fixing or rebuilding?
What’s the most critical branding mistake to address first?
Always start with a strategic foundation. Without clarity on positioning, audience, and differentiation, every other fix is cosmetic. You can have perfect visual consistency and still fail if you’re consistently expressing the wrong message to the wrong audience.
How do I know if my brand specialization is too narrow?
Test market size and growth potential. A viable specialization has enough prospects to sustain your business and room to grow. If you’re struggling to find clients, you might be too narrow. If prospects don’t see you as specialized, you’re too broad. Aim for “riches in niches” but avoid niches so small they can’t support you.
Should I hire a brand strategist, or can I do this myself?
You can absolutely develop your own brand strategy, especially if you’re a designer with strategic thinking skills. However, an external perspective helps overcome blind spots. Consider this: You wouldn’t self-diagnose a serious medical condition, even if you’re medically knowledgeable. Sometimes paying for expertise saves time and prevents expensive mistakes.
How often should I update my brand guidelines and visual assets?
Review your brand guidelines annually. Make minor refinements as needed. Plan major updates every 3-5 years or when your positioning significantly shifts. Your portfolio should be updated quarterly with new work. Social presence needs weekly attention at a minimum.
What if my current branding mistakes are already hurting my business?
Acknowledge the situation honestly with existing clients if relevant. Most will respect transparency and improvement. For prospects, focus on presenting your improved brand going forward. Don’t apologize for past work—simply demonstrate your elevated current standards. Strong brands evolve. Show evolution, not error.
How do I maintain brand consistency when working with team members or contractors?
Comprehensive brand guidelines are essential for team consistency. Create detailed documentation covering voice, visuals, and decision-making frameworks. Conduct onboarding training. Establish review processes. Make brand alignment a standard part of quality control, not an optional consideration.
By identifying and systematically correcting these ten branding mistakes, design professionals can transform their positioning from forgettable to strategic, building brands that attract ideal clients and stand the test of time. Don’t hesitate to browse WE AND THE COLOR’s Branding and Graphic Design categories to learn more.
Augmented reality (AR) isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It’s coming for brand marketing next, according to Tom Emrich of Niantic.
In 2022, research from McKinsey showed that the metaverse has the potential to generate up to $5tn in value by 2030. This value creation has attracted brands from across the business landscape, with many dipping their toes into the metaverse for the first time last year.
2022 was defined by these metaverse explorations. Brands innovated, learned, and iterated, all with hopes of unlocking the tremendous business value the metaverse promises.
Gazing into the future, I expect that 2023 will be remembered as the year brands realized that the metaverse will enhance our real-world experience. The driving force behind that progress will be augmented reality (AR).
No app required: browser-based AR as the go-to for brand content
Web-based AR, or WebAR, will see a significant increase in adoption in 2023. The simple, compelling promise of WebAR is that it allows consumers to access AR content via their browser, from anywhere in the world, with no app required.
Whether you’re on Android, iOS, or a future headset, all you’ll need is web access to engage with the infinite possible experiences brands can bring to life through this technology.
Why does this matter for brands? For one thing, it affords marketers massive reach. When anyone with a smartphone can access an experience, brands unlock a massive pool of consumers. And consumers are hungry for AR experiences, with at least 54% of mobile AR users engaging weekly, and at least 75% monthly.
Second, WebAR allows for easier access to AR experiences. One of the main points of friction preventing consumers from enjoying AR – the need to download an app – is completely removed. Downloading a new app is a major drawback for consumers, but switching to browser-based technology streamlines the experience.
AR drives increased ROI across the purchasing funnel
As consumers demand more immersive experiences, brands will embrace the full potential of WebAR to extend the life of campaigns and create richer, more meaningful relationships with customers. This year, AR will become a bigger part of the e-commerce experience, driving dwell time, click-through rate, sales and more while matching heightened consumer expectations for shopping experiences.
With global retail e-commerce sales expected to pass $8tn by 2026, WebAR helps brands unlock the full potential of this boom. For online shoppers, it collapses the purchasing funnel without taking anything away from the customer journey. Consumers move from awareness to intent to purchase, all within one experience that can be accessed without an app and seamlessly integrated into existing e-commerce channels.
For example, Saatchi Art launched a WebAR feature on its website called ‘View My Room’ which allowed art buyers to view over one million pieces virtually. This feature lets buyers see how the artwork looked in advance – a key element in purchase consideration – and resulted in an average 17% increase in spending.
Retail brands will lead the charge on AR commerce
This year, expect retail brands to use WebAR to make the bricks-and-mortar experience more digital and the e-commerce experience more physical, all while driving ROI and continuing to delight consumers.
We’re already seeing adoption in e-commerce, with AR enabling customers to see how different clothes look on them, or see how different items would fit into their living rooms. Adding this more physical and personalized element to e-commerce gives customers more information, increases sales, and reduces return rates, leading to a more satisfying experience. In 2023, this will become more commonplace and part of every consumer’s expectations when they enter their customer journey.
Equally, AR can augment bricks-and-mortar locations to keep the shopping experience fresh. Brands can use AR to enhance their in-store experience, and to drive foot traffic with location-based WebAR experiences. These engaging, personalized experiences give consumers a new reason to shop in-store, leading to more business. Retail brands can even gamify the shopping experiences via activations like in-store scavenger hunts which encourage consumers to spend more time shopping and discovering new items.
