Branding
What came first, the chicken or the egg?
By Eric Groves
How to build your website around your brand.
You know those age-old questions that we may never know the answers to? Like, why did the chicken cross the road? And what came first, the chicken or the egg? These are the types of questions keep us up at night. (Ok, not really. But bear with me.) In this world of unknown questions, we do have the answer to at least one of them:
What came first, the graphics or the content?
You may be shocked to find out that the answer is: neither.
What? How? Why? Just think about it, the graphics and content come along with the creative process. But they always, without a doubt, return to the center of your creative – the brand
Your brand should dictate every decision you make when you are building your website. Stop thinking about your website like it is a standalone entity, and imagine it more as a tool to further your brand’s experience.
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “Seriously? Between graphics and content, one of them has gotta come first.” You’re right to be thinking this, but don’t dwell on it. If we had to make a choice on which one comes first, it would probably be the content. But with website building, this process can be flexible. It’s best to take a step back, and remember to tie everything back to your brand.
The Chicken (Content)
The content provides the real meat of your website. Content will give your brand a voice. Connecting with your visitors while providing useful information is what great content is all about. If you need some inspiration, take a look at these awesome web examples.
Imagine you crack an egg open just to find that it is hollow and empty. No chicken in sight. At a glance, the egg looked good- no outward flaws on the shell. But without a chicken inside, that egg is useless. Without well thought-out and creative content that connects with your customer, your site will be running around like…well, like a chicken with its’ head cut off!
The Egg (Graphics)
Think of your graphics as if they were the egg. The shell of the egg provides a neat package for its contents. Without the shell, you’d just have gooey yolks running all over the place. And that’s gross. To keep your website clean, you must think through the way your content is going to be packaged.
Eggs are a versatile staple in many foods, and serve many purposes. Whether you’re making an omelet, or baking a cake, eggs are often the binding ingredient you need to make your recipe work. Think of design as that binding ingredient that brings your website together. Without great design, your branding will suffer and that’s the very last thing you want to neglect.
Brand Comes First
When you’re building your website, remember to put aside the worries about the creative process, and worry about the big picture- how your brand is connecting with visitors. When your brand is at the center of the process, the graphics and content will come naturally.
So what are you waiting for? Get crackin’ and they’ll get cluckin’ clickin’.
