The Alchemy of Brand Love

Fusing Aesthetics & Brand Strategy to Build a Beloved Brand

I must begin by saying that my expertise lies not in brand strategy or marketing, but rather in the years I spent working with illustration, animation, and product design. Yet, through this experience, I've come to appreciate the critical importance of forging emotional connections with an audience. This has become even more crucial at a time when our attention economy is stretched thin across a vast set of digital experiences.

Despite this, I can honestly say that I haven't intentionally made or directed storytelling work that wasn't, first and foremost, following my intuition while being informed by knowledge about the product(s) in question. It seems that when creative work is crafted with authenticity, embodying the value of the product it portrays, it has the potential to connect with the audience in more natural ways. In other words, when watching a product video, for instance, the last thing you want is to feel as if you are being sold something, but instead, that you are learning something new, alluring, and exciting. ??

Rather than simply listing the latest features, the product videos I have had the opportunity to direct over the years at Microsoft for example, focused on the value that each experience brought to users. They attempted to visually capture metaphors of the concepts and principles that guided the creation of those products to begin with, always working towards a more genuine story.

As the graphic below suggests, humans want humanistic stories, not corporate messages. In the context of digital products, I find that facilitating ways for dialogues to take place between those building the product and those using it is what makes really powerful branded content.

At the same time, I believe the quality of the experience will always be the main driver of why customers love a brand. This is undoubtedly supported by a range of other motivations: 'Can I trust this company?', 'Is this product easy to access, both technologically and financially?', 'Do I feel an affinity towards this brand?', and 'Is it available in the platform I'm most comfortable with?'.

Given that my roots are in visual and motion design, I may be biased. But my belief is that when it comes to affinity, a high bar for aesthetics matters. Achieving this requires an undeniably strong relationship between the product and marketing teams to the extent that they feel like a single team. In fact, ideally, they should belong to the same organization. This not only fosters empathy for each other's goals but also naturally results in a more holistic and cohesive experience for the customer.

Before suggesting that every company undergo a reorganization to unite their product and marketing teams, let me advocate for something simpler: an aligned set of principles. I've lost count of the number of times I've met with teams to learn about their latest product principles and why theirs differ. ?? The truth is customers won't care about the principles you've adopted; but they will undoubtedly notice the inconsistencies you've overlooked.

Whimsical Simplicity

I think it is safe to say that everyone gravitates towards products that are simple to use. Simplicity though, doesn't necessarily equate to a lack of features. In fact, today's productivity experiences for instance are expected to adapt to the needs of a high school student, while at the same time supporting the bespoke demands of a specialized information worker.

While they may have lots of power under the hood, they must still present themselves through a veneer of simplicity: an interface that is intuitively universal, and beautiful. While beauty is subjective, and can come in many flavors, what it boils down to is attention to detail. This can translate to delightfully animated micro-interactions, clear iconography, expressive illustrations, thoughtful use of color, elevation that naturally guides you to the right place, and so on. And it is worth noting that this will hold true whether you are creating for consumers or the enterprise space. After all, business applications should be built with love and attention too, right?

Complex products tend to noticeably suffer in translating their mighty features to effective branding and communications. Said differently, I have noticed that the more powerful and complex a given user experience is, the more convoluted their messaging tends to be. An outlier in this case is software made for visual effects professionals such as Cinema 4D by Maxon, or After Effects by Adobe. These applications are not easy to pick up in a day or two, but they do a superb job at demystifying their complexity to new audiences.

On that note, I have seen first-hand how relying on a wide variety of storytelling devices such as carefully crafted prototypes, insightful articles, captivating product videos, and bite-sized social posts, can have a powerful effect in simplifying the value proposition around a given product. They force us to lean on the core values of an experience through the use of powerful graphics. Plus, iterating on these artifacts will help your team rally behind a clearer, more convicted product vision too. ??

So, what is Brand Love after all?

I am convinced that it is much more than a marketing term. It goes beyond mere brand recognition or loyalty; brand love implies a deeper emotional engagement where customers feel a sense of passion, or even attachment to the brand. But for the data-loving product makers out there, understanding brand love means quantifying it, which is challenging. It takes measuring subjective and emotional connections between your customers and your brand. However, there are some approaches that can offer insights into brand love. Surveys and questionnaires help you hear directly from your audience about their feelings and sentiments, while social media metrics can gauge the level of affinity and engagement people have with your brand.

Additionally, while many product leaders enjoy leaning on NPS to gauge customer satisfaction, loyalty, and advocacy for instance, I've found a wealth of insights in brand equity studies. They help measure the overall strength and value of a brand by assessing dimensions like brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, and brand loyalty. By measuring these things, you can gauge the existing level of brand love among your customers and understand where you can build upon it.

Most importantly, as I suggested earlier, achieving positive results takes effort. There are many things worth doing, but I'll highlight the three I find most impactful. First, brands that prioritize Consistency in messaging, quality, and an overall seamless and enjoyable customer experience tend to be more beloved. This underscores the importance of a strong design system that works in concert with beautifully executed brand initiatives. ??

Secondly, Personalization is key: Tailoring user experiences and products is not only important from an accessibility standpoint, but it also makes your customers feel heard, leading to greater brand affection. Often, this boils down to seemingly less glamorous features that usually fall below the prioritization cut line, even though they don't require much heavy lifting. Some examples I can think of are a unified dark mode theme, or the ability to display pronouns alongside one's digital identity.

Lastly, Storytelling holds great power. Brands that can tell compelling stories—about their origins, products, or customers—capture hearts. ?? And, it goes without saying that storytelling efforts should align with Community-Building activities. Brands that successfully build and nurture communities around them often enjoy greater loyalty.

So, what are some of your own experiences with this notion of Brand Love, whether tangible or not? What is your most beloved brand, and why? Please share your thoughts here. ??

Thank you for reading!

Thank you to all my 微软 colleagues ???? who have helped me better understand the impact of product design decisions on brand over the years. Brandon Larson , Kelsey Vaughn , Marian Anderson , Trish Miner , Samuel R. Clarke , Sven Seger and many others.