Do You Have Branding Deficiency Disorder?

One of branding's basics is consistency: define a brand's core graphics, and stick to those. If you don't, you will get your consumers confused when it comes to brand recognition. Examples are all around us. Sometime, we can guess which brand is behind an ad before the brand's name actually appear.

I am talking about this because on HyveUp, I've been doing exactly the opposite. I've never been able to stick to one logo, one icon, one color, one style. Part of it is because I am constantly exploring new blog designs and blogging possibilities. Another reason is that I like to play with Photoshop during my recreational times, and my blog's header is my favorite toy to play with. Also, and related to the previous reason, I am not such a great graphic designer, so I am never satisfied with my work. Finally, I have to admit that HyveUp's inconsistency is also due to its lack of clear direction: One day I provide social media services, the next I provide video services, I video interview Web 2.0 entrepreneurs, and I write about newtech stuff... With my brother, we also work on a few software development projects.

It's all tech related, but it's broader in terms of positioning than one might think. Moreover, I started off with an original name, a challenge in terms of creating brand awareness. Had I called my site technewsandvideo.com, I would probably have less issues in terms of branding and originality. This is not the case: I am in a situation where, if I can push my brand successfully to the population I target, I win all the way. You can be a computer retailer that sells well-designed machines, there is only one Apple on the market. If I can't generate a successful brand awareness campaign, at least I will have the merits to have been a believer :)

However, this is my style, and out of the millions of blogs created every year, I am constantly trying to generate a unique reason for more people to come visit me. If you don't come for my content, at least come to check out what kind of stupid design I came up with this time.