Thanks to Jared Nieuwenhuis for posting this on his Facebook.

Check out these impossibly awful brand updates. Big money doesn’t mean big results. Ponder that.

10 Major Rebranding Disasters And What You Should Learn From Them

Great article by Jennifer Van Grove at Mashable on Social Media and Small Business. Come see it at my other blog Vision Translator. Good stuff.

You are ugly. Ok, let me clarify.

All the social media activity in the world, driving tons of traffic to all things you, will not compensate for a brand presence (yes, your website, your business cards, even your FB account) that is unprofessional, poorly designed, amateurish and just plain visually unappealing.

Follow me for a minute.

Has someone you trust ever referred you to a colleague and when you checked them out online, their site was so bad that you recoiled slightly? Did you wonder what your friend was thinking? Did you move on to other things immediately never to return to, or call, that referral? Did you, like me, want to tell them you would not being doing business with them simply because they look so unprofessional?

Eek.

Is the same thing happening to you?

A woman I know through a professional organization – who is impeccable, by the way – launched her new website today. And my heart sank.

Clearly she has left corporate America. Clearly she is now a consultant to small businesses – her specialty when she was with the big firm. Clearly her neighbors kid made her a website (or worse, her husband did it). Oh my.

While I have opted to keep this associate anonymous, I will offer a couple of tips to help you create a site that enhances your professionalism instead of killing your credibility.

1. Choose a .com name for your site. Period. (BTW, you should own some version of your name.com)
2. List your mailing address and phone number on your site. Do not make it hard for people to call you, or mail you a check. I mean it.
3. Be clear about what you are communicating. Words and pictures, baby. That’s it in a nutshell. Sounds simple. And like anything with impact and power, getting it right takes thought, care and expertise.
4. Make sure it is well designed. First impressions matter, folks. I don’t care if you have the best information on the planet, written by a Harvard English professor or a poet laureate, if the look sucks, people will leave. Or, worse they will decide you are a hack, an amateur or a poser and then they will leave.
5. Express who you are – thoughtfully. Your brand – the voice, the look, the feel, the essence of what your company is all about – has to come through. Sometimes Karla and I get into a rut about our look at Design Duo. And then I come back to it; we are pretty simple gals, with minimalist taste, who create brands for others. We don’t really like the spotlight on us, we like it on our work and our clients… so our brand, our site, represents that.

My old friend Janet used to always say “cash is king.” And she was right.

I wonder if credibility isn’t a close second.

This post can also be found at Kristen’s personal site, VisionTranslator.com.

Does something as simple as your company business card attract or repel people? How about your messaging? And, your website? Oh my. We’ll talk about that later.

I remember getting a business card from a gal who was looking for a new job. We met at a mixer at the Columbia Tower Club in 2003. I still remember where I was when we met and I still remember exactly what her card looked like. That’s how impressive her card was.

That was 7 years ago.

I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night.

We have a client who hired us to breathe some life into a condo project he was building. The design/marketing company had done all the initial creative and but they had missed it a bit. He wasn’t sure why. But he could sense something was wrong. Something was repelling.

After our initial review of the messaging and brand look, along with a walk of the project, it was clear. There is NO WAY a 30 unit mid-rise on busy street can be considered “luxury”. Please.

You can say it. Doesn’t mean people will believe you. And when they don’t believe your building is “luxury”, they wonder what else you aren’t being straight about.

Consider that individuals have a brand as well. We live in world where people are checking you out online all the time. My question is, what are they seeing? Perhaps it’s time to invest in a brand that captures your essence, communicates your point of view, and attracts your perfect client.

If not now, when?

As a visionary leader, solopreneur, or top performer your brand is your business. And I bet you wouldn’t have it any other way. The question is “what is your brand saying about your business?”

Professional? Opportunist? Expert? Newbie? Seasoned Pro? Hack? Experienced? Ego Driven? Trustworthy? Energetic? Inspiring?

We live in a world where we are being judged on how we present ourselves, via our business, online and in person. Yes, your website matters. It matters a great deal. In an instant a prospect will craft a laundry list of qualities about you and your business. True or false. The list is generated automatically.

And your prospects are looking for reasons why are you not who you say you are. It’s human nature. We are constantly seeking safety. “Can I trust them?” “Was Mary right to refer him?” “What if I am being sold and she’s not an expert?” The questions are operating in the background, at rapid fire speed. We seek confirmation that who we want to do business with is the ‘right’ person to do business with.

The same thing happens when you hand someone your business card.

And that’s where the power of your brand makes all the difference.

Getting your online and offline brand aligned means your website, e-newsletters, mailers, business cards, presentations, forms and docs all bear the same identity, voice and messaging. It makes everything in our business run smoother. In fact, done well, your brand can drive prospects to your door.

Your brand is your business. Take a look through the eyes of others. Is it time to rev it up?

This post can also be found at Kristen’s personal site, VisionTranslator.com

So, I was at the store the other day waiting for someone. Looking around at the stuff on the shelf next to me I noticed this really well designed, cool black box full of bright, colorful rows of something that didn’t register in my brain yet. I just wanted to pick up the box to see what it was. It was a box of Kotex! The next day I saw this commercial on TV and overnight, Kotex became, as Simon Cowell would say, relevant.

A new site.

A new place to express.
A new way to share our style.
A new opportunity to be a Vision Translator.

My friend Lindsay Andreotti kept telling me I was a translator. And I agreed. But it wasn’t until we were in the midst of a strategy session with Thach Nguyen that he declared me “Chief Vision Translator” that it all fell into place. Finally, we articulated exactly what it IS that I DO.

Since that day, I’ve seen with totally clarity that the success of our company is 100% grounded in my ability to translate our clients vision, and Karla’s ability to translate ME.

For years, people have told us how easy it is to work with us, that we ‘nailed it’ from the get-go. That they’ve never experienced a creative team who could execute with such ease.

Amazing that it took us 13 years to define what the hell it is we do. But I am blessed that Thach and Lindsay named it.

So, here we are.

Let’s go.

Kristen and Karla are starting a blog.
It’s in the works.

Stay tuned.