Are your Brand Visuals Breaking or Building Trust?
As a soulful coach, therapist or brand, your work is built on connection. But are your visuals building or breaking trust?
They say an image speaks a thousand words. The same can be said of branding - the visual world we create can communicate so much.
This is why it’s so important to be mindful of the energy that our visuals hold. If our visuals feel fake or incoherent, it can break emotional trust. On the other hand, if our visuals feel authentic and cohesive, it can reflect the safety, trust and emotional connection that we bring to our work.
Here are 3 ways to help you build trust through your visual branding:
(1) Emotionally Authentic Photography
When in comes to the photography you use, ask yourself - do I believe the emotion in this image?
For brand photography, seek out photographers that care about who you are on the inside, and have a gift for capturing authentic moments and natural beauty.
As for stock images libraries, they’re often rife with cliche / posed / fake imagery. If we’re not mindful, we can easily end up with images that are ‘relevant’ but not ‘resonant’, which can in turn break the emotional connection with our readers.
When it comes to stock images, I think of ‘literal images’ VS ‘energetic images’. Let’s say you’re looking for an image to convey ‘love'. You put ‘love’ into the search bar, and a bunch of hearts and frolicking lovers appear. ‘Literal imagery’ such as these might match your search phrase closely, but may not feel authentic.
On the other hand, ‘energetic imagery’ may be less obvious in a search, but convey the right energy, tone and emotion. By going beyond the surface and tuning into the energetics of an image, you’re curating visuals that build trust by conveying the warmth / authenticity / safety you bring to your work.
‘love’ - Which image feels more authentic to you?
‘family’ - which image feel more believable to you?
‘team’ - which image feels more authentic to you?
(2) Create a sense of Cohesion
Brand cohesion isn’t just for show. It creates a sense of coherence, which on a deeper level builds trust - it says you are who you say you are.
This is why brand designers will generally use the same 2-3 fonts, colour palette, visual theme, and photographic style - all of which are intentionally curated to convey a particular energy - the heart and soul of a brand.
Incohesive Imagery: The images below have a lot of different tones, styles and palettes going on. When I look at these images, I feel like I don’t know who or what I’m dealing with. I’m not sure how to feel. The incoherence creates a dissonance with the images, and therefore the brand.
Cohesive Imagery: On the other hand, these images have a sense of cohesion when it comes to tone, style, and palette. When I look at these images, I feel an immediate coherence, which creates a sense of connection and trust.
Brand Cohesion is about intention, not perfection - ask yourself how you want your brand to feel (soulful? warm? grounding? cosy? galvanising? rebellious?), and use that as a filter when you’re curating your visuals.
(3) Natural Editing
While some tasteful editing can work wonders for creating a vibe, overly 'enhanced', manipulated or saturated images can feel fake, and break trust.
Compare the images below. While the over-manipulated images may capture your attention, they probably won’t inspire your trust. On the other hand, the more naturally edited images feel so much more believable.
WHICH IMAGE FEELS MORE AUTHENTIC TO YOU?
WHICH IMAGE FEELS MORE AUTHENTIC TO YOU?
Not sure how to express your essence visually? Take my Brand Spirit Quiz!
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Hey there!
I’m Christina Paul, a therapist turned Brand Therapist, here to help women share their medicine with the world through branding, websites, and visibility.
I work mainly with coaches, therapists, creatives and change-makers - women who are part of the gentle revolution our world so desperately needs.
If you’re feeling a connection, feel free to explore my offerings, find me on Instagram or subscribe to my e-community for love letters sent straight to your inbox.
