8 ways to prime your images for
Maximum Brand Recognition
Blog images are to websites what the yellow brick road was to Oz. They’re not just some pretty arm candy for your content, they’re a visually recognizable path to your solutions. Recreating the wheel for each of your blog images will cost you brand recognition and turn the path back to your brand into a dead end. And I’m betting that’s the last fucking thing you want!
The art of branding blog images doesn’t require a design degree or a sophisticated level of complexity. In fact, it’s a lot easier than you’re making it.
There’s a dirty lil NOT so secret weapon to creating branded blog images that snap, crackle, pop.
And that’s a template.
But don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not talking about some icky pre-packaged graphic that you and 900 of your fellow diyers buy off Etsy.
I’m talking about a signature image style you craft based on your visual brand identity, that you repeat across your blog images.
There are two HUGE benefits of creating a template for your blog images:
Just think of the extra Netflix binging you could get in?
To help you create a kickass signature style for your branded image template, here are 9 brands with image designs ripe for inspiration:
template no. 1
COLOR BORDER & DOMAIN
JENN HERMAN & CARRIE-ANNE FOSTER
Utilizing three simple elements {a photograph, a border and their url} Jenn and Carrie-Anne create cohesive and super DIY friendly blog images that prove effective blog image branding doesn’t have to be hard.
If you’re looking for free photographs to use in your blog images check out Dust W. Stout’s post, Best Places to Find Free Images & Photos Online, where he outlines 15+ sources.
{Carrie-Anne Foster}
template no. 2
USING YOUR OWN PHOTOGRAPHY
THOMAS E. HANNA
Thomas schooled us all when he showed up on to the social media blogging scene using his own, arguably off topic, photographs in his blog images. Yep, that’s a pelican and a lizard folks…and they some how fit like a glove!
When branding blog images with photography you better make sure your images are high quality. Skewed, pixelated or blurry images aren’t going to cut it these days!
{Thomas E. Hanna}
template no. 3
LOWER BRANDING MARK
REGINA ANAEJIONU
Regina is one of my favorite Pinterest finds for two reasons: her top notch content AND her instantly recognizable blog image style. Can you say…NAILED IT?!
This type of brand recognition is exactly why branding blog images is so important. Regina’s images don’t overwhelm or require designer skills but they DO stand out in a sea of visuals. I call that perfection!
She uses different types of photography to fit the mood of the post, then simply adds the blog title, left aligned in a nice bold uppercase font coupled with a bottom branding bar with her domain. Very DIY friendly!
MAXIMIZE SOCIAL BUSINESS
Maximize Social Business has a similar blog image anatomy {photography, bold title and bottom branding bar} but clearly has a completely different signature look.
It’s important that you see how you can model the anatomy of someone’s image without straight up ripping them off. Nobody likes a thief people!
template no. 4
SELFIES
DUSTIN W. STOUT
There’s no doubt people resonate with a human face more then graphics, so if you’re ready to step out from behind the computer and showcase yourself you can bet folks will resonate with you and your content much quicker.
Look, the term “selfie” is used loosely here as I don’t *think* Dustin took these himself but potato – potato! You don’t have to get as professional or fancy with filters and things like Dustin has (he IS a professional designer after all) but you can certainly pull this off with your arsenal of camera clad devices.
The moral of the story….this is an aaaaaawe-some technique for branding blog images, if you’re ready to highlight yourself as the authority of your content. It’s worth noting that I would add text over the photo for social purposes, but either way Dustin gets a gold star of excellence for his selfie style.
{Dustin W. Stout}
template no. 5
TRANSPARENT OVERLAYS
ASHLEY FAULKES & PEG FITZPATRICK
Another simple way of branding blog images with photography is using transparent overlays, which is just a fancy way of saying slightly transparent shapes over photographs. The contrast between the text, photograph and overlay really makes the headlines pop.
Ashley does this with bands of alternating transparent color behind the text, while Peg does this with one band of color 3/4 of the way down the photograph with her signature pink logo.
Again, notice the similar elements yet unique looks. Both examples were achieved by using photographs that compliment their different styles and infusing their color palette in the text and overlays.
template no. 6
GRAPHICS IMAGES
REBEKAH RADICE
If you don’t want to mess with photography in your blog images {can’t blame you} there are several different ways to create unique blog images using other elements.
For instance, Rebekah uses cartoon/comic like images of girls that you don’t see many people using. In addition to the graphics she keeps her blog images consistent by using her signature orange, which makes her images instantly recognizable no matter where you see them on the web.
template no. 7
CONSISTENT COLOR PALETTE
ANNA BENNETT
One of the quickest ways to establish brand recognition with your blog images is by using your branding color palette loudly and proudly.
One of the bloggers that does this best is Anna Bennett. She rarely uses photography in her images but what she allllllllways does is use her red, turquoise and white color palette. As you can see she spices up her images with different shapes and graphical elements but they always ooze of her signature 3 colors.
You could remove her domain and watermark and there’s never a question when you see an image of Anna’s who it belongs to.
template no. 8
SOLID COLORS & ICONS
PLUS YOUR BUSINESS
If photography, gradients, graphical elements and diy design feels daunting take a lesson from the badass posse over at Plus Your Business in the art of effective simplicity.
Their blog image style consists of nothing more than a solid background, bold text, their rocket logo and a simple icon. If you’re wondering why their images work despite the bare bones basics I’ll give you a hint…consistency and color palette baby!
template no. 9
SHAPE BACKGROUNDS
PAULINE CABRERA
Sometimes magic is made in the most basic ways, just ask Pauline and her signature “crooked look”! Pauline is another Pinterest discovery whose images I instantly fell in love with.
She rarely uses photography instead opting for shapes set off kilter. The truth is, her exclusion of symmetry is visual delight for the eyes! I can’t tell you how quickly I can spot a TwelveSkip (Pauline’s blog) image a mile away.
It’s no wonder that she struck such visual perfection, she is a hugely successful graphic and web designer after all so I know her signature look was created with intention, but I wonder if she realized how much it would set her apart?
taking the
NEXT steps
If there is nothing else you take away from this article, heed my warning of the necessity of consistency and signature style in your blog images and ride those bad boys to the bank! Without these two elements brand recognition WILL slip through your fingers time and time again.
Make no mistake, the purpose of this post is NOT to rip off anyone else's style and use it as your own. The purpose is to giv e you inspiration in the form of beautifully branded blog images.
Whether you model your blog image after one of the above examples or not make sure that you leverage the color palette, decorative elements, font selections and watermarks defined in YOUR branding guidelines.
Lastly, as you construct your blog image template remember that consistency and effective are the ONLY two principles you need to employ in your blog images. As if you could forget, right? Nope, I’m not going to stop beating a dead horse on that one – it’s THAT critical to visually recognizable success.
If it meets these two requirements you’ve got a winning blog image that will lead to an unmistakable yellow brick road right back to your brand!
ONE MORE THING and you're gonna la la looove this...
LEARN HOW TO CREATE A
BRAND IDENTITY suite
THAT'S SO UNIQUE + STUNNING IT'S SEARED INTO PEOPLE'S MEMORY
This 40+ page bloat-free manual will help you gather, prepare, and assemble all of the assets you need to create a brand identity suite that flaunts your personality and fascinates your buyers.
This turn-by-turn how-to manual outlines my entire psychology-backed approach to design, called Identity Stenciling, which is a three-phase process for identifying where your brand’s state of mind intersects with your buyer’s belief system and developing those intersections into your brand identity guidelines.
logo suite
color palette
font theme
pattern suite
stylistic nuances
photo styling
