subject: Mustard: Ways To Make Branding A Part Of Your Website Design [print this page] The website of a business or indeed, any organisation is one of the most important places to incorporate branding design briefs should always be made with the ultimate goal of delivering a strong brand identity to any potential user, no matter what the content of the page.
Given the range of options available to website design, it is hard to imagine why anyone would consciously neglect the opportunity to build the presence of their brand on their own websites. In many cases though it is easy to lose sight of the overall design ethic behind a website in favour of dynamic content or important information contained within specific WebPages, at the expense of what should be universal design principles applied across all pages of a site.
Some branded design elements of course could pose problems in terms of accessibility. For example if your company or products brand has a specific set of colours, then you must ensure that these don't obscure text or site objects to potential users. Still there are many different options that can easily keep a brand identity strong across any page of a website; here are some of the simplest.
The page header:
The most obvious and the most easily overlooked; the page header - what appears at the top of the browser window - is an easy place to maintain brand identity in a fairly subtle manner. No matter what page it is on your site, placing some form of brand identity there will help reinforce your brands presence with every glance.
Colour schemes:
If your brand has a particular set of colours associated with it, then consider implementing these in subtle and overt methods throughout your site. For example if your logo is purple, then make use of the colour for your borders and frames, or use it for headlines and page titles. Don't go overboard or the page could become messy but don't let yourself forget about it entirely. If you use several different colours in your brand identity then use each for a different common page element and maintain that throughout your site.
Your logo:
Discreet use of your logo in page design can be very effective. Depending on its complexity it could be used instead of certain common elements such as bullet points, or form a kind of digital watermark on each page hosted on your site.
Splash Page:
Rather than directly go to hosted content, consider making the homepage of your site an exercise in branding identity. As the central hub for your site this page will be seen by many people but is unlikely to ever form a vital function for your readership. Whilst keeping links to content clear, try to make your brand identity prominent in every way you can; if you're ever going to have hosted video or animations on your site, this is probably the place to have it.
