by Hannah Smith Pattern can be an incredibly powerful and versatile tool for communicating a brand’s personality. More and more we’re seeing pattern being used, not just on traditional media such as packaging and apparel but on everything from business stationery to window decals, website banners to office decor. Have you considered a pattern for your brand? How could it be used? Why should you use pattern? Here’s a few pointers on what to consider…
Why have a pattern?
- More engagement from potential customers – clients will take interest in a sleek design and a company that can have fun with their brand identity.
- Make your brand more memorable – Clients remember a brand by their aesthetic elements and an interesting pattern will make a brand stand out.
- Make your brand more unique – No other company will have the same pattern, it will embody the spirit of your company.
- Stand out from your competitors – Not only is your pattern unique, it is a way for your brand to be distinctive from your competitors.
- Communicate the values of your brand visually – The will represent your brand instantly through colour choices and design.
- Make your stationery and other branding collateral more eye catching – Stationery and business documents can be mundane, so a pattern will encourage clients and employees to engage with the subject matters.
How could a pattern be used with your brand?
We’ve created a mood board of a very few examples of how versatile a brand pattern can be, from business cards printed with individual patterns to public signage. Businesses are also bringing pattern to their offices by incorporating retro designs into modern compositions.
(Accreditation for images to thirdway.co and via our Pinterest board)
What sort of pattern would work for your brand?
It all depends on the message that you want your brand to convey. Corporate brands may lean towards more subtle, structured patterns usually featuring geometric shapes and a more organised composition. For businesses in the creative and leisure industry, you may see more playful and random patterns using bold colours and expressive line. However we are seeing more and more companies becoming braver with their brand identity and experimenting with patterns, whether through shape or colour.
To decipher what direction to head in with your pattern it’s helpful to define the type and the style of pattern that fits with your brand personality. The type refers to the content of the pattern – it might be typographic, abstract, conversational, or iconographic. The style refers to how the pattern looks, whether it is hand drawn or graphic, seamless or random, geometric or fanciful. There are endless styles and combinations to choose from to create new patterns or adapt old ones. For a more bespoke pattern in line with your brand, a pattern can be formed using your company logo. Whether it is the entire logo or just a suggestion, this type of pattern is great for hoarding and company documents.
Our Creative Director has his say on brand patterns:
“As part of the branding process, pattern design forces us to look at a brand from a different perspective and often leads to other ideas and avenues we hadn’t previously considered. Also it’s just a lot of fun.”
Looking for some inspiration?
Take a look at some of the patterns within branding that we love: Pinterest board
How are we using pattern in our client work?
Here are some of the patterns we have designed for our clients:
Recent concept for a local solicitors:
Iconographic patterns are on trend in the corporate world as they succinctly convey what the company does in an engaging way. The icons can then be adapted for other elements of the brand.
As you delve deeper into the world of pattern, you realise how inexhaustible it is and how beneficial it can be for your brand. Pattern can be added anywhere and everywhere, and the motto “less is more” does not apply to pattern – the more the better! A pattern adds a different dimension to a website or business collateral. It transfers the brand through various mediums, engaging audiences and enlivens a brand identity.
