Developing a Brand Voice as an Architecture or Design Business

Brand voice is the conduit through which you communicate who you are, what you do, and what you can offer. It's the medium that your clients, customers, and the public use to get to know you, and developing it successfully can help your business grow and thrive. Getting it wrong, on the other hand, can make your life difficult and turn your branding into a constant uphill struggle. Related: Create strong emotional connections with your brand story Any business should make developing a coordinated and consistent brand voice a priority, but for architecture firms and design businesses, this can be a particular challenge. Working in such a precise field—and lacking the comparable straightforwardness of other commercial models (like e-commerce or retail)—means creating the right messaging and voice can be quite a hurdle. Understanding the components that make up a relevant and successful brand voice, and how to develop them effectively, is essential. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to approach this seemingly mammoth task. What is brand voice? Brand voice specifically refers to the content your business publishes online, in print, and anywhere else. It's made up of the words you use and how you choose to use them—in other words, it's the voice with which your business speaks. For architecture firms, this likely means your brand voice will emerge from the content you write on your website, social media accounts, blog and email newsletter, as well as any brochures or documents you supply to clients. How to establish the basics You should begin with your overall brand identity. Whether you're just starting out, or even undergoing a complete rebrand, everything should tie in to your identity as a company. Using your business's elevator pitch (who you are, what you offer, and who you offer it to) as a starting point, you should decide on an overarching tone of voice that would best suit your brand. For instance, if your firm works on high-end, luxurious projects, you might want to adopt a more affluent, aspirational voice. A great tactic is to describe the tone you're aiming for with a few key words: "Inspiring, knowledgeable, and formal" or "Aspirational, tantalizing, and passionate." Once you've nailed down a clear, succinct understanding of your intended tone, it's a good idea to meet with your team and discuss it. A style guide is a brilliant tool to ensure that everyone is aware of your intended tone, and to guarantee consistency and clarity throughout your written work. When you're putting together your style guide, consider the following tips. 1. Keep it relatable & consistent While other industries can appeal to a mass market (and the average person), architecture and design face a slightly tougher challenge. Their target markets are typically far more niche, and relating to an audience requires deep knowledge, careful planning and relentless consistency. C-level executives, shareholders, property developers and homeowners are just a few of the individuals that architecture firms communicate with regularly. With this in mind, you should create corresponding personas: profiles of each demographic with outlines for messaging and key phrases you intend to use. Identifying which channels (e.g. social media, email newsletters, website content) will best reach each persona can help you create specific distribution plans for your content. 2. Friendly or formal? When it comes to brand voice, it's important to decide early on whether you're going to adopt a friendly or formal tone. This can vary somewhat between audiences, but if you don't make a choice and stick to it consistently, it will weaken your brand's personality. It's not just content that's king—it's consistency. If your brand was a guest at a dinner party, and the other attendees were your personas, how would you want to come across? If your goal is to be seen as a reliable, trustworthy authority in your field, you might use more formal language. On the other hand, if your social media followers sat on the other side of the table, you might choose a more personable and humorous tone. Although everything you write should recognizably use your brand's voice, deciding when it's appropriate to use different tones is an important skill. 3. Aim to inspire One of the great benefits architecture and design firms have is that the work they do is inherently inspiring. Architecture operates in a realm of innovation, and adding an inspirational air to your brand voice will demonstrate that. It's worth pointing out that there's a fine line between inspiration and arrogance, so it's good to periodically evaluate your phrasing to make sure your passion and enthusiasm don't come across as hubris. 4. Add a touch of intrigue Consider maintaining a certain degree of mystery. Architecture and design are forms of art, and your brand voice provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate your creativity. You can use this to your advantage and adopt a tone that suggests rather than states, and shows rather than tells. Supplement visual content (such as images or conceptual designs) with content that leaves a little bit to the imagination—as demonstrated by OiiO Studios with their recent concept for The Big Bend. Rhetorical questions, emotive language and imaginative writing will add a unique flavor to your brand voice. Key takeaway While establishing a brand voice isn't a quick or simple task, it's one you should prioritize. Architecture and design will always be competitive fields, and in the fight to stand out, your brand voice is your best weapon. Used well, it can transform your brand's image from an impersonal, "cut & paste" company to a vibrant and relatable business that clients truly believe in. Learn more about the power of brand voice & storytelling in our webinar with branding expert David Brier.