Adapt Your Blog Branding... or Get Annihilated

There have been big major shifts in blog branding. From static, traditional designs and default styles and fonts, blog branding has now evolved (thanks to designers got sick of web 1.0's limitation). For bloggers like you and I, this only means one thing – it’s time for adaptation or… annihilation.

Being onboard the blogosphere for two years doesn’t mean much, but when it comes to having an enough of a comparison basis to observe the trends – two years could already be a lot.

Here’s the tools that the new generation of (successful) bloggers use to build an effective brand recognizable all over the web and is the key to… you bet… amassing an army of followers and readers everyday. Because as the mantra of the web goes… branding could be everything.

The Before Of Blog Branding

The era of web limitations.

We see blogs that tries to work around what the web could serve at the mean time. And so, instead of working beyond the norms, it worked within the norms. The most notable feature being just the manipulation of designs and the process of turning it into a crowded, compact web page. Of course if the blogger can't do that (or can't afford for the pay), the result would most likely by default looking brands from those using texts up to poorly manipulated designs.

That said. It would be a time of complexities, or of the ironic defaults and stale concepts.

The Today Of Blog Branding

With the advent of theme production companies and a rising league of designers and developers, the blog branding of today has shifted greatly to beyond the norms and a no-limits approach. Something to be celebrated for.

We see blogs now heavily using typography designs and stand-out graphics. Rules are being broken too when it comes to the different sections of blogs (from header to post section and even to sidebars).

Not only that, we see too blog branding reaching out further to any element that ties back to the blog. Social media have greatly contributed to this with the example of customizing one’s twitter page background.

Here’s the Branding That Works Now

The keyword to create the perfect blog brand is the one that Brian "Copyblogger" Clark uses to describe his site design – iconic.

Dull designs, complex designs… those days are almost over.

Say hello now to minimalistic, clean lay-outs with very fast loading time, easy navigation and one that features a good reader experience.

Typography is the new in. Because blogging is content, the sure fire way to boost your brand is to brand the font that can stand on it’s own. Chris Pearson (Thesis developer) is the guy that started this revolution with his signature and iconic design of Copyblogger.

Typography represents the fresh, the new and the utterly stand-out-ish concepts of today's branding. The cleanliness and the simplicity of it had made the entire revolution possible- and of course, it all the more empowed the design and marketing industry.



{here's a screenshot of the famous "i love typography" blog}

Signature colors are timeless still. Own your brand. Get the colors that works. While choosing signature colors were tips 'older than branding'- it's still something we can't get away from. Just a heads-up, seems like red is the favorite color of notable known blogs. It’s visually attracting, it commands attention, it makes the eyes stop and look. It’s a warning sign… hopefully good for a good brand.

Less is more. If there's the biggest portion of the shift, it would have to be the new 'clean' standard approach of today's blog brands. Gone where the days of loaded images, sections and gadgets all stacked on top of another.

The great contributing factor is the heavy 'ad-blindness' of many readers (or ad distaste) which in turn have made advertising almost pointless and futile for many. This in turn led the way for the scrap-your-ads movement (bloggers who erase ad spots in turn for in content advertising). This surely had been brewing steadily among bloggers for quite some time now.

The person is the brand. Even when the best designs and logos have been made, the single most powerful branding tool is still the face. Because after all, what's a blog without a blogger?

The Dawn Of No-Limits Theme Designers

Before, it was just a company whom you buy your theme. Now, innovative and out-of-the-box designers are getting a hold of the best blog design projects. Hunt for a designer who knows typography and all the colors of the rainbow- you’ll surely have one amazing brand coming up.

Just see Alex Fraiser, the 16-year-old Thesis customization extraordinaire of Kolakube(with his signature work being his own blog - Blogussion) as the good example. Of course, Chris Pearson would be the God when it comes to these things.



{here's a screenshot of Chris Pearson's blog aptly named "Pearsonified"}



{here's a screenshot of Alex Fraiser's Thesis Customization service known as "Kolakube"}

Adaptation Or Annihilation

While it could be dangerous staying behind the old branding schemes - the good news is that there's actually more reason to adapt than too get left behind (hence, it's just insane not to bank on the new rules of branding). With the new freedom and flexibility (as well as the intense creative process involved), who wouldn't want to get this the bandwagon?

The annihilation is for those who chooses to turn a blind eye to these great shifts. Adaptation is simply a must. Just take it from Brian Clark's and to the icon that Copyblogger had become.

[Beautiful photos by kevindooley, kaare and tankgrrl]