What makes a powerful brand? What are the most important things to do and watch out for when you’re building your brand in 2021?

We address:

• What makes a sexy brand?
• The elements of an authentic brand
• Design trends to pay attention to in 2021
• Design trends to say goodbye to in 2021
• The vital importance of photography in your website

Today, Karen sits down with graphic designer and brand strategist Erin Fucigna to talk about all things branding. She discusses the different elements that go into bringing your brand to life online, from color palettes to photography to the importance of a website.

Listen in as Erin gives her tips and tricks on what you should do, and avoid doing, when building your brand online in 2021.

3 MAJOR POINTS DISCUSSED

• Authenticity is key to a powerful brand in 2021. Especially after 2020, people are craving connection and groundedness. The only way to build that connection, to resonate emotionally with your customer, is to be authentic. This is why strategy is so important to defining who you are as a brand. How do you behave? What is your personality? What are your values? What is your tone of voice? It’s so much more than your color palette and logo. It’s the sum of all these parts.
• 2021 is a year of color. 2020 was very neutral, which may have been reflective of the vibe throughout the year. While there is nothing wrong with neutrals, this year has seen more colors that pop, probably to reflect the hope and optimism people have in 2021. At the same time, more colors have to do with the celebration of diversity that truly exploded in the middle of last year. Today’s designs are also much simpler in appearance. Be intentional and strategic. Avoid design for the sake of design.
• Every element counts toward a great website. While everything on your website is important, if you had to pick one thing to absolutely nail, it should be your photography. A beautiful brand can be ruined by bad photography. When done well and combined with other design elements like typography and graphics, it can really transform a user’s experience. We are humans first and consumers second, and we naturally react to photography. Hence the massive success of Instagram.

RESOURCES

• Erin Fucigna
• Erin Fucigna on Instagram

Erin started her career working as an Account Executive at an advertising agency in Boston.She fell in love with developing brand strategies for her clients but always felt frustrated that her role wasn’t as involved in the creative process as she wanted it to be. Her search for more creativity brought her to New York City where she worked as a Marketing Manager at a fashion start-up. In each role, she was surrounded by innovation and artistic thinkers, but constantly uninspired—always more interested in the projects that the designers and art directors were executing than she was with her own responsibilities.

So, She decided to lean into her creativity and enrolled in the Shillington School of Graphic Design and haven’t looked back since. Now, She is back in Boston with her dream job combining her strategic expertise as a brand strategist with her creative skills as a designer.

When she’s not strategizing or creating for her clients, you can find her at SoulCycle, where she is also a full time indoor cycling instructor. Erin is a New Englander through and through—skiing with her family in New Hampshire in the winter and spending as much time as possible at the beach on the Cape during the summer.

Karen Morales is founder and brand champion at Marketing Magnet.

Marketing Magnet was founded by Karen and her lean team of Fortune 500 marketing and advertising talent. We’re a world-class marketing department that has decided to take our big brand experience and direct it at the clients we want to serve: purpose-driven enterprises. Our secret sauce is our ability to focus companies on three marketing pillars to create great impact.

If you are looking for a solution to a marketing challenge, a specific project to be completed or a team to drive marketing on your behalf, we can help.

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