This is a series of practical steps whereby you can utilize Islamic branding and design thinking to strengthen your Islamic business no matter your budget.
In the first episode of this four-part series, we started with Islamic brand design with #nobudget. Now, we're going to look at Islamic brand opportunities with a #lowbudget.
Social Media
Don’t miss the opportunity to capitalize on social media but choose a small number of platforms to exert all your efforts. Consider on which platform your target audience will most likely be. Find out about the trends, metrics, tips and times of these platforms in relation to the locations of your audience. Try things: keep what works, dismiss what doesn't. Latch onto stories of your own, frame it, share it. Keep the visual style and colour palette consistent. This is an excellent opportunity to showcase (and share) your Islamic brand personality with the global village.
First impressions last.
Photography
Get creative with photography, especially if you have niche products. It pays to hire a professional but I’d understand if you can’t justify the costs, especially in the beginning. There have been long discussions about the use of illustration and photography amongst the kibaar ulema in Islam. If you turn a blind eye to the fiqh of business, you may fall into minor or major sins. It is therefore important to research and learn about the fiqh of image making. If you have to have people or animals, you can only use it online (digitally)—not offline (print). This will exclude women because their entire body is awrah.
Be smart: learn the fiqh and get creative.
Own a colour
Say what!? Choose one colour for your brand. For now. Two if you have to—the additional one for neutrality or contrast and balance. One colour is easily interpreted and stored in memory. Use it everywhere. Over time, your Islamic brand becomes synonymous with a particular colour. Perfect for brand recognition and recall. Known in branding circles as ‘own the colour.’ In the world of branding, it's all about what will stick in the mind—the soonest. Your Islamic brand attributes will then be associated with those mnemonics, phonetics. Take a moment to appreciate the dynamic interplay of Islamic brand strategy and Islamic design.
One Typeface
Just like colour, one typeface is easy to digest and to remember. Go with a family that speak to your Islamic brand personality. Use with contrast, i.e 24 points with 16 points, with 11 points with 7 points, etc., if you have a lot of text. Also use extra bold with regular with thin and italics to have a typographic flavour and reading. A typeface is your brand voice on paper. There are many quality, free fonts available. Do some research on which are the most complete and offer the better quality. Extended families provide you with the most options.
Writing Style
Funny or serious, friendly or corporate?
The way you use words, the sentence case, justification position, layout on the page, paragraphs, spaces, drop-caps, et al, are all codes of your expression and your audience picks it up on a subconscious level. Decide on how you want to convey your voice in print or on the web, set a rules template and stick to it. Don't neglect vocabulary and spelling. Soon you’ll establish a consistent style of writing. It’s an investment that requires both time and commitment but it pays off in the end. If typography is your personality expressed, your writing style is providing dimensions of that personality.
It's in the name
Although there’s a science and art behind it, the best names don’t always come from professional naming experts. Many people underestimate their own creativity. So here’s the deal: if you feel you need to move along with your Islamic brand due to budget constraints, do some brainstorming and make connections. Then use a thesaurus and do some clean up. Choose a few and ask what people think. Finally, always check if your name is available as a trademark. These need to be done with knowledge of your industry, target market and competition.
Good Islamic brand names tend to stick and become synonymous with the category.
Ace with space
If you want to give the illusion of space in your office or store, consider white or a light colour and remove unnecessary clutter. Keep heights more or less aligned. Place things in proximity and apart; break it with something small (in-between). Try to maintain (and paint if you have to) 1–3 colours as the overall palette. Subtle differences in value and hue are welcome. Choose one strong colour set against the white background. Another as a medium in-between and the brightest/most contrast of them all, is the accent. In other words this should be the colour that “makes things pop.” The floor must be neutral, i.e it mustn’t draw attention to itself. Depending on your setup, consider one or two big mirrors on different walls as it gives the illusion of depth. Carpets and wood add warmth whereas artificial and synthetic materials like tiles have a tendency to be cold.
There is an important principle in design: what you take away is as important as what you add. Negative space is as important as positive space. Use it.
Uniform—Make the invisible, visible
After your logo, your dress code or uniform is a brand identity signal. Assess your Islamic brand personality. These will give you direction on your dress code, i.e is it friendly and sporty? If so, your dress code would be casual and you would always smell fresh. Your body language would exude optimism and you will look fit. The same for your staff.
For years, salesmen in services expressed the invisible with the visible, i.e they usually display professionalism and trust with how they dress.
Blog or Vlog
Blogging and vlogging have become of the foremost free tools in the sphere of both marketing and branding. It’s the most direct way of expressing your Islamic brand culture, share valuable information with the world and provides you with your own perspective on things. People love novelties. They love to be part of a purpose and a community. Give Muslim consumers what they want whilst your brand gains recognition and credibility in the marketplace.
This is the perfect opportunity to breed a culture of followers. If you have an Islamic culture, imagine the good upon good you will benefit from—in this life and the next.
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