Brand consistency
One of the things I pride myself on is consistency. At work our clients start off with what we call a Default Design, a collection of carefully crafted templates and stylesheets which they can then bend to fit whatever needs they have. One of the hallmarks of the Default Design is its consistent markup and interface.
Consistency builds trust.
The more our clients use our product the greater their expectations become, and we can easily chip away at their trust by not meeting these expectations we’ve allowed them to build. Maintaining control over our products brand is no easy task, especially with a team of developers and designers making changes to the codebase and design on a daily basis. It requires some oversight and a constant vision that’s juggling existing expectations with changes and improvements.
Brands are built on consistency.
For us, our markup and default interface is a large part of our brand because it’s what our clients experience up close. For others it may be something completely different. Whether it’s markup, an interface, a phone conversation, a logo, a service or whatever your customer comes in contact with, it should all feel like it belongs. This builds trust and makes you look damn good.
Elsewhere:
Related tags: branding, consistency, design, trust