Look around and you’ll see brands everywhere. We are quite literally wading through a vast landscape of logos, advertisements and products, all vying for attention. It seems obvious, but think about it. Take Levi’s for example. It conjures up some concrete images: cowboys, the American West, independence, tradition, whatever. We all know that. Almost everyone in the world knows that. So what does it mean?

First, I’m not talking about whether or not this is a good thing. The fact is, it doesn’t matter a lick whether it’s good or bad -- it just is. Second, it’s important to realize that if you’re in business, you’ll be competing with other companies who have thought about it. Whether they’ve had the luxury of a hundred years in business and built a brand the old-fashioned way, or they hired a slick branding agency to give them the edge, companies need to set themselves apart from each other. Branding is the means to that end.

So what does all this have to do with websites? Well, first, it probably makes sense to break down what we mean when we use a term like “brand experience.” Broadly speaking, this refers a person’s end-to-end experience with a company’s image. Maybe someone saw an ad in a magazine and decided they wanted to find out more. If that’s the case, what was the magazine? What about the ad was compelling? Were they reading it at home or in a doctor’s office? Now let’s say they’re intrigued enough to check out this company on the web. Is there a consistency between the website and the print ad? Is it easy to find what they want? Has the site been designed in a way that allows the company to cross-promote? What does the confirmation page look like after someone’s taken the time to fill out a form? And about a million other things. There are books about this stuff.

I agree that it’s an assumption to say that a customers’ first point-of-contact is a website. They could just as easily walk into a store or pick up the phone. But, given the fact that I do work for a company that makes websites and it is the year 2008, let’s roll with that.

The first questions we web designers ask ourselves when starting a new project is about the online experience. How is the information on the site going to be organized so people can find what they want? How will they get there, and how can we cater the site to those expectations, that experience? How are we going to use copy, color and imagery to create an experience that will resonate for a consumer and a client? How can we create something that reinforces a company’s message every step of the way?

It can be tempting to avoid these conversations, because let’s face it, it’s much easier to make a point if you have hard data, evidence. SEO practically sells itself: numbers + strategy = profit. Design -- and by that I mean all the thought that goes into figuring out how information should be organized, presented and displayed -- is a harder sell. It requires a degree of trust. It requires that we know what we’re doing. But it’s a critical step, and not something you can necessarily do after a site’s up and running. It needs to be planned, carefully considered and skillfully implemented at the earliest stages of your project. Remember: Your website is going to communicate something about your brand whether you want it to or not: Shouldn’t it be the very best?