How to leverage brand identity elements to win over short attention spans on small screens.

1. Making Your Mobile Brand Iconic:
How to Leverage Brand Identity for
Short Attention Spans on Small Screens
Mariya Bouraima
Founder, Aveya Creative

2. Source:Newscred
Just How Short? Minimal…
Attention span of a goldfish:
9 seconds
Attention span of average adult human:
8 seconds

3. Get Into the User’s Head
‣ Validating your UX is just as important as
validating the initial concept
‣ The way audiences perceive the brand is more
important than the way company execs or
marketing pros perceive the brand
‣ Test within your target audience – make
the niche group happy first

4. Key Identity Elements
‣ Name
‣ [Main] Icon
‣ Font
‣ Color Scheme

5. What’s in a name? Brand recognition!
‣ Made-up names are easier to trademark/register
‣ Uncommon words or made-up names tend to stand
out in customers’ minds
‣ Be sure the name is easy to pronounce
‣ Make it short to keep the full name as an app without
looking bunchy

6. Uber = a ride
“I’ll just take an Uber,
see you soon.”
Google = search
“I’m not sure, let’s Google it.”
Ex) Uber and Google: Instant Brand Association

7. [Main] Icon: Echo the Whole Brand
‣ The main mobile icon must match the logo
‣ Stick to basic shapes
‣ Borrow the first letter of the wordmark
‣ Choose a signature color
‣ Details help form personality

8. Ex) Uber, Pinterest and Google: Echoing the Total Brand

9. Font & Shapes Work Wonders
‣ Custom typography is great but not necessary,
especially on tight budgets; choose an existing font
that is used sparingly. Avoid everyday fonts like Arial or
Times.
‣ Put emphasis on one letter that pops out – easier to
remember one letter instead of an entire word
‣ Even without color, a well-chosen font or shape can
evoke the brand in a user’s mind

10. Ex) Target and Twitter: Font & Shape Powerhouses

11. Color
‣ A unique color scheme used consistently across
brand communications online and offline makes the
brand easy to recognize even in different languages
‣ Single-color branding is best, but if you really want to
use two colors, be sure they are far away from each
other on the color wheel
‣ Focus on contrasting colors. For ex – blue and
orange complement each other well, while green and
yellow together are hard on the eyes

12. Ex) Ikea, TransitLabs and Sympli: Opposites Attract

13. Ex) Tiffany & Co: World-Renown Robin’s Egg Blue Color

14. Make It
Consistent and Content-Centric

15. Ex) RobinHood: Consistent Communication of Content
“Designed to be the best mobile
stock-tracking tool on iOS,
Robinhood distinguishes itself with a
clean, content-centric design
and beautiful typography that nicely
balances app branding and iOS
design conventions.”
- Apple Design Awards 2015

16. Keep It
Simple and Sincere

17. Ex) Uber: Universal Understanding

18. User Feedback
Is Priceless

19. Ex) Circa: How to ask for reviews without nagging
Integrate review requests
to be native, gently flowing
within the UX.
Avoid popups, they’re
annoying!
Notice the seamless
branding? Color, font,
shapes all match the rest
of the app, making the
review request less
disruptive.
Source:MattGalligan,CircaonMedium

20. THANKS
For Your Attention

21. ‣ mariya@aveyacreative.com
‣ @mariyabouraima
‣ linkedin.com/in/mariyabouraima