Interior Designer Branding
For service businesses, it can be tricky to focus on a specific brand for your business. Interior designers are no exception to the pain especially because their style is inherent to their service offering.
Similar to architects, fashion designers, or even what we do in brand creation — style is an innate attribute of the end outcome for the service provided. Interior designers can struggle when brought to crucial decisions on how to position and brand their business. Some of these decisions can be about their specific expertise or even how much of their style they rely on.
Most service providers can be divided into two buckets:
1) Their style is the common thread through their business and portfolio.
2) Their business and portfolio are a mix of different styles that have been determined mainly by the desires of their clients.
Neither is more “correct” for a business model, but the difference is crucial to the brand and how the business is able to price its services.
The former(#1) is typical of a traditional artist.
They have a specific style and are eventually sought after for that style because that’s what the client wants. Think fashion designer or Banksy or even a cartoonist who has a specific style of their illustrations. They become known for their style which is determined by their own focus. They are an artist and expert in their specific style due to repetition over time.
The latter(#2) is typical of a designer artist.
I refer to these as “designers” because they have the ability(and expertise) to bend and flex according to the client and job. They are not restricted within the bounds of one specific style and therefore not sought out just for a certain look. Design is art, but with a clear objective. This is why a designer is an artist, but also focused on the end objective and its results. Not just finishing the artwork.
I’m not advocating for one over the other and I do believe either option can have its path to a successful and profitable interior design business. Either way, the interior designer must become aware of this “fork in the road” and choose a path to further benefit their brand and business.
Once this is determined and the interior designer is able to lean into their strength, the clarity will help drive the business forward in its offerings and pricing strategy while also bringing further clarity to the clients as they will know just exactly what the interior designer can bring to the table.
From a marketing perspective, this brand clarity will allow the business to focus its communication and even speak more clearly in the interior design portfolio by what and how it shows certain work.
This is just one step in the brand creation for an interior designer, but a very important one to determine the best approach to branding the interior design business in the eye of the audience. Unlocking the pricing power of a service business like interior design can only be accomplished through clarity. This clarity, for both the owner and audience, is most effectively accomplished through brand positioning that is both strategic and creative.
