What does your resale store’s visual image communicate? Infographic
April 13, 2018
A resale store’s visual image is as important as what you sell
It isn’t just about the inventory or the location, it’s also about how you present yourself. Visual branding is just one part of your overall image. For the next several weeks, I’ll be writing about different aspects of branding for resale stores. You get to be my lucky guinea pigs since I’ll be teaching a workshop at this year’s NARTS conference on…what else? Branding! Learn what your resale store’s visual image is saying about you.
Your first impression
Remember when you first met your significant other? Just stop and think a minute. For me, it was 46 years ago. (Yes, we were babies in a crib. How did you know?) Actually, we met at a Rec Center. He was ice skating for hockey practice and I was at play rehearsal. He was adorable. His long hair, extremely fit physique and aviator glasses did me in. I watched him skate and I was hooked. First impressions do matter. You rarely get a second chance to prove yourself. What is the first impression your resale store’s visual image communicates?
The psychology of color
Even the color of your logo, signage, business cards and store interior communicate a message. What are you conveying with your resale store’s visual image? As you can see by the following infographic, stores have chosen their logo colors for very specific reasons. Of course Target’s color would be red. They want to communicate a bold, exciting brand image. IKEA chose their colors primarily based on the flag of Sweden, but it conveys energy and optimism too. No one can deny that the black logos of Chanel and Kate Spade exude elegance and style either.
Build the look of your store with your logo in mind
Visually, your store should match the look of your logo. For instance, if you’ve chosen the color yellow in order to convey energy and joy, don’t paint the interior of your store beige. Depending on what image you’re building, follow through with your store’s design, window decorations, employee clothing and marketing materials. Dollar Tree’s logo is a natural, but I must say any time I’ve entered one of their stores, it’s more chaos than peaceful. Their branding past their logo lacks in follow through.
The importance of consistency
Once you’re confident you have the final version of your logo, it should remain consistent. Resist using different colors, typefaces and styles. Build your resale store’s visual image so that your logo becomes memorable and recognizable.
Traxia’s logo
Whenever I refer to our logo, I call it “the happy people.” Our vision is to help you, the store owner, work with your customers smoothly and easily. It takes the 3 of us to run a resale business. We chose our 3 colors for a particular reason. Green is for a growing, thriving resale industry, plus green is the color of recycling. Blue because our goal is always to be dependable and trustworthy. Finally, we added black to the bottom to indicate our strength and commitment. Everything we do at Traxia is designed to build up the secondhand industry. We truly believe our logo tells the story of who we are. Again, what does your resale store’s visual image say about you?
