Why Most Branding Is Generic (And How to Avoid That Trap)

At Kleur, we see it all the time. A company wants something bold, something that stands out—something that feels like them. But what they end up with is branding that could belong to anyone.

Not because they didn’t care. Not because the team wasn’t talented. But because the process was backwards. The work gets polished, approved, pushed live—and still doesn’t say a damn thing.

This is how it happens. And more importantly, how not to let it happen to you.

Why Most Branding Ends Up Generic

No one sets out to make something forgettable. But branding still ends up that way—again and again—because the process is wired to flatten anything with personality.

It starts with the visuals. Too often, they follow trends instead of identity. One year it’s all soft gradients and rounded sans-serifs. The next, it’s brutalist type and grayscale grids. You’ve seen the brands—they all look great in a Behance reel, but none of them could be picked out of a lineup. The palette, the typography, the layout—they’re all familiar, because they’ve all been done before. It’s not that the work is bad. It just isn’t yours.

Then there’s the messaging. Teams want reach, so they write for everyone. That’s how you get taglines like “Innovating the Future,” “Built for What’s Next,” or “Where Ideas Come to Life.” They sound fine. They mean nothing.

But the real problem goes deeper. There’s no voice, no authorship. Just output. The branding wasn’t led by a point of view—it was filled in by a committee. And when no one’s steering, the safest choice always wins.

That’s how you end up with a brand that checks all the boxes, fits every brief, and still fails to make any kind of impact. It didn’t take a wrong turn. It just never had a real direction to begin with.

How Even Smart Teams Fall Into the Generic Brand Trap

This doesn’t just happen to bad teams. It happens to the ones doing everything “right.” Clear briefs, polished decks, good taste. But still—the work feels hollow.

Why? Because the decision-makers are too far from the people doing the work. Strategy gets filtered down through account managers, project leads, and outside contractors. By the time anything hits the page, it’s been translated three times—and none of it’s fluent.

So teams fall back on comparison. Instead of building from the inside out, they build by reference: “Make it look like this,” “Our competitor does that,” “We want that same vibe.” Branding becomes mimicry instead of identity.

Then there’s the pace. Projects get farmed out to save time, timelines shrink, feedback gets rushed. Everyone’s moving fast, but no one’s steering. And because no one really owns the outcome, no one’s fighting for what matters.

That’s when teams start designing for expectations. Not for meaning. Not for connection. Just to tick the boxes and get approval. And the final product reflects that—clean, competent, and completely forgettable.

What Real Branding Actually Looks Like

Real branding doesn’t come from a mood board. It starts with a point of view—a clear stance on who you are, what you stand for, and why that matters. That’s not fluff. That’s the foundation. Without it, everything else is just decoration.

You can spot the difference right away. Think of Patagonia. Their values are baked into every decision—from their copy to their product shots to the way they respond to global events. It’s not just messaging. It’s authorship. Or look at Oatly. The tone, the typography, the packaging—it’s all unmistakably theirs. No one else could get away with it, because no one else sounds like them.

The specifics matter. Real branding means making choices that belong to you and only you. That means voice, color, form, language, layout. Not what’s trending. Not what your competitor just did. But what you would do—clearly, confidently, and without apology.

And it doesn’t stop at the surface. Real branding aligns. The way your site sounds matches how your team talks. The in-store experience matches the social feed. It’s not just consistent—it’s coherent. Because everything’s built from the same idea.

You don’t need to explain it in a slide deck. You feel it. When branding is real—owned, intentional, and sharp—it doesn’t just look good. It connects. It holds. And it actually does its job.

How to Build a Brand That Feels Owned

First: don’t outsource the thinking. You can hire a designer, a strategist, a whole agency—but the voice has to start with you. Before anything gets designed, get clear on how you talk, what you believe, and what you’re trying to say. If you can’t say it out loud—no one else can design it.

Then: be brutal about what doesn’t fit. Look at every early draft and ask, “Could this belong to someone else?” If the answer’s yes, it doesn’t belong to you. Generic branding happens when people settle. So don’t.

Stay close. Not micromanaging—just present. You can’t check in once at the start and once at the end. You need to stay involved enough to keep the direction sharp, but not so close you’re redlining fonts. Guide the voice, protect the vision.

And don’t worry about being trendy. Your goal isn’t to impress a room of designers—it’s to be recognized, remembered, and respected by the people you’re trying to reach. That means clarity over cool. That means making sure everything reflects you—not the market, not the mood board, not what’s safe.

Because if your brand doesn’t feel owned, it won’t feel real. And if it doesn’t feel real, no one’s buying in.

Own Your Brand Identity with Kleur

Generic branding is everywhere. Clear, owned, intentional branding isn’t. That’s where we come in. At Kleur, we bring authorship into every part of the process—from the first conversation to the final deliverable. No filler. No filters. Just brand work that actually says something.

If you’re ready to make something that’s unmistakably yours, let’s talk.