Any quality designer knows that being professional does not mean you have to look like everyone else.

I just reviewed the blogs of 36 legal firms. Aside from the content’s focus, slight color pallet changes, and minor shifts in layout, any one of them could have been representative of the other. Worse, they’re ugly. Yes, I’m being very straight in this conversation, and to say they were “aesthetically unappealing”, would be a major understatement. Creative preference and opinion being completely subjective (and subject to libel), I’m not going to name names.

Let’s face it, the legal industry is severely lacking in brand individuality. Lawyers are also statistically behind the curve in their social media knowledge and usage. The irony is, there are few corporate professions where creativity is more important. In the traditional world of doing business, this may have been feasible. However, neither of these traits are commendatory in today’s business paradigm for acquiring, maintaining, and identifying new business.

Brand is the customer experience. Your blog is the doorway for two way communication between your firm and clients, potential clients, journalists and professional affiliations. The design should reflect:

The process of developing a successful brand lies in how your target audience relates to your firm’s differentiation, relevancy, access, appeal, satisfaction, etc.

Research your clients to determine the main reasons they chose your firm over one of your competitor’s. The goal of successful branding is to heighten expectations, generate new cases and secure loyal patronage, because your practice provides measurable quality, satisfaction, trust and appeal—for which clients are willing to pay a premium.

Is design more important than content, absolutely not. However, your firm’s blog, the typeface you choose, the tone of your voice, the expression on your face, the location of your office, the way you rank on a Google search, the look of your attorneys’ Facebook pages, all exemplify your firm’s identity.