Brilliant engineering builds the product, but presentation shapes perception.
Whilst attending an embedded systems conference and exhibition a couple of years ago, I found myself ambling down the “Hopeful Startups” aisle tucked away at the far side of the exhibit hall.
It was exciting to bask in the glow of their youthful enthusiasm. It was amazing to see all the innovative hardware and software technologies they were promoting. And it was sad to see all the “Startup 101” mistakes they were making.
For many of these companies, this conference was their time to shine. They’d spent months, even years, working in stealth mode and building up to their public launch. Every editor, every potential customer, every VP of Engineering walking that aisle was forming a first—and perhaps only—impression. It’s sad to think that the startups that got it wrong may never have understood why no one wrote about them and no one called them the next day.
The first things to catch my eye—often not in a good way—were the secondary marketing materials like glossy brochures. Just because we can mix lots of different typographical fonts and sizes doesn’t mean we should. Also, it’s a bad idea to use bold and/or italics and/or a rainbow of colored text to emphasize every concept we think the reader needs to know.
Believe it or not, grammar, punctuation, and spelling are all important. Also, layout matters, people. The same material laid out by an amateur and a professional will look totally different. Both will create an impression. What sort of impression do you want to create?
Back in the “Startups” aisle at the conference, corporate and/or product brochures were typically presented as full-color glossies, while application note–type documents had been photocopied in cheerful black and white. This wouldn’t have been a problem per se. The issue that immediately caught my eye was the company logos on the application notes, many of which had degenerated into gray-scale smudges.
I’ve seen this so many times. Startups are not typically flush with cash, so they try to cut corners, but sometimes they end up metaphorically cutting themselves. I can visualize the inner circle sitting around a table. They are all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed engineers. They’ve just formed their company, they are bubbling with excitement, and they are compiling a list of things to do.
“We’re going to need a logo,” someone says.
“Don’t worry,” replies another. “My best friend’s cousin’s sister knows someone who spent a whole semester at art college, and he’s supposed to be really good at this sort of thing.”
Just writing this makes me want to scream, “Nooooo! Don’t do it!”
A logo is a key part of a company’s branding. It’s the visual shorthand for who you are and what you stand for. Unfortunately, many logos created this way only work in the exact form in which they were originally envisaged: in full color on a computer screen.
The enthusiastic amateurs who create them rarely consider what will happen when those logos appear in other contexts. For example, when employed in application notes or datasheets printed in black and white, or when someone photocopies a document, the carefully crafted color gradients and subtle details collapse into something that looks like an ink blot.
Of course, a company’s visual identity consists of more than just a logo. In reality, there are many interrelated elements: colors, typography, document layouts, slide templates, datasheets, brochures, website graphics, booth banners, and more. When these things are developed together, they form a coherent visual system that makes the company instantly recognizable.
You may think this sounds like unnecessary fussing. Many engineers certainly do. I’m allowed to say this because I am an engineer, and I know many of my peers who regard things like logos and style guides as foolish frippery. Sadly, they are wrong.
Returning to the conference, I remember wandering down that startup aisle and noticing two booths that seemed to be working in roughly the same technical space. Unfortunately, I was running short of time.
One looked as though everything had been thrown together at the last minute. The banner, brochures, and datasheets all seemed unrelated. The logo appeared in different colors in different materials, and the typography changed from document to document.
The other booth looked completely different. The banner matched the brochures. The datasheets matched the slide deck running on the monitor. The colors, fonts, and layout all felt like they belonged together. This is the booth I stopped to spend my valuable time at.
The people there were friendly and knowledgeable, and the technology they were demonstrating was certainly interesting. But I still occasionally wonder whether the company I didn’t visit might perhaps have had the better solution. Unfortunately, we’ll never know.
This sort of thing doesn’t happen only on conference floors. I remember a fellow editor telling me about two companies pitching stories. Both were technically interesting. However, one provided clear explanations, well-structured background materials, and professional-looking graphics, making their story easy to understand and use. By comparison, the other company’s materials looked as though they had been assembled in a hurry. The diagrams were rough, the documents were inconsistent, and it looked like it would take far too much effort to figure out what they were trying to say.
Can you guess which story the editor chose to write about?
There’s a well-known expression: “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” The real point is that you only get one chance to make a GOOD first impression.
Initial encounters often shape people’s long-term perception of a company. Long before anyone studies your algorithms or analyzes your hardware architecture, they see your logo, your slides, your datasheets, and your website. If those things look polished and professional, people naturally assume the technology behind them is too. If they don’t, that first impression can be surprisingly difficult to undo.
Now, I fully understand that a startup company has limited resources and may not be able to hire a full-time graphics artist. The good news is that there are many talented freelance designers who can help establish a professional visual identity without breaking the bank.
Exactly the same thing applies to marketing and public relations (PR). Many engineering startups begin with little more than a handful of crackerjack techno-heroes and a brilliant idea. Engineers naturally focus on engineering, while other disciplines are sometimes dismissed as “fluff.”
However, as I mentioned in my earlier column about the four-legged stool, engineering, marketing, PR, and sales all support the same enterprise. Brilliant engineering builds the product, but presentation shapes perception. The first thing people see is rarely your elegant algorithms or your ingenious hardware. Instead, their senses are seduced by your logo, your website, your datasheets, and your slides.
If those things look polished and professional, people naturally assume the technology behind them is too. If they don’t… well… people will draw their own conclusions. I know, because I’ve drawn them myself. And it’s not just editors you have to worry about. All the CEOs, CTOs, and VPs of Engineering strolling down that same aisle are making the same snap judgments. The difference is that while I might not write about you, they may not buy your product (or your company).
The good news is that even the smallest startup can get this right with a little planning and the occasional helping hand from someone who knows the ropes.
