Leveraging the Power of
Strategic inconsistency
Tonnie Chamblee + Greg deSantis
We all know the value of consistency in branding. The logo’s dialed in. The color palette hums. The fonts are kerned with care. You’ve built the brand book, the style guide, the polished deck. But at some point, you realize: the kind of consistency that actually matters isn’t about making everything match – it’s about making everything mean something.
Your audience isn’t scrutinizing margins and logo placement. They’re asking: Does this feel like the same brand I saw yesterday? On the homepage. In an email. On a poster by the elevator. If the answer is yes – if the feeling is intact – then you haven’t just built recognition. You’ve created resonance.
And here’s the paradox: to achieve that level of coherence, you have to let go of uniformity. You need something more alive. More human. You need strategic inconsistency.
We’re told consistency builds trust. And it does – up to a point. But would you trust the judgment of a colleague who wore the same outfit to a board meeting that they wore to a beach picnic? Context matters. And brands, like people, need to adapt without losing themselves.
That’s where real consistency begins – not in hex codes or grids, but in shared meaning. The strongest brands don’t cling to visual rigidity. They orbit around a center of gravity: a few essential elements that never change, even as the expression evolves.
Take Coca-Cola. The red. The cursive. Those don’t change. But everything else flexes – polar bears in winter, sunbursts in summer. The feeling stays the same, even as the look shifts. That’s not randomness. That’s rootedness. Strategic inconsistency means shifting your tone without losing your voice.
A brand that feels identical in every space isn’t coherent – it’s tone-deaf. You’re not speaking to the same people on LinkedIn as you are on Instagram. If trust is your emotional core, that might look like calm blues and strong lines in one context, confident simplicity in another. The variation is surface. The feeling is what people remember.
It’s not about repetition. It’s about recognition. People don’t need you to say the same thing every time. They just need to know it’s still you.
It’s not about locking everything down. It’s about anchoring everything to something deeper, and allowing the rest to flex with context.
Build the Core, Flex the Form
Think of your brand like a melody – recognizable across instruments, styles, or tempos. That melody is your emotional core. Your job is to make sure it plays, no matter where the brand shows up: a TikTok post, an investor pitch, a podcast, a mural. That’s consistency.
Start by identifying your fixed notes – the elements that never change because they define your presence. This might be a tone of voice, a color strategy (“always vibrant, never pastel”), or a promise woven through everything you do. These are your non-negotiables. They’re not design preferences – they’re emotional signals that tell people, You’re with us.
Document them – but not like commandments. Think of them as instruments in an orchestra. Show why they matter. If you use strong horizontal lines, explain that they represent stability. If your typography is bold and spacious, explain that it signals clarity and confidence. When people understand why, they improvise better. They stay in tune.
Then give your teams tools that support flexibility. Templates. Frameworks. Editable files. Not to stifle creativity, but to enable it. Lock in the essentials – logo, fonts, color rules – but leave room for interpretation. Help people do the right thing without asking permission every time.
But go deeper. Teach tone. Teach emotional intent. Lead workshops that use metaphor to clarify brand personality. Is your brand a handshake or a high-five? Indie or pop? A designer who knows your brand feels like “a tailored suit paired with hiking boots” will make better decisions than one with just a spacing guide.
Encourage metaphorical language in reviews. “This campaign feels too much like a pickup truck—we were aiming for a luxury sedan.” It may sound playful, but it’s powerful. Over time, that language becomes cultural shorthand. It connects departments. It builds alignment.
Strategic inconsistency is not a failure of discipline. It’s a sign of maturity. A good brand knows when to adapt its voice without changing its identity.
Keep It Alive
Even with good tools and training, consistency needs upkeep. Create checkpoints – not to catch mistakes, but to recalibrate. Assign a brand steward – not just from design, but someone with cross-functional visibility and strong instincts. Have them host regular reviews. Bring real examples: a memo, a social post, a product page.
Ask three questions:
- Does this reflect our emotional intent?
- Would our audience recognize us in it?
- Would we be proud if this were the only thing they saw?
If something drifts, use it to teach. Not to scold. Maybe your meme-happy social team isn’t off-brand – they just need clearer examples of what humor does look like in your voice.
And yes, measure consistency – but not just by checking color codes. Measure emotional recognition. Ask clients: What three words come to mind when you encounter our brand? Ask employees: What’s the feeling we want to evoke? Strip the logo off five social posts – can your team pick out which one is “you”?
If they can’t, you’re not being as consistent as you think.
Also track internal adoption. Are teams using the tools? Referencing the emotional core? If not, assume the system needs work. Make it easier. Make it clearer. Make it matter.
Let It Stretch
Finally, give your brand permission to stretch. Strategic inconsistency isn’t sloppy. It’s mature. Maybe your Southeast Asia office uses brighter colors to reflect local culture. Maybe your recruiting campaign is more playful than your client pitch. That’s not off-brand if it still feels like you.
The goal isn’t for everything to look the same. It’s for everything to feel aligned. Across your feed, your signage, your decks, your culture – you want people to sense the same pulse. Not repetition. Recognition. Not rigidity. Resonance.
Because brand consistency isn’t just about perception. It’s about memory.
And memory is what makes a brand last.
Composed with human insight, creativity, and perspective, and developed with AI assistance.
C O N T A C T
Tonnie Chamblee
CoFounder, Brand Strategist
Email Tonnie:
Text Tonnie:
571.213.2434
950 North Washington Street
3rd Floor
Alexandria VA 22314-2393
© Copyright 2025,
Design Alliance Holdings, LLC
Design Alliance is a US Registered Trademark of Design Alliance, LLC.
C O N T A C T
Tonnie Chamblee
CoFounder, Brand Strategist
Email Tonnie:
Text Tonnie:
571.213.2434
950 North Washington Street
3rd Floor
Alexandria VA 22314-2393
© Copyright 2025,
Design Alliance Holdings, LLC
Design Alliance is a US Registered Trademark of Design Alliance, LLC.