There’s always this tension in digital work.

On one side:

• brand

• expression

• identity

On the other:

• conversion

• performance

• clarity

And usually, people pick a side.

Why Most Teams Lean Too Far One Way

You either get:

Brand-heavy work

• beautiful

• expressive

• feels elevated

• but hard to shop, hard to navigate

or

Conversion-heavy work

• optimized

• clear

• performs well

• but feels generic and forgettable

And both have problems.

Because one doesn’t convert,
and the other doesn’t differentiate.

The Banter Challenge: Be Loud, But Still Sell

This is exactly the tension we had working on Banter.

The brand itself is bold. It’s expressive. It’s not supposed to feel safe or minimal.

But it’s also an ecommerce experience.

People still need to:

• browse

• compare

• understand products

• and buy quickly

So the question wasn’t:

should this be brand-led or conversion-led?

It was:

how do we do both, without one killing the other?

See the Banter Case Study

Where Brand Can Hurt Conversion

One of the biggest risks with a strong brand is over-expression.

Too much:

• visual noise

• styling

• attitude

And suddenly:

• hierarchy gets lost

• products get buried

• users have to work harder

We had to constantly check ourselves:

is this helping the experience, or just making it look cool?

Because “cool” doesn’t always sell.

Where Conversion Can Kill Brand

The opposite is just as risky.

If you over-optimize:

• everything starts to look the same

• layouts feel templated

• the brand disappears

This happens a lot in ecommerce.

You end up with something that works…
but could belong to literally any brand.

And that’s a different kind of failure.

Because now there’s no reason to choose you.

Designing the Middle: Controlled Expression

What worked for us on Banter was finding control.

Not removing brand — but directing it.

• letting bold moments exist, but not everywhere

• using restraint in key flows (like product pages and checkout)

• pushing expression in discovery, not in decision-making

So the experience could:

• feel like Banter

• but still function like a good ecommerce site

Where Brand Matters Most (And Where It Doesn’t)

Not every part of the experience needs the same energy.

This was a big shift.

• Homepage → brand-led

• Browsing → balanced

• Product detail → clarity first

• Checkout → almost invisible

The mistake is treating everything the same.

Good design knows where to:

• push

• and where to pull back

What Actually Drives Conversion

At the end of the day, conversion isn’t about removing brand.

It’s about removing confusion.

People will buy from something bold.

They won’t buy from something unclear.

That’s a very different problem.

Designing for Recognition and Action

The goal isn’t just:

• to look different

or just:

• to perform well

It’s both:

• recognizable enough to stand out

• clear enough to act on

That balance is where the work actually gets interesting.

What I Took Away From This

Working on Banter changed how I think about design.

It’s not:

brand vs UX

or

brand vs conversion

It’s:

how brand shapes behavior

Because when it’s done right:

• brand builds interest

• UX supports it

• and conversion follows

The Real Goal

Not just something that:

• looks good

• or converts well

But something that:

• feels distinct

• works effortlessly

• and gives people a reason to choose it