Why Distinction Is Becoming More Important Than Differentiation

The classic guiding question, “How are we different?”, assumes that people engage with brands consciously and rationally. In a world of radically fragmented attention, that assumption has become unrealistic.

The more decisive question is this: “How will we be recognised?”

Distinction describes a brand’s ability to be identified quickly, effortlessly, and unambiguously in real buying situations. Colours, shapes, symbols, characters, sounds, packaging codes, a signature look and feel. These are mental shortcuts that do not require long explanations. It is not the clever argument that wins, it is the brand that feels present and familiar in the split second of impulse.

Byron Sharp frames this in How Brands Grow as Distinctive Brand Assets: physical and sensory brand cues that enable rapid recognition. Not differentiation in the classical sense, but recognisability.

Brands are not bought by abstract target groups. They are bought in concrete situations. The beer after work. The snack between two meetings. The quick fix when a cold is coming on Sunday night. Sharp calls these Category Entry Points: moments when people think of a category first, not a specific brand.

Strong brands are mentally available across as many of these entry points as possible. They are the brands you think of automatically when a certain context hits. In those situations, nobody has time to compare USPs. What counts is simple: which brand appears first in my mind, and can I even recognise it fast enough as the right option?

That shifts the focus away from abstract positioning lines toward a very practical task: which contexts should the brand own, and which visual, verbal, and sensory codes make sure the brand shows up in exactly those moments?

Look and feel is often misunderstood as “nice design”, something you do at the end once strategy and messaging are complete. In reality, it is the operational infrastructure of distinction.

Lisa Smith puts it like this:
“Design isn't just influence, it's infrastructure. It shapes behavior, guides decision-making, and molds culture.”

At Uncommon, design is not treated as a nice-to-have. It is central to the entire offering. That is precisely the mindset modern brand leadership needs.

The more consistent the look and feel across touchpoints, the more individual encounters compress into a stable, recognisable pattern in memory. In feeds, search results, and shop listings, you often get only a fraction of a second. In that window, it does not matter whether the brand is “innovative”. It matters whether it looks unmistakable and familiar. Under these conditions, look and feel is not decoration. It is the primary lever for distinction.

This does not mean differentiation and USPs become obsolete. In complex B2B solutions, high-consideration purchases, or sensitive categories, people do want to understand why an offer is superior. USPs provide orientation and reassurance. They legitimise decisions rationally, help people argue internally, and support price justification.

But the sequence changes.
Distinction gets a brand chosen in the relevant moment. Differentiation helps people explain and defend that choice afterwards. If you start with USPs and only then think about distinction, you optimise arguments. If you start with distinction, you optimise your chances of real purchases.

For brands, this requires a shift in perspective. Away from “How do we sound on slide 37?” and toward “Which codes do we actually own in real situations?”

In practical terms, that means inventorying and evaluating Distinctive Brand Assets, mapping Category Entry Points, treating look and feel as a coherent system, and translating USPs so they become tangible as punchy images, forms, and rituals.
Not just stating what the brand stands for, but showing what it looks like when it appears in the world.

In the end, the brand that wins is rarely the one that explains most cleverly. It is the one that shows up first, and most clearly, in the decisive moment.

Lisa Smith argues:

• “Our industry doesn't need more design – it needs braver design. We need to raise our standards, not lower them. To champion originality over imitation.”

• Agencies that practise distinction themselves, with a clear, recognisable look and feel, sell more credibly. If an agency’s own brand feels interchangeable, why should a client trust that the agency can create distinction for them?

• Especially now, as tools become democratised and almost anyone can produce “good enough”, the difference matters more. Smith sits on Canva’s Design Advisory Board, a platform that worries many designers because it makes design tools accessible to millions. She does not see that as a threat:
  “Tools don't replace taste. They don't replace judgment. They don't replace vision.”

• Distinction is not a tools problem. It is a taste and conviction problem. Agencies that understand this, and embody it, have a clear competitive edge.

• Practise what you preach. Distinction is not a feature. It is the new currency in the agency market.