Why do some brands look luxurious?

Why does one product look like it’s worth 10 euros, and another like it’s worth 100? Sometimes the difference lies not in the product itself, but in how the product is presented to us.

When we look at the communication of brands that create an impression of luxury, we often notice similar principles: lots of empty space, a restrained color palette, carefully chosen typography, few unnecessary elements and a very clear visual hierarchy. It seems simple, yet it is precisely this simplicity that can create an impression of luxury.

In his book How to Use Graphic Design to Sell Things, Explain Things, Make Things Look Better, Make People Laugh, Make People Cry, and (Every Once in a While) Change the World, Michael Bierut looks at design not as decoration, but as a problem-solving tool. The book presents real projects in which we see not only the final result, but also the decision-making process, sketches and rejected ideas.

This is an important idea when talking about brands that look expensive. An impression of luxury is rarely created by a single beautiful logo. It is created by many consistent decisions.

One of the first things we notice in luxury design is space.

When plenty of empty space is left around a product, our attention is focused on a single object. The product no longer gets lost in a flood of information – it becomes the central element of the image.

The opposite approach is to put as much information, color, promotions, fonts and visual elements in one place as possible. This can communicate abundance, choice or a good price, but it rarely creates a sense of exclusivity.

That is why empty space also plays an important role in luxury communication. It is a design decision.

A typeface speaks about a brand before the text is even read.

An elegant serif typeface can evoke associations with tradition, culture and history. A strict sans-serif can look modern and technological. A thin, subtle typeface can communicate sophistication, while a bold, heavy one conveys energy and accessibility.

What matters here is not whether a typeface looks luxurious. What matters is whether the chosen typeface matches the brand’s identity and core message.

In his work, Bierut keeps returning to the idea that identity is not just a logo. It is the entire visual system – typography, colors, layout, recurring principles and the way they are used across different touchpoints.

Interestingly, luxury design often doesn’t try to convince us that it is expensive – it doesn’t shout. There are no ten different messages in its communication and no constant attempts to grab attention. Instead, it creates the impression that the brand already knows who it is.

This is especially important when building an identity. A consistent visual style allows a brand to look more confident, because the consumer keeps encountering the same visual signals.

That is exactly why good branding is not just a beautiful Instagram profile or a new logo. It is a system that has to work everywhere – from packaging and the website to advertising and the physical store.

Still, it would be a mistake to think that luxury = minimalism.

The projects in Bierut’s book are very diverse – from logos and brand identities to packaging, books, websites and environmental graphics. His goal is not to present one universal design formula. On the contrary, the projects demonstrate that the right solution depends on the specific problem and audience.

This means that luxury design can also be highly decorative, colorful or expressive. What matters most is not how many elements are used, but whether each of them has a reason to be where it is.

One of the most interesting aspects of design is that it can change how we perceive a product’s value before we have even tried it.

The same product, presented in a different context, can look completely different.

A minimalist bottle, high-quality photography, careful typography and plenty of space can communicate exclusivity. Bright packaging, a large price tag and lots of information can communicate affordability, even though the product itself has not physically changed.

Its story has changed.

This is where one of design’s most important powers lies: a designer doesn’t just create what people see. They help shape how people interpret what they see.