Brand Corporate Identity: Task 01
WEEK 01 - WEEK 03 (30/08/2022 - 13/09/2022)
Adena Tan Sue Lynn (0345769) / Bachelor
of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Brand Corporate Identity
Task
01: Breaking Brand
DIRECTORY
- Lectures
- Instructions
- Final Submission
- Feedback
- Reflection
- Further Reading
- References & Picture Credits
LECTURES
30/08/2022 (Tuesday)
During our first class, Ms Lilian went over the MIB and informed us of the tasks we will have to look forward to during this upcoming semester. She also briefed us on our Task 01 & Task 02 as we were to start them right away. Below is a screenshot of some notes I took during the class when she was helping us understand what was needed for the Breaking Brand task.
Lecture 01: Introduction
Branding is one areas of graphic design that plays a big role in society. Branding plays a big role in business and marketing. An exciting area as it represents/symbolises a corporation, small business, NGO, person, government, etc. A symbol can become a word mark and then, a larger identity.
"A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship."
It was reminded yet again to focus on feedback, instead of chasing the grades. As it is important to focus on feedback to create better work. We were reminded to be proactive, independent & self-confident.
Lecture 02: Brand
There's a lot of confusion when it comes to describing a 'brand'. While many brand & marketing experts and senior designers have a basic understanding of what a brand means, most designers may find themselves confused.
There are various opinions on the topic of branding. Question everything and decide.
What is a Brand?
The term is derived from the Old Norse word brandr or "to burn". It refers to the practice of branding livestock which dates back to more than 4000 years in Indus Valley. Branding has evolved over the centuries as farmers claimed property, artisans claimed credit for their artistry, factories claimed their products, companies claiming their products are better than others.
Mini history lesson: Slaves used to get branded by their 'owners'.
What we brand, how we brand it, & why we brand it has changed. Branding is still about taking ownership, but it also states how a company owns its values & represents, shortcomings and earning consumer's trust & loyalty through the company's words, actions & stories.
Brands can influence consumers by communicating qualities that make a product unique. They can put an impact onto consumers by a consumer's gut feeling.
What is a Brand Identity?
When people discuss brand identity, they are usually referring to their gut instinct that comes with the brand's image, message, service, organisation or person. The gut instinct is an aspect of a brand's identity. Another is 'visual identity' which aids the 'gut instinct' with imagery or messages.
What is Branding?
"The process of giving a meaning to a specific organisation, company, products or services by actively creating & shaping a brand in consumers' minds. It is a strategy designed by organisations to help people quickly identity & experience their brand, and give them a reason to choose their products over the competitions"
Effective branding demolishes its competitors. Often, from a certain viewpoint where this takes hold.
Comparing the two, Diesel takes a more whimsical, edgy strategy, whereas Unhate takes a more societal approach. Both have clear differentiation in brand's values using communication & visual communication strategy. Branding is the process of hijacking & shaping an image in consumers minds which creates an indelible & distinct mark.
Branding can be achieved through
- Brand definition: purpose, values, promise
- Brand positioning statement: what your brand does, who you target, the benefits of brand, concise statement
- Brand identity: name, tone of voice, visual identity design
- Advertising & communications: TV, radio, magazines, outdoor ads, websites, mobile applications, etc.
- Product design
- Sponsors & partnerships
- In-store experience
- Workspace experience & management style
- Customer service
- Pricing strategy
Benefits of Branding
- Helps you stand out in market
- Gives credibility
- You can change what you're worth
- Leads to customer loyalty
- Consistency
- Attract ideal clients
- Save money & time
- Provides confidence in business
- Easier to introduce new products/services
- Provides a clear strategy
Designer's role in branding
Designers play important roles in creating a brand. They are a part of a larger network of people who collaborate to form a brand. The visual identity that a designer creates constitutes the face of the brand.
To achieve consistency in a message, a design programme is important to ensure a visual identity that is developed is coherent & cohesive with the application across products/services. Design programmes are crucial for every enterprise for it to be effective. A designer must develop, envision, create a visual identity which is distinct, memorable, consistent, of good value, profit based, increases market-share, endears itself to audience and win the trust of the audience. This requires good research & understanding & the development of an effective visual identity programme.
Lecture 03: Types of Marks
Despite designers & marketing experts basic understanding of the nuances within the definitive applications of brand identity, they tend to be confused. There is different opinions on the topic, so they must be evaluated and a conclusion needs to be thought out.
Different terminology of symbolic marks are, emblem, token, sign, mark, letter, hieroglyph, ideogram, logo, badge, stamp, trademark, crest, insignia, seal, rune, logotype, logogram, monogram, hallmark, flag, token, motif, coat of arms, etc.
Term: Logo
Logotype is design talk for a trademark made from a custom lettered-word. The term logo was used as it sounded better. Logo refers to all marks which represent a brand. A logotype is a logo centred around a company's name or initials. A logomark is a logo centred around a symbolic image or icon.
Occasionally, signature is when a word & symbol is combined (combination mark). Also, a logotype is also called a wordmark.
Term: Monogram
Monograms are a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. They are often made by combining initials of the brand to be used as recognisable symbols or logos. The term comes from Greek, meaning a single line.
Term: Heraldry
Historic in nature, Heraldry is a broad term that encompasses design, display & study of armorial bearings (armoury) alongside the study of ceremony, rank & pedigree. Its origin is primarily European due to the concept of the symbols/seals/flags representing the royalty, army & empire. This style has visual elements that make up the heraldic symbols.
Other related terms are: crest, coat of arms, insignia, etc.
Crest: A distinctive device that represents a family or corporate body, borne above the shield of a coat of arms or separately reproduced.
Coat of Arms: A distinctive heraldic bearing or shield of a person, family, corporation or country.
Insignia: A distinguishable badge or 'emblem' of military rank, office or membership of organisation.
Term: Mark
Alone, Mark is an impression made on a medium. If combined with another word (trademark, watermark, earmarks, farm marks, ceramic marks, stonemasons' mark, hallmarks, printers' mark & furniture mark) signifies ownership or identification. These represent the quality, ability & skill levels of its creator and with that comes a promise of excellence.
Today the most familiar term in law & branding is trademark. Despite the popularity of the usage 'logo', trademark takes forth with the law. The term servicemark in the US & a few countries globally carries legal weight.
Trademarks are a symbol, word or words legally registered/established to be used as a representation of a company/product.
A Trademark is used as legal protection against intellectual property infringement or theft. These are temporary until the recognisable sign, design or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source becomes a registered trademark.
INSTRUCTIONS
During our first class (30/08/2022), Ms Lilian got us into groups of three to write about a company. I teamed up with Adeline and Maisarah as they were sitting right beside me. Each of us thought of three different companies. I thought of Uniqlo, Adeline thought of Aesop and Maisarah thought of Pixar. Since our brands were in different sectors, we decided it would be best to let fate decide and spin the wheel.
After this, we divided up the work to make it more even for everybody as there were a lot of points to research. We then went on to do our own research and put it in a shared document. Below showcases what parts we divided among ourselves.
During the writing process, I had paraphrased my parts before putting it into the shared document as I figured it would be easier for my group mates as well as myself. I also encouraged them to put in the references to help each other out. After writing and confirming all the data with my group mates, I started to make my individual slides.
I used Google Slides for my slides, and had sourced a template from SlidesGo which I thought suited the theme for Pixar.
For my slides, I made sure I rephrased necessary parts to make it sound more like me. I also ensured I credited the imagery I had obtained from online.
FINAL SUBMISSION:
FEEDBACK
Week 02 (06/09/2022)
Ms Lilian reminded the class that the slides are individual work, whereas the information compilation is to be as a group. She also answered my question about specific benefits as I had confused the interpretation of the meaning, stating that they are related to the benefits provided to the consumer.
REFLECTION
This first task definitely opened my eyes to the world of Branding & Corporate. At first, I was not really sure as to what this course had to entail. However, I have found a lot of knowledge within this module as this task served as a crash course introduction to me.
I noticed that brands have to focus on a lot more things that I had ever imagined. Besides their products and their brand image, they need to have their unique selling points, specific benefits, brand communication strategy and many more. I never thought about it that way, which means this quick task was able to show me new lights really quickly. In some ways, I felt like Woo Young-woo from Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022) when she has her revelations, but with branding hehe!
FURTHER READING
To quickly learn a bit about Brand Corporate Identity, I searched the web for some articles that could start my knowledge. I stumbled across Investopedia, which had an article called "Brand Identity".
In the article, it first explains the basic understanding of brand identity. Brand identity corresponds to the intentions with the branding and the way a company chooses its name, logo, colours, shapes & other visual elements in their products/services, crafts the language in its advertisements and their customer service. Brand image is the result of the brand identity efforts, whether is it a success or not.
Building Brand Identity
According to Tarver (2022), there are steps for a company to build a brand identity.
- Analyse the company & the market. It is crucial to analyse the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & potential threats. It allows for better goals and planning.
- Determine business goals. The brand identity should allow for companies to work towards their goals.
- Identify customers. Conduct surveys, focus groups & interviews will allow for companies to learn and cater towards a focused target audience.
- Determine personality & message for communication. A clear and consistent perception must be maintained by a company to deliver a coherent message.
REFERENCES & PICTURE CREDITS
