IXD103

Another book I decided to read was “Christian Leborg Visual Grammar” as felt this was a good book as I wanted to look into further detail about visual images. This book was a good way of gaining more infromation not only for this unit but I can use this knowledge as well in the near future and further assignments. In IXD103 I looked at creating visual marques which is made of shapes. This book give me a better understanding on visual grammar and how to create images and icons using abstract objects such as point, line, surface and volume which helps make a shape. We briefly touched on this in semester 1 with Paul.

This book is made up of Abstact, Concrete, Activites and Realtions. I focused on looking at the Abstact section in this book as it was the most relevant area for me. In this section I explored the use of Abstract objects such as line, point, surface, volume, dimensions and format etc. I was given a defintion of these and shown a range of examples to help me grasp a better understanding of each of these elements.

I felt this book was interesting and give me relevant infomation. I liked the way it give examples to help back up it’s point to help me to further understand and to process information quickier. It was short and sweet.

Overall when researching this book I learned about the use of different  abstract elements which will help me in my coursework and espeically in this unit for development of my monogram and visual marque. It taught me that the basics of any design is made up of these elements.

Brand Guidelines

Brand Guidelines IXD103

Portfolio Website

https://github.com/Sdowney1999/portfolio_website/tree/master

All my web files are here just can’t display in browser.

https://sdowney1999.github.io/portfolio_site/index.html

I’ve been trying for ages to get this working. The link doesn’t work so I had to upload the zip file seperately.

My Portfolio Website

Summary:

I came into this module with very little knowledge on branding and came out with alot knowledge. The aim for this was to learn about branding, learn and develop skills and to create a successful and unique brand identity which was eye catching. I was glad how my monogram, wordmark, buisness cards and visual touchpoints turned out in the end. I feel I achieved what I set to achieve at start which which was to create a personal brand identity. I felt it was an enjoyable module. I will hopefully take the information I gained and use it in my future work and modules.

I completed some research on the Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler. This book is the essential guide to Branding. In this book I found out the definition of what makes a good brand. I explored brand identity, the process needed to create a successful brand, types of brand as well as looking at several different examples. Then I looked at symbols, pictorial, wordmark, taglines & colours which make up a brand and pointers I should consider when creating my own brand.

This book highlights Designing Brand Identity and explores the relationship between strategy and design.

I really loved this quote. “Design is intelligence made visible.”

I found Chapter 1 very informative as it covered the basics of Branding.  Research,  strategy, designing identity, creating touchpoints and managing assets.

Brand

I learned so much about how companies look to connect with customers by creating emotional relationships through branding. I learned that a strong brand will stand out from the crowd. Over time people will begin to trust brands and treat them as loyal and become accustomed to them. How a brand is perceived will obviousely affect the overall success of the brand.

The 3 Primary functions of a brand is the Navigation, Reassurance and Engagement.

This is how consumers make a choice between brands. I learned that the importance to  reassure customers they have made the right choice through providing quality products and services and to engage with customers using distinctive Images.

Touchpoints

Brands can be used any and everywhere. Companies may use touchpoints to increase the brand awareness. For examples Brands can be used on letterheads, packaging, products, websites, billboards, advertising, social networking. The list is endless.

Brand Identity

I believe that Brand identity is the key to a sucessful brand. It can be used to appeal to users. These brands become easy recognizable. Brands can be used on anything. For examples packaging, clothing, bags, books, apps, etc.

I thought this quote sums up what a good design aims to achieve “Design differentiates and embodies the intangibles- emotion, context and essence- that matter most to consumers.”

I learned that Branding is a process that build awareness, extend customers loyalty and attract new customers. It takes time to build up a reputation and become a well-established brand. In order to be successful, it’s important to stick to the basis, consider changes and take the opportunities to better your brand.

“Branding is a deliberate differentiation.

The process of creating your Brand is simple. It’s important to take your time to come up with a unique brand. What I learned from this book is the following steps:-

• 1^st step is to start off researching your Brand.
• 2^nd step is to sketch out ideas, clarifying your strategy.
• 3^rd step is designing your Brand identity.
• 4^th step create touchpoints
• 5^th step is manage your assets

When managing a Brand it requires strategy, Planning and organization. Therefore it is important to understand the fundamentals of a brand and help it develop such as delighting customers, engaging with employees and help make it competitive.

Another fantastic quote I thought was important is “We’re committed to bringing our brand to life each day and ensuring it’s continued growth.

I realise that Marketing and advertising are key factors to help your brand more recognizable.

Symbols

We all know Brands can be easily recognizable through their visual identity. It helps create memories and allows you to associate products with the brand.

Brands are a form of language that are internationality recognized. Some companies just use the symbol, logo rather than the name as they are advert nationality. When you see the tick you know it Nike, when you see the Apple symbols you know it’s Apple, When you see the target you know it target. When you see the big M you know it’s McDonalds perhaps you associate  family days out with a trip to Mc Donald’s and the happy memories you created those days tucking into Happy Meals after spending long hours in the sunshine. You begin to associate happy memories with this reliable brand almost like a part of your family. This single letter is a trusted brand and loyal to deliver food each family member is sure to enjoy. How successful is that to end your family’s day out.

So I do believe that “Symbols are the fastest form of communication known to humankind”

I know it is important to  Consider shape, color and form in Brands.

Name

When looking at names it’s important to come up with an Iconic name which is easy to say and remember. The name must stand for something and be catchy. The name must look professional in a logo and email. A well-chosen name is an essential brand Asset.

“Tell the story behind your new name and it will be memorable part of who you are.”

Qualities of an effective name

It is important the name is meaningful, distinctive, future-oriented, modular, protectable, positive, and visual.

Types of names

Companies such as founders: Ford, McDonald’s & Ben & Jerry’s are named after their founders. Companies may use

• Acronym
• Metaphor
• Descriptive
• Magic Spell
• Fabricated

Taglines

I learned how Aatagline is a short phrase that captures a company’s brand essence personality and distinguishes the company from its competitors. It is important to be creative with your tagline.

Companies can be easily recognized thought their iconic taglines. Taglines are simply a slogan for what a brand stands for.

“Brand mantras are poetry. And they are powerful tools, not just for building brands, but for building organizations.”

• For example, Nike’s “Just Do it!” has become part of the popular culture.
• Skittles- Taste the Rainbow
• Budweiser- King of Beers
• Adidas- Impossible is Nothing
• Apple- Think Different

These taglines are easy and simple to remember. These taglines are often seen through their advertising campaigns on TV, website, social media, etc. These create an interest.

Vision

Vision requires courage. Big ideas,

This is a fantastic quote “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others”?

Sesame Street has a core purpose to educate children. The show is played in many different languages, has Characters from around the World and is internationality recognable.

Wordmark

Wordmarks are essentially the name of the company or an acronym. They include certain abstract and pictorial elements to the design. Examples being IBM, Pinterest and Netflix.

Pictorial mark

Pictorial mark uses recognizable Images. I love the way  Images may cleverly include the company name or its mission or a symbol it uses to represent. It involves skilled designs to portray the image.

Examples being Dropbox, Shell, Twitter, Apple. They use pictorial marks to represent their brand.

This book also looked at the importance of

• Social Media
• Apps
• Smartphones

I really enjoyed Chapter 3 of the book and how it looks at case studies of global companies which includes how these well-established brands have been redeveloped over time reaching out to certain audience and make the brand recognition and modern. Some of brand’s it mentions includes Budweiser, Coca-Cola, MasterCard, and Starbucks, etc. I found it very interesting reading about these companies.

Overall I found this book interesting,I learned a lot and it gave me a good insight into branding. This research will help me create my own brand identity. By reading this it makes you appreciate brands all around us and what work goes into them to come up with a successful brand. This book gives an indication how to approach brand design from beginning to the end. For examples elements that go into your branding. The book gives me an in-depth overview of branding and the process needed.

Following feedback on my digital Touchpoint I experimented with different colours for the Phone covers. I feel this is a good use for my brand.

Here is my Final update of my Business cards. I experimented with different colours. My favourite being the dark blue text and light background.

On class on Monday night Daniel recommended the book “LoveMarks: The future Beyond the Brands by Kevin Roberts”. Kevin Roberts is a CEO of the advertising agency Saatchi. This book is widely available in book stores and online. It was publicated in 2004.

Roberts stated that “Brands are running out of juice”. Love is what is needed to rescue brands. This book is all about creating emotional realtionships with customers. Lovemarks is the markerting concept branding.

Kevin Roberts states the main fundamental elements for creating Lovemarks are:

• Mystery
• Sensuality
• Intimacy

Brands should be giving the respect and love they deserve.

Example

An example of this is Coca-Cola who have marketing campaigns which focus on transfering emotions to the viewers through their TV advertisements.

Summary

It’s important companies can build emotional realtionships with their customers in order for a specific brand to gain more loyalty. It’s important any brand stands out from the crowd. The company must show their best values. From what I researched and learned I will transfer this knowledge to my own personal brand and try connect one which creates an emotional realtionship with people.

Today was our final class with Daniel. He went over the final things on what we need to include in our portfolio website and how he wants us to submit our work on 7th of May. We were given a final oppourtunity as a class to ask any final questions or querys we had on the the course as whole, our work and what we needed to submit. He stated the importance of adding research and development content to our Blogs. He said we shouldn’t focus too much on the Marks we recieved. The most important thing is what we learnt from the Module.

Summary

At the end of class I felt more confident about I we needed to submit for the deadline on the 7th of May. These next 2 weeks I will focus on getting my Blogs up to date and get as much work done as I can in order to be successful within this module.

Overall I enjoyed my classes with Daniel. I felt I learned alot over the 12 weeks and have developed my work throughout my time. This module gives me a better understanding of Branding and how to create my own personal one. It showed me their is more meaning behind I specific brand than I thought,

I made a couple of rough sketches for my wordmark which you can see below. I wanted to keep the text thin and clear to constrast with my Monogram.

Using Figma I created 2 visual marque designs.

This week we had a Group Critique Session. Daniel split the class into different group. My group was the first group which included myself, Leander, Laura, Florence and Kewin. We uploaded our design work to Miro as it allowed us to display each members work and write done our thoughts and comments using sticky notes. I was the last person in group to get my oppounrity to display and talk my work. My fellow class mates left me with helpful and insightful comments which I will take on board to improve my work.

I felt today’s session was really good. It allowed us to look at our work and give my a remainder were I am in terms of my work and what I should improve upon.

Check the link below to see the Miro Board

https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lJBXPWc=/