IXD103 – Language – Week 1

Exploring identity

What I do, what I am about as a designer – that is my (brand) identity.

Learning outcomes:

  1. Developing an understanding of the principles and importance of identity and its role within communication design
  2. Analyse through exploration, identity in the broader sense to find and use processes appropriate to the visualization of ideas in both paper-based and on-screen
  3. Use of industry standard software in the development of personal brand
  4. Self-directed study, timekeeping and organization skills and contribute to group discussions and peer learning.

Deliverables:

  1. Monogram –> Daniels Pinterest board ( create your own Pinterest board as research )
  2. Wordmark –> The written name of the company, eg SONY, Dior, PRADA, Forbes…
  3. Logomark –> think fashion based designers as they go for perception. Also consider more recognizable brands, eg Nike, Starbucks, Apple, Shell, etc.
  4. Brand Guidelines –> example (Interactive webpage with loads of info) think brands like NASA
  5. Portfolio website –>  Site Inspire, John Kappa, Pentagram, Moving brands, MultiAdaptor studio, Barnbrook studio, Adham Dannaway, Minimal monkey, Paddy Donnelly, Mike Kus, M. Henderson, Alice Lee, Laura Kalbag, Kyle Tezak, CSS Wizardry
  6. Supporting blog –> think of it as a digital scrapbook, gather content and complete tasks. Remember to tag posts with IXD103. Reminds me of an art research journal.

The personal brand and portfolio website deliverables are worth 60%

  • The brand (30%)  MUST include a monogram, wordmark, visual mark and brand guidelines – the design and implementation for this must be innovative and outstanding with great consideration for the monogram, wordmark, visual mark and brand guidelines. To get top marks the brand must be outstanding with both digital and moving image assets present. Excellent attention to detail is essential.
  • The portfolio website (30%) designed using industry technology which adheres to web standards and reflects the brand that has been created
  • The research, discovery and supporting sketches (40%) this needs to be functional and not necessarily pretty, as long as it clarifies your thinking.

Reading List

Required

Sites to keep an eye on:

Jobs that intrigued me:

  • Web designer
  • App designer
  • UX designer
  • UI designer
  • Interaction designer
  • Digital product designer
  • Front end designer
  • Visual designer
  • Illustrator
  • UX researcher
  • Content strategist
  • Mobile game designer
  • Multimedia artist and animator
  • Information architect (IA)
  • Mobile designer
  • designer/developer (front-end or back-end)
  • Creative director
  • Lead designer
  • Creative technologist
  • Design strategists
  • Exhibition designer
  • Service designer
  • Producer
  • Social media expert

Design process:

Analyse and brief –> Identify key requirements –> Research –> Idea generation –> Idea development –> Production –> Testing –> Implementation –> Evaluation –> Redesign.


Description tasks:

  1. Create more pages on your blog for portfolio sections eg “about”, “projects”, etc… think of it as a practice portfolio website.
  2. Pick an inanimate object and put yourself in their shoes and describe who you are and what you do from their perspective. Click here to see it.
  3. Think of a book/music album that you would recommend to someone and without saying what it is recommend it to someone in no more than 120 words. Once you have completed this, summarize it in 4 words and draw something that would represent your recommendation. Click here to see it.

Brand ideals and Tone of voice

Stories sell brands, people like something relatable and personal, eg – I ‘love’ this book, I recommend it.

Describe something in a way that makes the customer want it and then reveal it; make people be part of it and choose it over something or someone else. What makes it special? How we describe things can make it unique –> creating a unique selling point/brand.

Your brand should answer the following

  • Who are you? –> Logo
  • Who needs to know? –> Target audience
  • How will they find out? –> Networking
  • Why should they care?

IF it doesn’t then people will simply dismiss it.

Ideals

  • Meaning
  • Vision
  • Authenticity –> trust worthy
  • Differentiation –> what makes you different from any other designer
  • Coherence
  • Flexibility
  • Durability –> which longevity does it have? eg Coca-Cola has not changed
  • Commitment
  • Values –> brand values, what is it trying to do and what is important to it?

Brand evaluation tasks:

  1. Go to Menti.com and enter the code 7451359 (Coca-Cola)
  2. 2138021 (Calvin Klein)
  3. 8573049 (Amazon)
  4. 5710854 (Apple)





Words shape experiences

“95% of the information on the web is written language. It is only logical to say that a web designer should get good training in the main discipline of shaping written information, in other words: Typography.” – Oliver Reichenstein.

  • Macrocopy : establishes the tone and sets personality
  • Microcopy: Reinforces the tone and satisfies a function.
  • Tone of voice: personal or corporate? or somewhere in between? think of who you are talking to and who you are, this along with what everyone else in your field is doing should affect your decision. It represents brand personalities and values, this has to include the words you choose and the order in which you put them, it has to apply to all the content you deliver ( website, social media, emails, etc..). Tapping into what is important, practicing it and it fitting with who you are/ who the company is. Consistency is important. Practice what you teach.

Linguistic Register:

the way a speaker uses language differently in different circumstances. This can aid thinking about the appropriate tone of voice for a situation.

  • frozen: static register – historic language or communication that is intended to remain unchanged, like a constitution or prayer.
  • Formal: used in professional, academic, legal settings where communication is expected to be respectful, uninterrupted and restricted. Slang is never use and contractions are restrictive.
  • Consultative: Used in conversation when speaking with someone who has specialized knowledge or who is offering advice. Tone is often respectful (use of courtesy title) but can be more casual if the relationship is longstanding. Slang is used sometimes.
  • Casual: Used with friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances. Use of slang, contractions and vernacular grammar is common, expletive and off-colour language is used also in some settings.
  • Intimate: Non-public; intonation more important than wording or grammar; private vocabulary. Also includes non-verbal messages. Most commonly used among family members and close friends.

Not a linear process but about understanding the components and your identity so it can be built into it, that is why the register, tone and vocabulary is very important.

Bellow is an example of  and ad using different registers – since soap is an intimate product the designer  used a mix of registers including an intimate register.

Brand dictionary

You have to be objective and the words used need to match the brand ideals.

Eg Mercedes = precision, luxury, stylish, engineered, efficient.

Be objective, even if you do not like the brand, think ‘Why would someone that likes it go for it?’


 My brand

  • I Need to define my 5 words
  • People already have an opinion on my personal brand – it is based on what people say about me when I am not present and what they see me do. Its  your personal reputation, the value I add and the messages I convey – literal and subliminal. It is delivered also in how I introduce myself, my appearance and how I behave. What I put out in person and online ( is my Instagram appropriate? should I keep it private and have a separate one)

Personal brand strategy

  1. Understanding your current brand: What do people come to me for? What skills can I offer?  What is my work reputation? How do other people describe my work/what I do?
  2. Identify your strengths: what is different about me to the person next to me, Identify them and take ownership of them. Could do a spot analysis.  What am I strong/weak at?, what do I want to be? what may get in my way? PERSEVRRANCE is important. This is a way of managing yourself.
  3. Clarify your values: What is important to me about my career?
  4. Define your vision: Where do I want to be in 5/10 years? what does my brand need to be to get me there? who do I need to be to get there? How do I need to learn/grow to get there? What are my aspirations?
  5. Understanding the gap: craft your brand strapline – words that describe me, my why and the value I bring. How I present myself, the value I bring, how I communicate, my relationships. How well am I representing my brand? Building a great portfolio NOW. How can I improve how  my works looks and is presented? Who am I now and where do I want to go?

Outlining your vision

  • Describes your goals
  • Defines measures of success (milestones)
  • Determines your pathway
  • Keeps me focused
  • Helps bring others on the journey ( engages )
  • Establishes long-term goals

Elevator pitch task

Elevator pitch task: in breakout groups of pairs, 2 minutes each describe yourselves then swap. Then tell us about the person you spoke to. Start by taking down 5 words/sentences.

I completed the task in a in separate post –> Click here


Creating a Bio

Examples:

  • “Drawing and rapping” @mr_bingo
  • “Designer. Arrived at the intersection of design and technology. Couldn’t find a parking space. Went home” @brendandawes
  • Making things, mainly sandwiches. Senior illustrator @gitlab and making fun stuff for @BearNotesApp – @vic_bell
  • “Freelance illustrator. Creator of kids app at weetaps.com Wishes Pluto was a planet”
  • “New York Times Bestselling Author, Lettering Artist, Over Sharer, Parent of Small People. New book: Tomorrow I’ll be Kind (Jan 2020)” @jessicahische
  • “32. 5’ 6’’. Doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Currently making up.” @armstrong
  • “Designer, researcher, writer, occasional speaker with a love of electronica, comics & architecture. UX @puppetize. Organizer @uxbelfast.” @monro

A 3 pronged strategy:

  1. Social: Instagram, Twitter, GitHub, Codepen –> Starting conversations and engaging with your audience. You NEED a consistent avatar, Hero image (profile image) and Copywriting. Can show work in progress. You do not need them all though. Even your bio should be consistent – do not put the whole long version on Instagram but a summarized version – It however MUST be consistent! Use the same tone of voice throughout – only allow slight variations.
  2. gathering (content audits): blogs, Pinterest –> First is the macro view, identifying exemplars – Who inspires me? This will give you a sense of where you see yourself fitting in the landscape. It is like looking at it from a birds-eye perspective. The second micro view is a more detailed analysis of the diff exemplars. How are their sites structured? How is content organized? How often do they post? These questions help make a more structure strategy. Bellow is an overview given in class.                                                                  
  3. Story: Web site/web presence –> You would need to buy your own domain name to seem professional, DO NOT use Hotmail or Gmail. Come up with a list of domain names that will be appropriate and search and as soon as you find it – buy it!! It must be short.

My aim through this module will be to become a good branding designer and appreciate language because if your language works your brand will last.

Meaningful vs Superficial –> make sure there is language that is relatable. It will last longer and provide a solid foundation.

Think outside the box – avoid patterns that you have seen everywhere, eg cursive over solid lettering.


My to-Do list

  1. Social Bio —> Write a bio with words of only 1 syllable – It’s helps to say it out loud and see how it sounds, think simple, don’t over complicate it. Simplicity is appreciated. Good writing is straight forward. It should be short and efficient. Click here to see my bio.
  2. Follow Something —> Find blogs and follow them, this is a good way to learn and obtain inspiration. Repost a few entries  underconsideration.com/brandnew (to start you off).
  3. About page —> Create an “about me” page on your blog with a longer bio, the tone of voice MUST be consistent with the short bio and any other info or imagery you post. Customize your theme for your blog and choose an appropriate look and feel ( you can change it as you progress). Click here to see my bio.
  4. Content Audit Exercises –> Complete the exercises in the images bellow and blog it. There are more exercises from this book are on BBL for more reading / challenges to improve your copywriting skills in multiple areas. Click here to see my completed Content Audit task.

Elevator pitch task

In breakout groups of pairs, 2 minutes each describe yourselves then swap. Then tell us about the person you spoke to. Start by taking down 5 words/sentences

Sean Downey

  1. 22 years old, seems a bit shy but still very friendly
  2. Lives in Newry Co. Down
  3. Has a dog and a cat
  4. Likes watching films in the genre of Murder, Comedy
  5. Enjoys hiking, cycling – I think he might be sporty
  6. Likes chilling, spend time with friends, clubbing

Enjoys the outdoors and spending time with friends

Outgoing and friendly

Recommending a book/music album/tv show

Describing my favourite tv show

The first season is rough, but it gets better I promise…

It has a lot of humour that may offend but its delivery makes it forgivable; its about everyday life at work with a boss who doesn’t act like a boss, he acts more like a class clown.

Its a mockumentary sitcom television series – its delivery reminds of Parks and Recreation.

It is a feel good, binge-worthy show. The characters are relatable and quirky.

It is full of gossip, pranks, romance and general foolishness and silliness at Dunder-Mifflin Paper Co. in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

You can expect little gems like:

“I’m not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.” – Michael Scott, Season 4, “Fun Run”

What’s not to love?


I would describe it in 4 words as

relatable, paper, bears, beets.


A quick descriptive sketch

Inanimate object task

She takes me everywhere; although I can only ever see what is behind her. She tends to fill me up too much, her water bottle barely fitting – but she simply cannot leave the house without it. She has taken me to art museums, shopping, ceramic classes, church and on walks through beautiful greenery.  I am not very big but she lifts me up; although I still have to look up to people. I am tiny and inconvenient but she seems to like me that way . She tends to obstruct my view with many fine, silky strands of brown.