Brand Corporate Identity Task - 01

30/08/2022 - 13/09/2022 / Week 01 - 03

Ellyn Saw Mei Hui / 0353358
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media 
Brand Corporate Identity Task 01

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LECTURES

♡ 30.08.2022 Week 01

Lecture #1 - Introduction to Brand Corporate Identity 

Brand Corporate Identity is an integral part of the graphic design discipline. It focuses on the visual integrity of a brand. Branding is an area in graphic design that plays a very important role in society and in business/marketing. The work that we put out will eventually symbolise the value and ethos of a larger entity (eg. a corporation, government sector, or SME business). 

"A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object or relationship."

In general terms, we usually call it a logo instead of a symbol. There are many terms to describe a symbol and different ones will be used. Nuances are distinct but sometimes blurry. A  symbol will turn into a word mark and eventually turn into a larger identity. 

♡ 06.09.2022 Week 02 

Lecture #2 - Brand and Branding

There's a lot of confusion when it comes to describing a brand. While many brands and marketing experts and senior designers have a basic understanding of what a brand means, most designers may find themselves confused.

History of branding

• Derived from the Old Norse word brand (to burn) and refers to the practice of branding livestock.
• Dates back more than 4,000 years to the Indus Valley (aka Indus Valley Civilisation). 

Fig 1.1 Indus Valley Civilisation (source)

• Livestock branding - using steel to burn live stocks with a symbol that would symbolise the owner. This is to prevent people from stealing.
• Human branding - is a very shameful episode in human history. Slaves are sold off and branded by their owners. Also used on people who are accused of stealing or murder, etc.

Fig 1.2 Human branding (source)

"What we brand, how we brand it and why we brand it has changed." but in the 21st century, branding is still all about taking ownership, not just for property and products. It's about owning what your company values, representing, owning up to shortcomings and earning customer trust and loyalty through words, actions and stories.

What is a brand?

• The perception of the company, service etc in the eyes of the world.
• A brand is not what you say it is. It's what they say it is. It's a mental construct shared by society about a product, service, organization or even a person.
• It is approximate yet very distinct. 

What is brand identity?

• The image or message associated with the product, service, organization or person. (Gut feeling)
• Visual identity is another aspect of brand identity which helps to manage the message or image or gut feeling of the brand.
• Collection of all elements that a company creates to portray the right image to its consumer.
• Brand identity is different from "brand image" and "branding" even though these terms are sometimes treated as interchangeable.

What is branding?

• The act and process of shaping a brand.
• A strategy designed by organizations to help people quickly identify and experience their brand.

Branding can be achieved through:

• Brand definition
• Brand position statement
• Brand identity
• Advertising and communications
• Product design
• Sponsoring and partnerships
• In-store experience
• Workspace experience and management style
• Customer service
• Pricing strategy

What are the benefits of branding?

• Helps stand out in a saturated market
• Gives credibility
• Branding = Consistency
• Attract ideal clients
• Established branding makes it easier to introduce new products/services.
• A clear strategy to move forward

Subject to whether the product lives up to the expectations or promise

• Customer loyalty 
• Returning customers and referrals

What is a designer's role in branding?

• Pivotal role in the creation of a brand but are part of a larger network of individuals collaborating to give voice and form to the brand.
• To give form, strategy and message to the brand.
• To develop or create a visual identity that is distinct and memorable.

  

  Fig 1.3 Quote by Marty Neumeier (source)

♡ 13.09.2022 Week 03 

Lecture #3 - Types of Mark

1. LOGO

• is greek for word
• Short for logotype, speak for a trademark made from a custom lettered word.
• The term logo caught on because it sounds cool but what people really mean is a trademark.
• A general term to refer to all marks that represent a brand.

    1.1 LOGOTYPE (wordmark)

• Logo centred around a company name or initials. (Eg. the Cocacola logo)
• Sometimes called a wordmark. 
  

  

  Fig 1.4 Cocacola logotype (source)

    1.2 LOGOMARK

• Logo centred around a symbolic image or icon. (Eg. the Apple logo) 

  

  Fig 1.5 Apple logomark (source)

    1.3 SIGNATURE / COMBINATION MARK

• Word and symbol combined. (Eg. the Burger king logo) 

  

  Fig 1.6 Combination mark - Burger king (source)

2. MONOGRAM 

• Another greek word, single line (meaning). Understood as something written or drawn in outline.
• Motifs are made by overlapping or combining 2 or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. (Grapheme is a letter or several letters that represent a sound in a word.)
• Often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company. 
• Used as recognizable 'symbols' or 'logos'.

  

  Fig 1.7 Monogram - H&M (source)

3. HERALDRY

• Euro-centric in nature and European in nature.
• a broad term, encompassing the design, display and study of armorial bearings (armoury) together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree.

    3.1 CREST

• A distinctive device that represents a family or corporate body, borne above the shield of a coat of arms or separately reproduced.

    3.2 COAT OF ARMS

• Heraldic bearings or shield of a person, family, corporation or country.

    3.2 INSIGNIA

•  Distinguished badge or 'emblem' of a military rank, office or membership of an organization.

4. MARK

• Something that is made on paper, wall, wood, etc.
• Signifies ownership or identification.
• Represent the quality, ability and skill levels of its creator.

5. TRADEMARK 

Trademark is the term that we are most familiar with both in law and branding. It reigns supreme even though the ambiguous term 'logo' has usurped it. It is a symbol, a word (or words) that are legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product. Trademark is also used as legal protection against intellectual property infringement or theft.

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INSTRUCTIONS

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WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION

Ms Lilian started the class with a short ice-breaking session. She told everyone to introduce themselves (name and where we're from) and talk about a brand we know. Everyone shared the brands that they liked or saw and the class continued with Ms Lilian briefing us about the module. She then started to talk about what we had to do for this week (Begin Task 1 and prepare for Task 2).

TASK 1: BREAKING BRAND

Group task: Identify a brand and analysis

A) Brand Profile 

1. Description: Summary, Target market/audience, The offer, Special Benefits.

2. Brand value: Retailers' and consumers' perspectives.

3. Brand positioning: Why this brand & Not competition? Target Market, Competition.

4. Unique selling proposition (USP)

B) Extended brand profile 

1. Description: Founder, Location, History, etc.

2. Benefits

3. Target Market: Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic, Behavioural segmentation

4. Competitive differentiation

5. Pricing

6. Distribution

7. Brand's position statement

8. Brand's voice

9. Brand's communication strategy

PROGRESS ( 30/08/2022 ) :  

♡ After the short briefing for this module and task, Ms Lilian told us to get in a group of 3 for this task.

♡ My group consists of myself, Jacklyn and Ashley. After that, we started to discuss the potential brands and our final choices were either Netflix or Disney+.

♡ We decided to go with Netflix since it is the most popular streaming platform as of now.

Fig 2.1 Netflix logo (source)

TASK 1  - BREAKING BRAND GROUP RESEARCH:

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Figure 2.2 Breaking brand group research, 11th September 2022

TASK 1 - BREAKING BRAND INDIVIDUAL PPT:

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Figure 2.3 Breaking brand individual slides, 11th September 2022

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FEEDBACKS 

No feedback was given for this particular task as we mostly showed our progress for Task 2 in class. Ms Lilian did mention that we could ask any questions if we were unsure but she had already clearly explained to us and clarify about all the topics we had to analyse so there were no questions.

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REFLECTIONS :  

Experience - Overall it was quite interesting to work on this task. It allowed me to broaden my knowledge of brand corporate identity in general. I'm also very grateful to have cooperative teammates. Everyone worked together to finish the task early so we all could have more time to complete our own individual PowerPoint slides. Through this task, I also got to know a lot more information on Netflix that I had not known previously (E.g Netflix's brand voice). Besides, I am not a frequent user of Netflix so it was very interesting to read up on the history of Netflix. The timeline of Netflix is fairly interesting and I never knew they started off as a DVD-renting company! 

Observations - The task looked quite easy when listening to the brief however I observed that this task actually took me quite some time to complete. Especially when researching, I had to cross-check from multiple different websites to see if the information's are accurate and legitimate. I also observed that it is important to find data from reliable sources instead of just blogs.  

Findings - After the task, I understand a little more about Netflix as a brand now. It was interesting to see how Netflix communicates with their consumers (Brand communication strategy). It was also quite a surprise to me that Netflix has a higher percentage of female users compared to males when I was researching the demographics. 

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FURTHER READING:  

Fig 3.1 What is market segmentation? by Hannah Tow

Market segmentation is a business practice that brands use to divide their target market into smaller and more manageable groups. Consumers of each market segment have a set of similar characteristics. There are a total of 4 types of market segmentation. Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic and Behavioural. Geographic segmentation targets consumers by a predefined geographic border. While demographics refers to dividing by age, gender, education level, income, etc. Psychographics focuses on the intrinsic traits that the target market possesses. Lastly, behavioural looks at the specific reactions and the ways consumers go through their decision-making and buying process. 

Market segmentation allows a brand to fully understand its consumers and be able to create consumer retention from the beginning. It also can allow a brand to grow its business.