Branding In Its Essence - When Design Thinking Occurs, Branding Follows.
Long ago when automated registration was an impossible dream, livestocks were burnt on their skin with a hot iron plate to be identified. This method began widespread and was used on trade goods such as ceramics. Fast forward to 21st century, almost every recognisable product are labelled with manufacturer’s name and logo, no matter how ugly it is.
Now, we don't put logo on animals anymore, we put animals on our logo *yeown*
However, the understanding of branding began to mutate - similar to the broad definition of graphic design, where educators thought that the phrase “graphic design” simply meant making artsy pieces / creating flat visual, and proceed to change the course name to phrases like “visual communication” or “communication studies”. Unfortunately, branding can’t avoid the fate of its reducing function, from meaning making to simply making a set of graphics (either prints or screens) look similar and consistent by copy and pasting the same graphic element across the entire design ecosystem. Branding soon lost it’s most significant significance - recognisability.
Of course, as a designer, our job is to build an ecosystem consists of set graphical rules and guidelines, and pray that people who look at the logo will be reminded of its retail store or client’s magnificent masterpiece of the product. However, the recognisability we are talking here isn’t as simple as whether a customer was reminded by a service or product after seeing an advertisement, it is whether a customer can tell what’s in their mind about the service or product when a brand name was given. Here’s a simple test: what is the first thing in your mind when it comes to “Star Wars”?
*Raise Eyebrows*
The answer varies, it could be as following (1)the tagline of “May the force be with you”, (2)Darth Vader, (3) Stormtroopers, (4) Opening credit, (5) 9 note opening music…the list goes on. One thing we quickly recognise is - it may take the form of sound, visual, character design, or perhaps the whole storyline. As the main role of branding evolves around recognisability (used since the livestock era), isn’t it that we should stop thinking that branding is creating a whole set of prints with similar graphic elements printed across them, and start giving our product a new life by introducing something easily recognisable by incorporating sound, images, animation or character (which is usually mascot)?
After all, design is a collaborative process - designers, musician, filmmakers, illustrators sit together in a meeting led by art director and talk about how everyone could contribute a little bit to solve a "identity crisis”, which simply means lack of identity and not easily recognisable.
Today, when we hear a whistle message tone from someone, we can almost sure he/she is using Samsung (I can't help if you want to think about explosion); when we see Orang Utan with sunglasses, we can’t help but think about Malaysia (oops, all fault goes to Visit Malaysia 2020 Logo); when we think about China products, we think about cheap rip-offs which offers almost top quality value. A political party could be associated with their achievement, but it could also be associated with behavioural attributes, such as honesty, brutal or innovative.
Millennials in the eyes of Generation X
What comes into our mind first is what the organisation wants us to recognise about them, as easy as that. To be good at branding, designers should study the product or service throughoutly, including aspects like reason of existence, contribution & impact made on certain niche, customer’s reaction…as always, the list goes on, and the questions are very subjective and event-situation dependant.
If it has so much variable on what makes a good branding, then where should designer start from? Is there a standard, proper procedure of doing branding?
Maybe yes...maybe not...just maybe
The answer is yes and no. Yes, because there are quite a lot ways to start a research unified by what we call “design thinking". No, because different methodologies are used by different people/agencies to conduct research and create design (branding, product, service, business strategy, technology, fashion...), thus, no standard procedure - this also mean that designers aren’t always the typical designers we meant who uses Adobe products, but anyone who is coming with solutions, as listed, the scientists, businessmen, programmers...
Design Thinking in brief
I couldn’t describe the whole process of design thinking, but I would recommend this book if you want to learn more about visual research (not sponsored).
Just stop it hooman
In short, typical designers should stop thinking like art directors. We all should move upwards, and think more like creative directors, and that is how designers are being taught in design schools to tackle real world issues, such as - how to solve depression using design, or how to raise awareness on censorship via graphic design. We all know solving depression is the work of psychologist, but by conducting research and understanding depression, designer like Peter Roden of 2017 LCC Degree Shows explore cooking as therapy for depression.
Design vs Branding
Design and branding are inter-related, but they are definitely not the same. Designers could get a design (again, design in this context could mean business strategy, technology and etc.) done without branding, and branding could be done without a proper design or solution (which is extremely common and headache).
Double is better, be both creative and art director
As creative director ourselves on an academic level (speaking for myself), it is important to create meaningful design and ask good questions that reveals truth; as an art director myself, it is important to understand the overall look and feel of my project and what design element should stand out the most as focal point (similar to USP in marketing terms).
Case Study: Olympic’s Branding and What We Can Learn From It
Olympic’s branding is interesting in a way that different countries take turns to promote their city on a global scale. Thus, high cautious measures are put into the effort of marrying national branding with sports. With so many years of Olympics, especially when certain major cities had run the event for few times, it is very challenging for designers to think about what their country has to say about their turn on hosting the Olympic.
By doing so, designers could lock into certain art direction and path their way to specific design outcomes. Take London 2012 as example, the design team had recognised the fact that “London was already enjoying its status as a top-tier global city and didn’t need to shout so hard”, in return, they’ve decided to brand the year 2012 as a year of inspiring next generation of young people to play sports due to the reverse sport trend - it has to be “Everyone’s Olympics”.
This concept path its way to the London 2012 bold bright logo, so literally bold that affiliated parties could make their own logo using the logo by "inserting sporting imagery, providing a way to showcase the content of the Games, or the colours of sponsors”, achieving the goal of “Everyone’s Olympics”.
Tokyo 2020’s Olympic Logo is rather dull on first glance. But upon inspecting closer, both Olympic and Paralympic version logo spots the same amount of rectangular blocks which emphasise that “all people are equal, regardless of ability or disability, we are united in our humanity”. Rhymed like a real OG.
Turns out our childhood united us all more than sports could do
As a student of Limkokwing University, where Cultural Festival are hosted here annually for consecutive years under the same concept and creative direction (not art direction). Perhaps the committee should focus on one theme per year, such as hardships and benefits of studying abroad, or generating the idea of unity to gain awareness of issues such as immigrants and terrorism.
Meme culture is the only culture that can bring the world closer
Of course, cultural experience is the main thing, but I’m more interested on what will happen when we are united. What can we do with the power of unity? Why is unity important? Why is tolerance between people of different culture is important? Would it make any difference if I turn my head away from these issues?
When design thinking occurs, branding follows.
