Peter Sher - Branding And The Visual Response - Book sample pages

BRANDING AND THE VISUAL RESPONSE How a brand turns into visual identity

PETER SHER

The branding process can be seen as an organic spiral with a definite starting point.

44

01

The brand spiral The branding process can be seen as a

The branding phase

spiral. Surely you have seen fast motion

Goal

videos about how plants grow. The brand

An activity is good and useful if it has a

is like this, too: a growing spiral. Plant

purpose, a goal. This applies to brands as

leaves, DNA, swirls and organic growth of-

well: from the very first moment it must

ten evolve in a spiral. And not just in any

have a goal it wants to achieve.

spiral, but spirals based on the Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio.

Target audience

Like a line segment, the spiral has a start-

Who would you like to sell your products

ing point and an endpoint, but unlike the

or services to? What do your customers

segment, the spiral is curved around the

want, what do they desire? What are the

starting point as it evolves. This is the dis-

pain points they want a solution for? It is

tinct core on which the whole system is

important that you should start your re-

built.

search with the target group, because the

I was thinking along these lines when I

brand speaks to the people, it wants to

started to draw the brand spiral. Brand-

influence them, it wants to create commu-

ing also has a core from which it can grow

nities and tribes.

and develop organically.

The core and inner layers of the spiral are

Vision/mission

the fundamentals of the brand, the brand

Without goals there is no development.

core, and as you move towards the outer

Long term goals define communication

layers, the focus is more and more on how

and affect every element of the brand, so

the brand appears visually.

while short term goals are important, here you should also consider your long term

Phases and steps of the brand spiral

goals—what it is you want to achieve in

I divided the spiral into 3 main phases:

the long run. In the brand sprint, for exam-

branding – visual branding/visual lan-

ple, you must outline your 20-year road-

guage – marketing. These are clearly sep-

map.

arated in the figure, but in real life the dividing lines are not this obvious, but rather

Values

blurred. Let’s start from the core an move

Without values, it is difficult to decide how

outwards.

to progress towards your vision and goals.

Ideally the values are honest and stem 45

from the brand itself, from the brand’s core and are not just a facade.

Personality Brands, of course, have a personality, just like people do. The personality is the sum total of the brand’s characteristics and it speaks to the target audience. You choose

Develop the personality of your brand

your own friends—similarly, you can choose the brands that you feel close to your heart.

Just like in interpersonal relationships, personality is important in the relationship be-

Voice/Tone

tween a brand and the people. Personality

The dominant communication style of the

components:

brand is rooted in its personality. It determines what words are used (specialist terminology or everyday vocabulary), how formal or informal it is and what the overall communication style is like (funny, serious, corporate, etc.).

Message The core of communication is to deliver the

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Vision Values Tone of voice Archetype Essence

brand’s message, a short piece of information to the target audience. Communication is a multi-layered activity where every layer plays a role in getting the message across.

Value proposition The value proposition is an outgoing message, in which you provide solutions to

I’M A

your target audience’s problems along the

BRAND

values and goals of your brand.

Slogan The slogan is the essence of your key message, it is like the logo to the visual identity: it is the tip of the communication iceberg.

Brand history, manifesto Everyone has a story that reveals why they do what they do. Of course not every story 46

THE CREATOR

THE CAREGIVER

STABILITY

THE JESTER

THE LOVER

BELONGING SOMEWHERE

THE RULER

THE EVERYMAN

INDEPENDENCE

PROGRESS

THE INNOCENT

THE SAGE

THE HERO

THE EXPLORER

THE MAGICIAN

THE OUTLAW

needs to be told, but if it is inspiring and

Playbook

captivating, please do.

The communication of the brand must be unified and consistent at all times. A play-

Elevator pitch

book with the roots and fundamentals of

Tell your audience who you are and what

the brand is very useful. Nowadays these

you want as briefly as possible. Ideally, you

are in a digital format and the steps de-

can introduce your brand and have an ef-

scribed above are recorded in the various

fect on your audience over the course of a

sections.

30-second elevator ride.

47

The visual branding phase

other consists of digital platforms.

Style guide

The two branches then reach the market-

A style guide is similar to the playbook in-

ing zone, where both the digital and the

asmuch as its aim is to maintain unity and

traditional elements become part of the

consistency, but it records the visual fea-

complex system of marketing— which can

tures of the brand.

be online, where SEO (search engine optimisation) and SEM (search engine market-

Logotype/combination mark

ing) are becoming increasingly important,

This is the king of visual language, the

offline or a combination of the two.

tip of the iceberg, this is what makes the brand unique. It is the most important el- The spiral shows nicely that you must pay ement, yet it isn’t. What is a logo without

attention to the fundamentals. The fun-

a brand? It makes you different, but it

damentals of branding provide answers

doesn’t tell a story. It implies certain values,

to questions that arise later, during visual

but it doesn’t tell them clearly. It reaches

branding and marketing. If you take the

out, but it doesn’t start a conversation. The

time and follow the steps of the spiral with

logo is important, but it is not everything.

your project or brand, you will surely benefit from it.

Colours Colours are another key distinctive element that help you in your communication as well, as they trigger emotions. Some brands appropriate certain colours (e.g.

Telekom - magenta), some use only one colour and others want to use them all.

Typography You can choose from countless typefaces and new ones become available every day. There is no limit to variety, and even though most people are not consciously aware of this, the letterforms and visual details of the fonts also communicate and convey messages.

Marketing phase From this point on, the steps cannot be clearly distinguished, visual identity plays a different role and is used on different platforms with every brand. The spiral branches off, one branch consists of the traditional platforms of visual identity, the 48

Brand Leader Model

Seventy Agency brandguide.click/BLM

The Brand Leader Model was devel-

CHALLENGING

oped by the Swedish Seventy Agency.

THE EXPERIMENTER

It is a tool you can use when position-

THE VISIONARY

ing your brand. It uses two axes and defines 4 personality directions. The

BEFORE

figure on the right shows the devel-

BELIEF-DRIVEN

portions of these, and it changes over time as it develops. For example, the

RESPONSIVE

brand is characterised by the pro-

FACEBOOK

opment of Facebook: first it was visionary and challenging, later, as it grew, it shifted towards the dedicated, reliable and responsive direction.

NOW THE DEDICATED

THE MASTER RELIABLE

CHALLENGING

CHALLENGING

THE EXPERIMENTER

Visionary brands set bold goals and focus more on where they are heading than what they have achieved. They challenge and redefine industries.

Dedicated brands are responsive to the individual, attentively following, predicting and guiding behavior.

They seek to operate as seamlessly as possible.

Master brands have strong longstanding principles and celebrate origin and craft. They are reliable experts in their field and work hard to remain so.

THE DEDICATED

THE MASTER RELIABLE

THE VISIONARY

Quick to spot and jump on the new

(Re) defining industries

Bravely unpredictable

Mobilizing partners and consumers

Open and collaborative

Attentive and precise Natural and seamless Understands and guides individuals

Follows a bold direction

BELIEF-DRIVEN

Experimenter brands have a finger on the pulse, are first to try out the new and willing to operate in beta. They challenge the norms, are open, collaborative and never cease to surprise.

RESPONSIVE

THE VISIONARY

BELIEF-DRIVEN

RESPONSIVE

THE EXPERIMENTER

Skilled experts Stands by principles Eredetiség és jártasság

THE DEDICATED

THE MASTER RELIABLE

49

02

The v respo 50

visual onse 51

‘DESIGN IS THE SILENT AMBASSADOR OF YOUR’ Paul Rand

52

02

Basic forms and their meaning in visual design Once you have the brief, it’s important that

In visual branding there is no practical

you can give a proper visual response to it.

need for this break-down process, what

To understand how a brand works visually,

we should consider is the message of the

it’s best to break it down and examine it at

visual details of the building blocks and

atomic level. In UI (user interface) design we

whether the overall image, when these

have been using the Atomic Design method

elements are put together, strengthens or

for quite some time. Here we break down the

weakens this message. Let’s take a look at

UI elements to the smallest units possible: to

a perfect example of this.

absolutely basic parts that have no meaning if deconstructed further, like a text field, a card

Slash in a square

or a button. We build atoms together to form

The Deutsche Bank logo designed by

molecules, which can be developed into or- Anton Stankowsky is one of my favorites. ganisms.

I think a lot of people love its ultimate

A designer is ‘good’ if they can convey the desired emotion and effect to the viewer through visual language.

53

simplicity. The form hasn’t changed since

the Hungarian painter János Fajó. Let’s

1974. The only change came in 2010: since

take a look at basic forms and their mean-

then the logo can be used independently,

ing.

without the typography, but the graphic image has been the same for 45(!) years.

Square, quadrilateral

The form is extremely simple, yet it conveys

All sides are of equal length and all angles

meaningful messages—

are equal, and as a result it has a calm,

• the square frame: security, stability and

steady, static, heavy, self-enclosed and

control, • the ‘slash’: consistent growth and development.

boring effect. If you place a square on its vertex, it will be unsteady and it will look as if it is about to fall.

Whether on their longer or shorter side,

PAUL RAND If you read it in a brief, it might seem con- rectangles have a steady, yet more active tradictory to combine these two messages

effect than squares. Parallelograms (op-

in one sign, but it works here, with brilliant

posite sides are of equal length, opposite

simplicity. Nothing can be taken from the

angles are equal) have a much more dy-

graphic image, it can’t be made any sim-

namic and active effect.

pler without losing the message. This is a principle you should always keep in mind

Triangle

in the design process, as this is what you

From the basic forms, the triangle is the

need for a design that is timeless and

one that seems the most active. It can be

breaks free from fashion. The meaning

an arrowhead pointing in a direction, but

and effects of basic forms have been ex-

with an obtuse angle it can also have a

plored by many and in many ways, just

calm effect. Other visual messages: active,

think about Kandinsky in the Bauhaus or

dynamic, pointed, hard.

54

Circle

some impressions. A graphic image will

A circle has no starting point and has no

work well if it has the intended effect on

end, it is a symbol of infinity. There is much

most recipients.

less tension in it than in a square or a triangle. It doesn’t point in a direction, so

Presenting a study

its message is that it is calm, harmonious,

The results presented here are from a

self-enclosed, infinite, soft and safe.

2005 psychology study and experiment, where 89 people were asked to assess

Line

forms according to their force and activity.

Logos can have all kinds of lines. Lines

The results are presented in a 2D coor-

have a direction. In the western world, we

dinate system, where the horizontal axis

read from left to right, and this is how we

represents activity and the vertical axis

interpret lines as well. A line can have a

represents force.

positive or a negative meaning, depend-

In summary, the figure shows that quad-

ing on whether it has an upward or a

rilateral, pointed and round forms cov-

downward direction, whether it ascends

er different areas in the semantic space.

from left to right or from right to left.

Acute-angled triangles and stars are considered forceful and active, and the five-point-

You see? I see.

ed star has a higher value than the equilater-

These forms express emotions and mes-

al triangle in both dimensions. Quadrilaterals

sages and they have an effect which the

are forceful but passive, oval forms are weak

viewer will either feel eventually or not.

and passive, here the regular circle is the least

This is a two-fold situation: on the one

passive and the least weak. The figure sug-

hand, the designer has some intentions,

gests that the sharpest contrast is between

and, on the other hand, the recipient has

the kidney-shape and the star.

55

Carolin Oelsner and Julia Laub conducted a research at the Hochschule für Gestaltung Schwabisch Gmund, and pointed out the effects the force and the activity of certain forms have on the viewer.

Let’s sum it up

will be easier if you know what messages

In visual branding, it is best if there is a

the specific building blocks convey. I hope

concept behind every detail and every

this chapter was helpful.

graphic solution. If you have a concept,

As they have a great effect on forms, I’ll

if you know what your goal is and what

discuss colours in a later section.

you want to say, you can find the suitable graphic tools and building blocks for it. It

56