Week 5

Consider the different steps in the work process and answer the following questions in writing:

Conduct research
Write down different means of conducting research (what do you think can be done to collect information and get consumers’ perspective on a proposed idea?)

The type of research will depend on the product and the budget. It is vital to understand the organization: its mission, vision, target markets, corporate culture, competitive advantage, strengths and weaknesses, marketing strategies, and challenges for the future.

The first step would be to ask the client for any relevant document or information about the business. Then, interview key people, preferrably face-to-face to get insight into the voice, cadence, and personality of the organization.

To understand the brand from a customer’s perspective, it’s important to study the target market and their experience with the brand. We can do this with one-on-one customer interviews, online surveys, trained mystery shoppers or usability and product testing.

When working with an existing brand, identifying what has worked and what has been successful or even dysfunctional provides valuable learning in the creation of a new identity. For that, we need to first gather all materials that show the history of the organization like marks, logotypes, colour, imagery, typography, look and feel.

Last but not least, we should examine the competition, their key messages and their identity in the marketplace. Besides gathering information on the internet, it’s a good idea to experience the competition: navigate their websites, visit shops and offices, purchase and use their products/services, etc.

Clarify the strategy
What do you think should be included in a creative brief (as a designer, what would you consider vital information in such a brief?)

Once we have gathered enough information from the reaseach stage, the next step is to interpret this data. All of the learnings from the research and audits are distilled into a unifying idea and a positioning strategy. Agreement is solidified about target markets, competitive advantage, brand core values, brand attributes, and project goals. More often than not, the definitions of the problem and its challenges have evolved. It is important to put the findings along with the decisions made in writing, so we can refer back to it and use it to back our thoughts when communicating with clients.

The creative brief should include the brand’s description, project context and background, define the target market, explain the objectives and outline the deliverables, identify the competition, detail the tone, message and style, specify the budget and list the key stakeholders.

Design the identity
How would you approach the findings from the research and the clarified strategy (what would your first steps be once you’ve received feedback and a brief?)

After reserach and brief are in place, we can move on to visualisation and start developing the brand identity in its visual form. I would begin by finding inspiration and creating a moodboard. I’d start brainstorming and sketching ideas on paper. It’s important to test different colours, typefaces, layout and patterns during the design process. It’s also important to test the viability of concepts and make a presentation to show the client how the product would look like and how it would be perceive by the end customer.

Create touchpoints
What do you think is meant by touchpoints (what, do you think, should be included in the term “touchpoints”? how would you define this term?) Hint: Keep in mind that touchpoints are those things that connect customers to your brand.

Touchpoints are those areas and moments that the consumer comes in contact with the service or product or company itself. Examples of touchpoints are: business cards, letterhead, brochure, website, favicon, signage, packaging, poster, advertisment, interaction with an employee, etc.

Manage the assets
How would you nurture and grow the brand that you’ve created (you may choose an existing brand or product and describe this according to your chosen item, if that will make it easier for you to explain your ideas)?

To keep the brand alive, we could: conduct an internal launch, communicate with employees about the new brand identity, create standards and guidelines to ensure that all future applications adhere to the intention of the program, launch the new brand identity externally to key stakeholders, create accountability, identify those people who champion the brand and develop a checks-and-balances method to audit progress.

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Sources:

Designing Brand Identity, A. Wheeler.

Upwork, “10 Key Elements of a Successful Creative Brief”: https://www.upwork.com/resources/how-to-create-successful-creative-brief