talking the talk: what the f*** is branding
The other day I held a talk about branding in front of 50 people. I got invited by design austria to speak about "the duty of a designer and the extra he/she can bring to the table". I called it "what the f*** is branding". Although I had held a lot of talks before, I created a completely new presentation from scratch since I wanted to go deeper and beyond the portfolio show.
So I included all my true beliefs into a presentation that started theoretically and moved on to practical behind the scene insights.
What I figured, whilst making the presentation, is that I have established a very precise view on branding. That is why I want to share some parts of the presentation.
1. The definition of branding is always super vague and comes down to its interpretation. The one I find to be very true is the one from Jerry McLaughlin:
“a brand is the perception someone
holds in their head about you, a product,
a service, an organization, a cause, or an idea.
brand building is the deliberate and skillful application
of effort to create a desired perception
in someone else’s mind.”
I think this describes the opportunity and the effect as well as the profession and the beliefs that should lie behind every brand design.
2. I truly believe that design can only build on great ideas and concepts and that it is never "only about visual stimulation" I think branding is strategy made visible and it all comes down to understanding the company, it's story and beliefs and true identity as well as knowing exactly with whom the company wants to connect. everything in between is branding.
3. This then leads to the fact that you need clear positioning an opinion on who you are as a brand. You need to have your core set up to let this idea bleed into every segment of your brand and company. This diagram comes from the great master of branding Wally Olins
My personal experience has shown that a lot of research and positioning work has to be done before the design phase even starts. that is why I hardly had any client without positioning workshop and brand DNA work before the design process in years.
4. I have established a simple process to follow for myself that pretty much checks all the boxes (for me).
The hard thing about talks is that you never can be 100% certain what the audiences knowledge is and what to build upon. The beautiful thing is the amazing people you meet there and what connnections in mindset and beliefs can be establisehd.