Defining & Developing Touchpoints

Clearly state the touchpoints your brand will focus on and articulate the goals for each touchpoint including specifics on quantity, size specs, etc. As you develop your touchpoints, make sure to analyze whether your touchpoint is "on-brand" with your identity system or not. Ask yourself, is it consistent? Are the elements of the design part of the identity? Are they used correctly? What components are fixed and/or flexible? Be critical of your own work in order to justify your solutions?

Also, think about how your touchpoints all work as a system. Does one touchpoint direct or drive to another. What is the product lifecycle? user experience? Big picture, does everything "make sense" as a collection? For your final presentation, you will be asked to discuss how your work is sustainable--economically, environmentally, and socially.

Post images to show your development.

Marrow

Bone marrow is the integrity of the immune system. It provides us the ability to behave and interact with confidence. Maroon is the color of marrow doing it’s job, healthy blood. Through phones, Marrow strengthens the users internally; it empowers them to behave and interact with as much knowledge as is available. The shape began as a square, but despite standing for equality, it lacked a softness that implies help in a way that Planned Parenthood does and EBT doesn’t. Circles also imply equality, but they lack a certain purposefulness - they also symbolize an unending cycle. Marrow has a point. 

Marrow aims to occupy a place both in direct outreach and policy change. Galano is a friendly typeface, but in the right context, can be both attention grabbing and corporate. Aller is readable in all it’s variations but maintains personality. Safety, health, and education are the primary concerns; avoiding cliche colors was of high importance, but picking colors with meaning and that would look nice in many different shades as new apps under each umbrella are developed. Green is the color of the environment, which is what the apps in this category aim to protect from. Yellow and orange are both the color of a lightbulb going on and the color required for a good harvest. Blue is the color of intelligence. 

I knew I wanted a logo shape that could be used as a module to develop app logos. Initially I tried pictograms out of the logo, as well as a series of typographic icons. 

Logos:

Color, Type, & Photos:

Icons and Service Map:

Identity Template:

Identity Design Critique

It is time to propose your design concept for your brand. Contextualize your work by discussing your brand’s values and beliefs and how these translate to identity. Be prepared to make an argument. You are trying to sell me (and your classmates) this design as if I am a rep from your company. If I can't understand how the identity represents the brand clearly, I will not buy-in to your design. 

Prepare a clear and concise 2-minute statement. Post narrative to the blog.

Create primary logotypes/lockups (inverted versions plus secondary logos) plus supporting secondary graphic elements/marks/icons, color palettes in different color modes (gradients, patterns, textures, materials), typography families for display/text/print/web, iconography families/illustrations, lifestyle/product photography, copywriting that all represent the brand image. Be meticulous. Craft counts. Presentation counts. Don't defend poor work. 

Visualize your design concept in two ways: 
1. Spreads that show each component of the identity system uniquely (focus on the "dos").
2. Spreads that show how all the components work together as integrated system across print, web, environment (use presentation templates)? How are elements fixed and flexible? Begin to mix and match the system, discovering infinite executions.

Post spreads to the blog.

Identity Design Analysis

In addition to your brand research, designers must also look at best practices of creative work that has proved to be successful for its client. These examples shed light on how 'brand' culture can successfully translate into creative. What are the design principles for the identity system and how does it relate successfully to the 'brand' culture?

Discover one [01] well-designed identity system that does an exceptional job visualizing the culture of its 'brand'. Include an analysis examining why the identity expresses the culture successfully. Include the agency who designed the identity, imagery of the identity system and a link to the source of your information.

Each student must choose a unique example.

First post, first serve.

Getting to Know Your Brand

Introduce us to your brand and its culture. What is the mission and purpose of your brand? What do they do? What are the core values? Identify aspirations/goals for your brand.

For those that have framed your projects as rebrands, you will need to pay close attention to the history and values already intact, thinking about goals for how to move forward in a meaningful way. For those that have framed your projects as a new brand, you will need to pay close attention to articulating a clear vision and purpose, distinct from those that already exist. Both project-types present different challenges.

Post a clear, descriptive narrative of your brand mission and culture. Include core values. Begin to identify descriptions of your design principles that will begin to bridge the gap between research phases and identity development phases.

Post your brand culture mood board as image reference.

Researching Market Space and Stakeholders

Developing your research is a key component to conceptualizing and implementing a successful graphic design project in the design field and mapping is an essential technique for disseminating research findings to find viable opportunities for problem-solving.

Now that you have identified your brand in need of an identity design, begin to dig into the research investigation more intensely. Begin by identifying and defining 3-5 major competitors of your brand and 3-5 major stakeholders most influenced by your brand redesign. Look at as many characteristics of each competitor and stakeholder as possible to compare and contrast strategies, demographics, methods, tools and tactics.

Post your initial research findings to the blog and create two analysis maps: 1. Examining how your brand will compete with existing market space and 2. Examining how your solution may benefit all stakeholders, and particularly, your primary user identified in POV.

Constructing a good Problem Statement or Point of View (POV)

Each student will identify a brand in need of a new or revised identity design (real-world rebrand project or hypothetical new brand) and expanded touchpoints. A "brand" may be a company, start-up, mom and pop shop, mid-sized, corporate, organization, profit or non-profit, event, program, service, among other things. Do the appropriate research to ensure that you choose a brand that firstly, needs design work and secondly, will inspire work for the entire semester.

Each student will be challenged with writing a proposal in order to persuade the approval of your project. All projects must be approved prior to continuation. One component of a good proposal is writing a clear, concise problem statement or point of view.

A problem statement or point of view is a positioning statement that helps you, the designer, stay true to the core essentials and needs of said project. A good statement will include a descriptive understanding of who the main user is (with the most tension or pain), the defined need of that user, and the rationale of why this need is not currently accommodated in the existing marketplace or other.

Use the template below to construct your unique POV.

A/ The ___________________[user]______________________________________________needs a way to __________________[define user need]________________________________________ because (or but… or surpringly…) _______[rationale]_________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________.

Post your POV to the blog.

Brand Guidelines & Rules of Management

Brand Guidelines are a living and breathing design artifact with the purpose of establishing brand core values, brand identity and brand usage standards and guidelines. Defined as a comprehensive standards manual, it is a tool used to manage all brand assets in all of its potential forms. “Creating the brand identity is easy; managing the brand assets well is harder” (Wheeler 2009, 172).

In addition to presenting the guidelines you have studied, think about how your brand solves complex management issues of fixed and flexible components of the identity. A good fixed and flexible system can ensure that the brand is consistent, recognizable and memorable but also interesting, creative and spontaneous as it is applied across infinite possible touchpoints, and engages with shifting trends and technology. Include your own analysis of the identity system, including identifying gaps and/or highlighting strong points.

Create a video of your final presentation that can live online self-sufficiently. Include voice over of your script and automate slide transitions. Post your final .mov file to the blog. No written statement is required.

Defining Core Values: Personal Branding

Brand core values are a helpful tool for articulating the culture – the intangible stuff of a company, service, campaign, or person. The anatomy of core values typically includes a descriptive word or phrase to identify the value and a description to define the value in detail. Some companies identify 3-4 values to describe their brand culture. Others identify many. You should include as few or as many as necessary to describe your personal brand culture. However, it is important that the combination of your core values paints a clear picture of you and the perception of you that you wish to convey. 

Finalize your core value terms and definitions. Post them to the blog. Include a link to your portfolio page. Include an overview spread of your personal branding.