Skip to main content

Brand Corporate Identity: Task 1

5th April - 19th April 2023 / Week 1 - 3
Alana Sofia Othman / 0353451 / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Brand Corporate Identity
Task 1
LECTURES
Lecture Video 1
Introduction
Brand Corporate Identity
An integral part of graphic design as it focuses on the visual integrity of a brand. It about designing an identity and plays an important role in society, business and marketing. It represents a larger entity that has the opportunity to grow into a multinational company.

A symbol is a mark, sign or word that indicates, signifies or is understood as representing an idea, object or relationship. It then goes on to become a brand identity.

Lecture Video 2
Brand
What Is A Brand
- Derives from the Old Norse word 'brandr' which means to burn
- The word then referred to the practise of branding of livestock or of slaves
- Now, encompasses more than just visual identity or "slapping a logo onto something"
- "A brand is not what you say it is, it is what they say it is". It is about the mental construct society associates you with
- Essentially it is about taking ownership of what your company values & represents, of your property/products, etc.
- It is the perception society holds of you

Brand Identity
- Its a gut feeling. The image or messaging associated with the product, organisation, person, etc.
- About visual identity which helps to manage the message or image (the associated gut feeling)
- The collection of all elements that a company creates to portray the right image to its consumers
- It is different from Brand Image and Branding
- Refers to the marketing practise of actively shaping a distinctive brand
- It is the act and process of shaping a brand

Branding
- Gives meaning to an organisation, company, etc. by actively shaping a brand in consumers minds
- A strategy designed by organisations to help people to quickly identify and experience their brand
- Gives consumers a reason to choose their products over others
- The process of hijacking and shaping an image in the consumer minds
- Creates an indelible and distinct mark and association
- Can be achieved through:
    - Brand Definition: purpose, values, promise
    - Brand Positioning Statement: what your brand does, targets and the benefits offered, a statement
    - Brand Identity: name, tone of voice, visual identity design (logo, colours, typography, etc.)
    - Advertising and Communications: TV, radio, website, outdoor ads, mobile apps, etc.
    - Product Design: the look and feel of your products
    - Sponsors and Partnerships: who you want to represent you or collaborate with
    - In-store Experience and Customer Service: how you treat customers, the look & feel of the store
    - Workspace Experience and Management Style
    - Pricing Strategy
- Benefits of branding:
    - Helps you stand out in a saturated market
    - Gives you credebility
    - With a clear brand, you can charge what you're worth
    - Leads to customer loyalty and referrals
    - Shows consistency
    - Attract your ideal target market
    - Saves you money and time
    - Gives you confidence in your business
    - Established branding makes it easier to introduce new products/services
    - Clear strategy to move forward

Designer's Role In Branding
- Important role in the creation of a brand
- Collaborates to give voice and form to the brand
- Creates the face of the brand with a visual identity and brand guideline/programme
- Give form to the content, strategy and messaging
- Help to level up the brand and allow it to grow through finding what makes them different/better

INSTRUCTIONS
Task 1: Breaking Brand
Research
Attachment 1.1. 7 Eleven Brand Analysis Research

Gina, Sarah and I formed a team and chose 7 Eleven as our brand to dissect. We came to that choice from Gina spit balling brands off the top of her head. 7 Eleven was a brand all 3 of us liked and is big enough to find a lot of information online. We split the work and did our own research while at times helping each other out with certain information that could correlate.

Final Submission
Attachment 2.1. 7 Eleven Brand Analysis Final Submission

Once research was done, we started transferring the information into our individual slides. There were certain parts that either were not complete or the information found did not answer the title header. So, I added some of my own research into the slides.

FEEDBACK
Week 4
7 Eleven Brand Analysis Research
- Expanded brand profile is lacking
- Brand communication strategy could expand more
- Competitive differentiation should be more detailed

7 Eleven Brand Analysis Slides
- Summarised well but need to paraphrase more
- Should add more visuals (logos, poster ads, etc.)
- Brand Voice and Communication Strategy should have more visuals

REFLECTIONS
Experience
I did not think that transferring the information from the Google docs into the slides would be so tiring and time consuming. It ended up taking a long time as I had to read, comprehend, transfer, paraphrase and organise all the information nicely. Working in a group for this task did make it much easier as we split the work. There was not much else to the group dynamic as we just worked on our own parts.
Observations
I have always found brand research to be interesting as I enjoy finding out more about a brand and how they work. Choosing 7 Eleven, a quite simple and commonly found store found in Malaysia, ended up being quite interesting to learn about. Among the interesting fun facts I learnt, one was that 7 Eleven was the first ever convenience store to exist.
Findings
I learnt that brand research can be very extensive and tiresome. There was a lot that went into this brand analysis than the research for other brands that I have done before. For example, it was interesting to discover that as a designer, we should consider the benefits the brand offers to its employees and consumers. This assignment was a good reminder that as a designer, we need to know the ins and outs of what we are designing or who we are designing for.

FURTHER READING
D’Angelo, C. (2022) How to Define Your Core Brand Values (With Examples) [Online] Brandfolder. Available at: https://brandfolder.com/resources/core-brand-values-examples/ 

Koptelova, E. (2023) What Is Communication Strategy and 5 Steps to Create It (+Template) [Online] Haiilo. Available at:https://haiilo.com/blog/communication-strategy/

Qualtrics (n.d.) What Is Brand Value and How Can You Measure and Improve It? [Online] Available at: https://www.qualtrics.com/experience-management/brand/value/

Comments