Creative Brand Strategy- Task 2: Ideation and Design Direction

on
13/9/2023- 27/9/2023 / Week 3 - Week 5
Chuah Kwai Pin / 0348376
Creative Brand Strategy / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in
Creative Media / Taylor's University 
Task 2: Ideation and Design Direction 

LECTURES

All lectures have been completed in Task 1: Case Study and Campaign Proposal
INSTRUCTIONS



TASKS

Task 2: Ideation and Design Direction 

After doing our campaign proposal in Task 1, we then move on to Task 2 where we think of the Ideas and Design Direction. From the Customer Journey Map that I have planned in Task 1B, I then listed down the touchpoints that I will be designing for my campaign.

Fig. 1.1 Customer Journey Map

Fig. 1.2 Task 2- Google Docs

After listing down the touchpoints, I then went onto Pinterest to search for my references for the websites, social media, promotional videos, etc. At first, I browsed through the typical posters and designs that we normally see during carnivals. However, as I kept scrolling, I realised that it would be too generic and predictable if I were to create similar designs like that. It would also not make my campaign stand out because it would look like another poster to promote the carnival.

Fig. 1.2 First Pinterest Board

I then looked into other approaches and found this poster that looked very dynamic even though it is constructed mainly of geometric shapes. As I look back at my brand values which include mystery, diversity, and harmony, I notice that these geometric shapes reflect diversity and harmony. Not only are the shapes different in size, they are also different in colors, yet they fit and work nicely when put together. Hence, I wanted to go forth with the concept of using shapes to design my touchpoints.

Fig. 1.3 Geometric shapes and patterns
Fig. 1.4 Week 4 Progression- Slides PDF

After Week 4 feedback session:

During our group consultation today, I received a lot of good points and ideas from both my lecturer and my peers. One of the main things that I had to change was my campaign name, as it sounded more like a tagline and I had to include Venice in the name as well. At first, I thought of The Colours of Venice, but that would be too vague as it would involve other cultural aspects of Venice as well, besides the Carnival. As I went home and thought about it, I looked back at my brand values and I was wondering if I could find any suitable words that would describe mystery, anonymity, and hidden beauty altogether as it would fit in with my campaign.

After going through a list of synonyms, the one that stood out to me was 'Veiled Venice' as the word 'veil' means to not express or show directly, which fits well with the concept of anonymity and mystery.

Other than that, I made further refinements, added my typography choices and added more descriptions for each of my references to explain what I am extracting from them.

Fig. 1.5 Week 5 Progression- Slides PDF

After Week 5 feedback session:

During our individual consultation today, we were required to show our Design Direction. I came up with a new logo style reference as my previous idea blended too much into my overall design. The logo style that I was going for is to be simple and as less complex as possible so that it can stand out from the busy and colourful backgrounds of my touchpoint designs. Besides that, I was torn between the typography choices as I was not sure whether to go for something simple or a font that has a lot of personality. After discussion, I was advised to go for the type that has more fun and carnival feel, and for the body text, I could look for something that might show a bit of diversity or mystery. For the next few days, I kept refining my work and finding suitable references for my campaign and added more descriptions to justify my ideas and directions.

FINAL OUTCOMES
Fig. 1.6 Final Task 2: Ideation and Design- Slides View

Fig. 1.7 Final Task 2: Ideation and Design- Slides PDF

FEEDBACK

Week 4
Put in the pages or content you want in websites and social media feeds. Add notes to justify the designs you choose.  Have a breakdown of the touchpoints. A social media feed requires 9 posts. Need to put Venice into the campaign name, for example: The Colours of Venice: The Beauty of Anonymity. Think about the campaign name again. Need variations in social media, and more photography as it is currently too boring. Logo style needs to be different from the geometric shape Geometric shape needs to be toned down, and not the main element, use it decoratively. For the promotional videos, screen grab and add notes on what we are focusing on. Allow more freedom and organicness in the shapes. Combine the shapes to make them less stiff, and create combinations that are vibrant that can represent diversity. Maybe the geometric shapes form a mask or faces.

Week 5
Think about the Brand Values again as they are slightly contradicting. From the moodboard, go towards styles that include photography mixed with geometric elements. The logo style suits the brand campaign name and it gives a good contrast from the visual style. For the typography, try to go towards the more fun and characterised type instead of the simple ones. For the Graphic Elements, can try to look for more elements that are less solid. Try to combine and overlap the elements to create better organicness. The brand voice suits the campaign, compare them with the brand values and see where can be changed or improved.


REFLECTION

Experience
While working on this task, I found myself endlessly scrolling on Pinterest to look for references that would work well with my campaign. Since carnivals have quite a strong and distinct design style, I wanted to try and avoid making my campaign designs too similar to what we already see online. My biggest concern was being too focused on the carnival that it seemed like I was promoting the carnival instead of doing city branding. After careful consideration of my design direction, I think I managed to come up with ideas and visual styles that would suit my campaign well.

Observations
While finding references for my logo style, I observed that it is not necessary to have my logos in a similar style to my overall design. As my design concept and visual style play a lot with vibrant colours and patterns, having the same concept for my logo style would only make it look less obvious. Rather than having a complicated logo, a good contrast against the busy and colourful background would be a simple and direct logo that represents the campaign.

Findings
I sometimes find it difficult to look for the most suitable typeface for my brand campaign. For this task, I spent a couple of hours just scrolling through Google Fonts and Font Share to look for fonts that would suit my campaign. It was a challenge trying to look for the body text font, but in the end, I settled with a font that is sans serif, but looks a little serif. The reason behind it was that the font shows a bit of ambiguity, which I felt would suit the values of my brand campaign.

FURTHER READING

As I was thinking of the Brand Voice / Personality, I wanted to understand the term a little more so I could get a better grasp on how to write one for my campaign. I went online to read an article about what Brand Voice is and how to create one. 

Fig. 1.8 Brand Voice- Article

What is a brand's voice?
  • A unique way that the brand presents to the world. 
  • Must be consistent and should not change through all the communications
  • Customers would continue to know and remain loyal to your company's personality
Brand Voice vs. Brand Tone
  • Brand Voice: Company Personality
  • Brand Tone: Emotional response toward your brand voice
Tips to create a strong Brand Voice:
  • Align with company's mission statement and core values
  • Be authentic
  • Identify your target audience
  • Survey your target audience
  • Create buyer personas
References:

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