Following excerpt from: More Than A Name: An Introduction to Branding by Melissa Davis (in our library)

Graphic designers [and the larger public still] often view […] branding as logo creation, starting and ending with the brand mark, yet the graphic designer’s role is much more extensive and requires knowledge beyond that of how to make an attractive identity. Branding is about understanding the brand values and positioning, and developing an expression across the various media. Failure to understand this role will ultimately under[mine] the brand. A good brand will tell a good story about the product or service and the organization behind it, and the designer is part of the [authoring and] translation process.

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The graphic designer invites people to re-examine their perceptions, to encapsulate a direction and create a [meaningful] connection between the brand and its audience. […] Empathetic brand expression can encourage success, adventure, exploration and risk-taking in small ways (like changing one brand of computer to another, unfamiliar one), to major life-changing events (like charity engagement) [think Red Cross ]. Good design will integrate what the brand says and does, and it requires creative involvement in the brand development process from the outset to completion. […] The aim is to encourage an integrated brand development process that results in a strong creative execution relevant to the brand audience. The role of graphic design is changing as the brand environment changes. Brands are constantly seeking new ways of expressing ideas and communicating with audiences; they are continually seeking new and creative ways of promoting themselves to stand out from the rest. This has extended the role of the graphic designer into new areas of brand expression — to bring the brand to life through brand experiences […], and then move beyond the experience by creating [meaningful] connections.

The role of design in branding has also become more influential with a shift from a product-driven to an experience-led approach. The remit of the graphic designer is broader, because the expression of the brand experience can now be so broad. The graphic designer may play a much more influential role at the outset of projects offering ideas and knowledge of the practical brand application.

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The graphic designer may be involved in designing retail spaces, services for brands, or new ways of interacting with different forms of media. The graphic designer may be part of a much wider team that feeds into the brand creation process to develop new ways of experiencing a brand: the designer may work with anthropologists and psychologists to analyze people’s behavior; with architects or interior designers to create spaces; with technology specialists in presentation or with writers to develop the narrative behind the brand. This progression means that graphic designers and creative directors can play much more pivotal roles within creative agencies and within companies [and institutions].

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The shift in branding is being driven by the brand’s audience: our expectation of brands is becoming more sophisticated, more informed and more discerning and brands need to stand out to win our attention. We expect more from brands and are influenced by changes in society, like globalization, travel, media proliferation and coverage of brands, and wider and greater individual spending [or political] power. […]

Brands, which have so often communicated to, rather than with, us are now seeking a ‘dialogue’ with their audiences. This dialogue involves an open communication with representatives of groups that the brands affect; community leaders, NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and employees, for example. It may be extended to consumers [or citizens] participating in the brand creation process (for example, by voting for [or shaping/co-creating] brands). This approach helps the brand manage its relevance, reputation and consumer [or citizen] perceptions [or opinions], and gives the audience an opportunity to express their views. It is within this emerging brand environment that the contemporary designer is working.

As brands try to stand out by being more creative, and seek to level with their audiences, the make-up of the teams managing brands is likely to change. […] Often branding is under-represented at the board level of companies [or institutions], yet it is as important to the survival of a company [or institution] as product [or service] development, the financials, and its people. Every part of a marketing communications mix impacts the brand: advertising, design, market research, public relations, investor [or stakeholder] relations and social responsibility. Brand creates value within a company [or institution] and, to make it work, the branding remit needs to be acknowledged and driven from the top of the company [or institution], with the processes and structures in place to sustain the brand. […] It makes sense that people who come from a creative background, such as design, should represent the brand view at the upper structures within companies [or institutions]. This offers huge opportunities for the graphic designer if they are proactive.

As branding has evolved as a discipline, so it has developed its own language. Branding is a melding of marketing [and/or public relations] and design, and this crossover between business [and/or public discourse] and creative has generated its own lexicon. The brand language makes concepts easier to explain and is a way of bridging the gap between business expression and creative description in order to describe both the process and the inputs to that process. The language of branding aims to make sense of complex ideas, such as the notion of ‘experiencing the brand’. A designer at ease with the language of branding can visually express brand concepts and ideas. The challenge for the graphic designer who wishes to play a more significant role in the branding process, is to see and understand the whole picture: the business [social and political] aspects of the brand, trends in branding, the way brands function, the corporate [or institutional] objectives and the relationship between the designer and the brand owner [other stakeholders, and, ultimately, audiences and users]. With this fuller picture, the designer is able to challenge branding assumptions and influence the higher levels of the organization. Designers are an urgent and energetic force in brand development, crafting the interface between the brand and the consumer [and/or citizen] into an effective communication vehicle.

Final excerpt from: Experience Design Glossary by Ralph Ardil, Design Council “About Design” series (see http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/)

Brand — A unique and identifiable symbol, association, name or trademark which seeks to differentiate competing products or services. The brand gives rise to expectations in the consumer of the experience they will have of the product or service.

Brand architecture — The overall relationship between corporate brands, product brands, sub-brands or complementary brands.

Brand associations — The feelings, beliefs and knowledge that customers have about brands. These associations are derived as a result of experiences and must be consistent with the brand essence, values and positioning.

Brand attributes — Functional or emotional associations that are assigned to a brand by its customers and prospective customers. Brand attributes can be either negative or positive and have varying degrees of relevance and importance to different customer segments.

Brand awareness — A common measure of the effectiveness of marketing communications. Unaided awareness is spontaneous; aided or prompted awareness is when a name is recognized among others that are listed or identified.

Brand character — The character of a brand is the answer to the question: ‘What would your brand behave like if it were a person?’ Character definitions usually revolve around personality traits — for example, outgoing or shy, curious or complacent, easy-going or irritable.

Brand commitment — The degree to which a customer is committed to a given brand in that they are likely to repurchase or reuse in the future.

Brand DNA — A term often used to refer to the collective and fundamental components of a brand — such as attributes, character, benefits, differentiation and credibility.

Brand essence — The core characteristic that defines a brand. The brand’s promise expressed in the simplest, most single-minded terms. The most powerful brand essences are rooted in fundamental customer needs. Brand essence is really about the primary customer experience and should be a resonant organizing principle for a brand, not just a set of buzzwords or slogans.

Brand experience — The means by which a brand is created in the mind of a stakeholder. Some experiences such as retail environments, advertising, products/services, websites, etc are easily controlled by the business. Some, like journalistic comment and word of mouth, are less easily controlled.

Brand identity — A brand’s unique system of iconography, images, messages or symbols that convey its essence. Not to be confused with the brand itself. Identity is to a brand like clothes are to the man – you can change your suit, but it’s a lot harder to change your personality.

Brand image — A unique set of impressions that represent what the brand stands for. For brand ‘users’ this is based on personal experience of the product or service concerned (informed impressions) and how well this meets expectations; for ‘non-users’ it is based almost entirely upon uninformed impressions, attitudes and beliefs.

Brand personality — Brand image or identity expressed in terms of human characteristics. It is the attribution of human personality traits (seriousness, warmth, humor, imagination) to a brand as a way to achieve differentiation.

Brand pollution — A term often applied to the general ‘noise’ and ‘clutter’ created by intrusive, uninvited and unappreciated marketing communication activity.

Brand positioning — The ‘space’ a brand is perceived to occupy in the hearts and minds of consumers. It is the distinctive position that a brand adopts in its competitive environment so that its target market can tell it apart from others. Positioning involves the careful manipulation of every element of the marketing mix.

Brand relevance — Degree to which a brand has meaning to its customers.

Brand resonance — The quality of a brand that makes it more relevant to customers. Resonance relies on the ability of the brand to connect with our deeply held, fundamental human beliefs and our search for meaningful experiences.

Brandscape — The total experiential reach and engagement of a brand. A term that encompasses all those who touch and interact with the brand including customers, suppliers, employees, competitors, re-sellers, distributors, partners, etc.

Brand strategy — The plan to build a brand that delivers against a clear set of business objectives which can be evaluated by clearly defined results and metrics.

Experience economy — The creation of brand experience strategies that engage customers in an inherently personal way — using goods as props, and services as the stage.

Experience design — A holistic, multi-disciplinary and multi-sensory way of bringing to life the essence of a brand, product or service.

Internal branding — The role of employees in brand definition and promotion. It is the practice of linking corporate brand to culture and values, thereby creating a platform from which to communicate to employees the brand vision and mission. Internal branding helps improve credibility and strengthens the bonds of trust between leaders and employees.

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