BRANDING CHECKLIST FOR CHALLENGING COMPANIES

VERA ANTEBI

Thesis 1Fall 11Parsons The New School for DesignProfessor: Jane Pirone

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PERSONAL MANIFESTOABOUT ME

PHASE 1: FORMING THE TOPICPROBLEM & STATEMENTMETHODOLOGYRESEARCH5 X 5PRECEDENTSFEEDBACK & CRITICISM

PHASE 2: DEFINING THE TOPICTHE SCOPE OF MY THESIS PROJECTAUDIENCEABOUT: BRANDING CHECKLIST FOR CHALLENGING COMPANIESRESEARCH OF THE SECTIONS & OUTLINE DEVELOPMENTOUTLINE DEVELOPMENT FEEDBACKPROTOTYPE 1PROTOTYPE 2PROTOTYPE 3WORK TIMELINE

PHASE 3: MAKING THE PROJECTDESIGN BRIEFBRANDING CHECKLIST FOR CHALLENGING COMPANIES

PERSONAL MANIFESTO

1.Love what you do in life. If you hate it don’t do it. Loving what you do is the only way you can fully appreciate life. 2.Try new things. Don’t be scared of experiencing new places, feelings and tastes. 3.If you’re lost, sketch without thinking. Sometimes the inspira-tion or the idea you’re searching is already in your sketchbook. 4.Value feedback. Don’t get angry from a negative feedback. Appreciate all kinds of comments and eventually apply what is logical to you. 5.Intern in as many places as you can, because every intern-ship is a different experience. Get as much experience as you can until you find the right job for you. 6.Be open-minded. Don’t get stuck just with the things that belong to your own area. Learn not just typography, because you are a graphic designer. Get inspired from fashion, indus-trial design, art history, nature and all other things.7.Think positive. Always see the bright side and believe that something great always comes out of something bad. 8.Don’t get frustrated. Try not to have a mental breakdown when something goes bad. Be aware that it’s only going to make everything worse.9.Be responsible. Don’t let your designs to harm people or the environment. Contribute rather than destroying. 10.Don’t miss the deadlines. If you make promises keep them. Only that way you can win people’s trust. 11.Be honest. Just don’t lie.12.Love your computer, because great things come out of it!13.Go to museums. See what people have done in the past and doing now. Try to understand why they are successful and get inspired. 14.Follow blogs and news. Be aware of the things happening around you.15.Get enough sleep. Energy fuels creativity.16.Go to yoga. Open up your mind and relax.17.Make some time for yourself. 18.Make the most of NYC. Nobody knows where you’ll end up in the future. Get inspired and have fun!19.Graduate.20.Think/Learn/Inspire.

21. Keep designing…

ABOUT ME

I am a graphic designer with a passion for creating identities.Right: Mark and marketting poster for Modulightor, designed by Vera Antebi, Corporate ID 2010.

ILLUMINATE

II

II

MODULIGHTORII

com Customized Modern Lighting

246 East 58th Street, New York NY 10022

PHASE 1: FORMING THE TOPIC

PROBLEM & STATEMENT

PROBLEMI have witnessed businesses going down because of their poor branding I have also witnessed the rise of designs/designers/companies because of successful branding.This is the major problem that exists in the environment, which I would like to investigate.

I am studying the importance of branding to a company, because I want to find out in what extent does it contribute to a companies’ success.

POSSIBLE PROJECT TOPICRe-branding my family company.

METHODOLOGY

FORMING QUESTIONSWhat is a brand image?What are the components of branding?What are some successful brands and how does their bradings look like?How does branding affect sales and circulation?How can a logo be successful?What is the process of creating a successful brand identity?

RESEARCH / DOCUMENTATIONLibrary/blogs/websites/articles...

EXPERIMENTATIONSurveysStudying methodologies of precedentsExperiencing branding in daily lifeThinking the opposite (Anti-thesis)

RESEARCH

WHY BRANDING IS SO IMPORTANT?The situation of the market allows us to witness the endless launch of new businesses, products and ideas. This condition makes it very hard to be distinct and differ from others and highlights the importance of branding.

“A logo can form who you are, and what you’ll do for the customer.” –Froment (BrandEquity)

“Manufacturers tend to think that the best marketing is simply producing a great product, that’s not wrong, but it’s all worthless if no one knows who you are.” –Froment

“The logo can be your company’s hardest–working employee.” –Selame (BrandEquity)

Raz, Tahl. “Not Just a Pretty Typeface”

WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF POWERFUL BRANDING / LOGO?1.Be simple2.Leave it open3.Be relentlessly consistent4.Don’t be embarrassed about design5.GET GOOD ADVICEBierut, Michael (Pentagram)

UncomplicatedPracticalRecognizableOriginalInoffensiveApplicable to other formsRaz, Tahl. “Not Just a Pretty Typeface”

ConsistencyKeeping up with time and changes Naddaff, Andrea. “Branding by Design”

LOGOS: WHERE NEXT?In an article for design week Simon Manchipp stated that the “logo was dead.” This short article takes his claim as its subject and creates a discussion about the necessity of a logo.Manchipp argues that in today’s “brand world” it is possible to understand the brand even though the logo is removed.

Marina Willer agrees with Manchipp:There was an era “when logos really mattered. But, I don’t think they matter as much now. A mark on its own does very little for an organization now, there are so many other areas that are important.”

Willer gives Google as an example to support her claim:Google is an extremely successful brand, which does not own a strong logo. “What people say about you matters more than what you look like.”

Angus Hyland:Apple is known for having a significant mark and it has been used boldly on every product they produce. “You still need that mark, that stamp of authority -- the rest is about context.”

“Logos: Where next?.” Creative Review (April 2011): 52. OmniFile Full Text Mega, Wilson-

Web (accessed October 6, 2011).

FISHER PRICE PLAYS LAUGHS AND GROWS INTO A GLOBAL BRANDThis article is about the history of the toy company Fisher-Price and its development. The company has started by making toys for toddlers and not so long after has become a globally known brand. Brand’s advertising and marketing strategies as well as other elements are highlighted as keys to the company’s suc-cess.

Marketing & advertising strategy: “emphasis on the educational value and quality construction of its toys.”

Taglines:90’s– Our work is child’s play” late 90’s– “It’s a great age for Fisher-Price”current– “Play. Laugh. Grow.”Target audience:Their TV commercial which showcases the tagline “The Price Is Right” is created to attract attention of their target audience; housewives.

Observing the audience: “Play Laboratory”, which offered a playing space for children with the employees, was built in 1961 to observe children be-haviors. Fisher-Price also constantly surveys parents.

Being open to change:Fisher Price has realized the importance of digital media and has created a dynamic facebook app as well as an iphone app. “As moms have changed, and media consumption has changed, so have we.” –Ms. Mancuso

Bulik, Beth Snyder. 2010. “FISHER-PRICE PLAYS, LAUGHS AND GROWS INTO GLOBAL

BRAND.” Advertising Age 81, no. 13: 14. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed

October 6, 2011).

BRANDING BY DESIGNHOW NONPROFITS CAN FIGHT FOR DOLLARS WITH A STRONG VISUAL PRESENCE?The article provides information about branding being the es-sential element of an NGO. Successful NGO’s, their brandings and qualities are exemplified. “An equation of both the physical (name, tagline, logo, color) and the mental (attributes, personality), branding must extend across all customer/audience touch points.”

Importance of consistency: From print to web and to all business documents, the visual and the feeling should be the same.

Importance of good design for NGO’s:“Good design, whether it’s manifest in an intuitive web site or

an effective mailer, enhances the customer experience and serves as an extension of the nonprofit’s overall brand. Bad de-sign, however unintentional, can seriously undermine a brand promise and in the worst-case scenario result in lost donors.”Importance of branding for NGO’s:“Because everyone everywhere has access to all types of charitable organizations, logo design is crucial when trying to break through the clutter of other nonprofits fighting for the same airtime and donations.”Importance of changing with time:Branding should be able to keep up with time and trends.Importance of web:Being present in the Internet is very crucial for the companies since it allows them to go global. Brand’s identitiy should be consistently carried to its website.

Examples of successful brandings of NGO’s:1.Habitat for Humanity: Christian organization which brings together organizations and people from different countries for one mission. Their global mission is building houses for people in need. Their logo reflects companionship hospitality and braveness.2.Help the Aged Britain3.Red Cross: Its logo symbol is known by people from all over the world and reflect the brand’s core values which are healing and improving lives. 4.Oxfam AmericaTHE FIVE P’S for building a brand image to any companyPOSITION–unique element of its positionPROMISE–benefitsPERMISSION–tone (do’s and don’ts)PERSONALITY–voicePERMANACE–permanent qualities

Naddaff, Andrea. 2004. “Branding by Design.” Communication World 21, no. 5: 18-21.

Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed October 6, 2011).

POWERFUL BRANDINGS

5 X 5

EXPERIMENT 1 SURVEY

EXPERIMENT 2 REBRANDING TANSAS

EXPERIMENT 3 30 LOGOS 30 MINUTES

EXPERIMENT 4 THE WORST LOGO

EXPERIMENT 5 BUY NOTHING DAY

EXPERIMENT 1

The situation of the market allows us to witness the endless launch of new businesses, products and ideas. This condition makes it very hard to be distinct and differ from others and highlights the importance of branding. A logo, can form “who you are, says Forment, and what you’ll do for the customer.”

My research so far has shown that branding is the essential element for a company in order for it to be successful and remembered. A logo has the power to create an image, a feeling and send a message to the consumer. But to what extent? Is it possible to recognize the logo and the brand image even when its removed?

I will experiment this by picking five major companies and replacing their logo with plane text–Helvetica. Then I will ask people to draw the image/logo, write a color that represents the company and the message or keywords that explain the company.

NIKE

APPLE

RED CROSS

TARGET

FEDEX

image/logo color keywords

gender: age: nationality:

11/11

11/11

11/11

9/11

6/11

BLACKORANGEWHITEBLUE

BLACKSILVERWHITEGREY

REDWHITE

REDWHITEBLACKORANGE

PURPLEGREENORANGEBLUEBROWNGRAY

ACTION COMFORTFAST PRECISESPORTS ENERGYATHLETIC STRENGHTHBALANCEDETERMINATIONJUST DO IT

SIMPLEIPHONE/IPAD/LAPTOPTECHNOLOGYTHINK DIFFERENTINNOVATIONCLEAN / SLEEKGENIUS STEVE JOBSAPPS

SERVICEHELPING OTHERSPREPAREDNESSHEALINGHUMANITARIANCOMPASSIONDOCTORSUPPORT NGO

SHOPSTOREBUDGETAFFORDABLECHEAPIMMENSE

CUSTOMER SERVICETRANSPORTATIONSHIPPINGARROW MAIL QUICKMOVEMENTDELIVERY BOXESSLOW / FASTON TIME / RELIABLE

EXPERIMENT 2

Tansas is a department store chain in Turkey. It is known by being one of the largest discount stores and offers its customers an affordable shopping experience.

Tansas logo is powerful with its red circle and blue typog-raphy. However, it doesn’t reflect the brands qualities and doesn’t have a memorable image.

I will experiment Paul Rand’s redesign process by applying it to Tansas. By mimicking the process of one of the most successful designers, my aim is to enhance Tansas’s brand image.

The red circle doesn’t carry any meaning. Overall the logo doesn’t say anything about the brand.

Tansas

To ensure continuity the red circle will be the fundamental element of the design.

The name and the shape are reorganized to enhance the cleanliness and readability of the mark.

Shopping cart: a symbol of supermarkets, shopping, and affordability…

Combining the circle and the symbol makes the circle meaningful and distinct.

Tansas

EXPERIMENT 3

Being inspired by David Airey’s blog “Logo Design Love” I will experience 30 minutes of my morning from a branding perspective. In other words, I’ll record every type of branding that I see for 30 min starting from the time I wake up. By doing this, my aim is to understand the amount of branding that I am unconsciously exposed to everyday.

I recorded 30 logos in 30 minutes!The result of my experiment proved that I am seeing a different logo almost every minute of my life. That explains the huge role that branding plays in my life and gives me another reason to investigate it as my thesis subject.

EXPERIMENT 4

Being inspired by the contest “How Can Your Logo”, which challenges people to create the worst logo, I created the worst possible logo for Tansas.

As a reference, I used the 6 secrets for a powerful logo (of course the opposite), which was written by Michael Beirut, Pentagram. Below are the 6 secrets:1.BE SIMPLE2.LEAVE IT OPEN3.BE RELENTLESSLY CONSISTENT 4.DON’T BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT DESIGN 5.GET GOOD ADVICE6.DON’T EXPECT MIRACLES

The process was so much harder then I thought. Because instead of applying the key elements, which I am used to, I had to think their opposite ways. This experiment provided me the opportunity to enhance my topic and view it from the opposite perspective.

T A N S A S

T A N S A S

EXPERIMENT 5

Being inspired from an Adbusters campaign “Buy Nothing Day” I tried to spend my day buying nothing.

As it can be seen from the right page, the result was not so successful. So, I changed my direction from buying nothing to recording everything I bought.

The experiment helped me to understand that it is impossible for me to spend a single day without making a purchase of a brand. Moreover, it proved that even our most basic needs, such as water has a brand as well as a brand image.

PRECEDENTS

Paul RandSaul BassTom GeismarDavid Airey

FEEDBACK & CRITICISM

The feedback I’ve got from my first presentation to the faculty members was that my topic was not clear. In a harsh critique, they told me that my topic is to vague about branding and fo-cusing on the global companies is not the solution. Moreover, just rebranding my family company won’t be sufficient and unique enough to be a thesis subject.

After considering the feedback and talking to Jane Pirone I’ve decided to make a book about branding for companies to refer to and still rebrand my family company as a supporting element.

PHASE 2: DEFINING THE TOPIC

THE SCOPE OF MY THESIS PROJECT

PROBLEMS– Companies do not understand what branding actually is and the elements – Companies do not know the role that branding can play in their success in 21st century– Companies are not aware of their branding strengths and weaknesses– This is why designers have a hard time communicating with the client

OBJECTIVES– Make companies aware of the opportunities that they can have– Even thought they will most probably end up with a de-signer, give them a brief understanding of what branding is, elements, and successful branding. – Make them follow their own strengths and weaknesses in a checklist format that is easy to follow – Enhance the communication between the designer and the client

AUDIENCESmall and medium sized companiesDesigners

AUDIENCE

The reason for my thesis project is my dad, who is also my target audience profile. He owns a medium sized textile com-pany, based in Turkey and have international relations with Italy, Spain, Israel and other countries. He wants to expand more as a company and with the textile design department he is launching. The company has a logo, which have been used since the launch of the business. Combined with the other ele-ments, the branding of the company does not reflect anything about the company and causes a lack of attention of the new possible customers. On the other hand, the owner of the busi-ness is not aware that the success of a redesign can bring. Besides that, he does not know what branding is, as he told me in one of our conversations. Currently they do not work with a designer except their textile design department. Everything is held by them and brought to life by the computer engineers in the company. He is my main target audience and my starting point for my project.

Besides the non-designer corporate profile, my book can be used as a guideline by designers and anyone who is interested in learning about branding and design.

ABOUT: BRANDING CHECKLIST FOR CHALLENGING COMPANIES

BRANDING CHECKLIST FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Checklist for the companies to understand essential elements of their own branding that aims to make them realize what they have achieved and what they need to work on.

Aims to educate beyond the design world, the client.

Aims to enhance the relationship between the designer and the client by informing the business owner about the fundamental elements of design.

A useful guide for designers to follow.

Targeted to small companies but contain examples from global companies.

Embodies a collection of perspectives and ideas from experts in each field, written from my perspective.

THE CONTENT

PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO WRITE IF YOU CAN THINK OF OTHER ELEMENTS OF BRANDING ESSENTIALS (6,7,8,9,10) THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO MY BOOK

VERA ANTEBI

STATEMENT

THE BOOK

How does a small business create a strong brand in the 21st century to be competitive in the market?

PLEASE GIVE FEEDBACK ON

RESEARCH OF THE SECTIONS & OUTLINE DEVELOPMENT

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OUTLINE DEVELOPMENT FEEDBACK

IMAGE 1. I started off with breaking down the essential ele-ments of branding into main categories. (Logo, Message/Tagline, Social Media, Packaging)

IMAGE 2. After doing some research, I’ve decided to have sub categories for each of my main categories. (Quotes, Qualities, History, Successful examples)

IMAGE 3. Jane Pirone’s critique helped me in developed my outline. She suggested dividing the main categories into two, which made my outline stronger. (Graphic Identity, Method)

IMAGE 4. The feedback I’ve got from the Parsons fair made me realize that I was missing crucial sections that should be included to my book. (Realising the Values of the Company, Creating a Customer Experience)

IMAGE 5. My last critique about my outline was from Dirk, who is a very important faculty and an expert on branding. He helped me clarify my outline and provided me very useful sources to refer to. More importantly, he told me to use the word “Challenging” when referring to medium and small companies, which ultimately formed the name of my project.

PROTOTYPE 1

a complete outline and a word document containing my research.

The feedback I’ve got from the Parsons Fair contributed a lot in developing my outline. Add:– Advertising section– Realising the values of the company– Creating a customer experience

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PROTOTYPE 2:an example section from the book

2. MESSAGE / TAGLINE ***Quotes“When conceived and crafted persuasively, a tagline can become an enduring symbol — elevating your brand message from the mundane to the memorable.”[i]– Eric Swartz, Tagline Guru

“The successful tagline is one which communicates brand affinity — an ability to find com-mon ground, stretch expectations, and appeal to basic needs for comfort, safety, assurance, excitement, love, acceptance, or, ultimately, self actualization.”[ii]– Eric Swartz

“Your slogan is shorthand for what you do”[iii] –Tom Fauls, Associate Professor of Advertising at Boston University’s College of Communication

“Your slogan should express to people why they should care about your business, while memorable and clever slogans are good, they are not effective if they are not relevant to what you do.” [iv] –Tom Fauls

“It doesn’t take a multimillion-dollar advertising budget for you to create an effective tagline. In fact, a good tagline is one of the least expensive forms of marketing you can develop and use.” [v]– Rhonda Abrams, author of The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies ***Qualities12 rules to deliver a successful message by Eric Swartz1.“Think Big”: Your tagline must contain a single major message rather than embodying vari-ous minor ideas in order for it to be memorable and strong.2.“Make it Personal”: It is important to have a tagline that is casual and sincere rather than corporate. Containing the word “you” can be very helpful in this case.3.”Emphasize solutions”: Your tagline must communicate the customers that you will be advantageous for them to move forward. This is a very important element of forming customer loyalty.4.“Know your audience”: The form and the language of the message must embody the per-spectives, choices and values of your audience.5.“Keep it real”: Your tagline must be honest.6.“Be competitive”: Your tagline must communicate the uniqueness of the company.

7.“Make it clear”: Present your tagline clearly in all forms.8.“Keep it simple”: Editing your tagline is crucial.9.“Be consistent”: Keep the consistency of your message in advertising, PR, web newsletter and all other forms.10.“Make it compelling”: The tagline must be exciting and inspiring.11. “Be creative”12.“Seize the moment”: The message that your tagline has must keep up with changes and trends. –Make it relevant: The tagline should be relevant to the company’s values and mission.–Look for a different path: Try choosing another path from the competitors. If the sound of the competitor is sleek and technologic, you might want to consider having a sincere and conver-sational tone.[vi] *** NIKE’S tagline historyNike is a global brand as well as an example of what successful branding is. It’s slogan and advertising campaign called “Just Do it” is as popular as the brand itself. The slogan was created in a meeting in 1988, in which Nike’s advertising agency Wieden and Kennedy and employees were present. Dan Weiden formed the slogan when speaking about the brand with great admiration. He said, “You Nike guys, you just do it.” That day marked the advertising history and had a major contribution of turning the brand into one of the giants...

Feedback:– Work on the design of the book to make it easy to read for my audience– Use a lot of visuals

PROTOTYPE 3:developing the design of the book

My prototype 3 was the 1st draft design of my book: Brand-ing Checklist for Challenging Companies. I constructed a few spreads that reflect my design inspirations and the direction that the book is going to take.

The feedback I got was extremely helpful.– Link for high res images: brandingoftheworld.com– The book should be at least “40” pages– Showing the development of the logos is crucial– Each subsection should take a spread

– The word Challenging on title page should be bolder– The font is too big– There should be 4 pages introducing successful brandings after the TOC– Subsections should be more clear– There should be an explanation of where you are in the book (next to the page number)– The box on the cover should be developed– Find a way of making the type dance! Create contrast

General ideas about the book– Additional checklist sheet– Packaging in a box that comes with a pen

WORK TIMELINE

Week 9Tu Oct 25 RESEARCHTh Oct 27 (individual meetings) RESEARCH

Week 10Tu Nov 01 individual meetings RESEARCH / PREPARE POSTER Th Nov 03 review (Prototype v1) toolkit 1st draft

Week 11Tu Nov 08 group studio RESEARCHTh Nov 10 review Prototype v2 ALMOST FINISHED CONTENT

Week 12Tu Nov 15 group studioTh Nov 17 review Prototype v3 DESIGN 1ST DRAFT

— Thanksgiving Break — WORK ON DESIGN &BRIEF

Week 13Tu Nov 29 Individual Meetings WORK ON DESIGNTh Dec 01 Individual Meetings ALMOST FINISHED DESIGN

Week 14Tu Dec 06 group studio FINISHED DESIGN Th Dec 08 group studio TEST PRINT

Week 15Tu Dec 13 Final Critique FINAL PRINT & BINDINGTh Dec 15 Final Critique — Final Deliverables Due

PHASE 3: MAKING THE PROJECT

The situation of the market allows us to witness the endless launch of new businesses, products and ideas. This condi-tion makes it very hard to be distinct and differ from others and highlights the importance of branding.

“Manufacturers tend to think that the best marketing is simply producing a great product, that’s not wrong, but it’s all worthless if no one knows who you are.” –Froment

Nowadays, branding and marketing are conceived as forms of art and design rather than just being selling techniques for companies. Modern marketing and branding aim to create an added value for customers and create personal and emotional relationships. In order to create customer-centric personal relationships with customers, it is crucial for companies to define and create a culture that fits not only with their employees, but also with their customers. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of companies in corporate America that create value, happiness, trust, and satisfaction for the customer.The most important through all, most of the challenging companies—medium and small—do not realize the impor-tance and the elements of branding. This situation, results them to disregard the major role that branding can play in their success in the 21st century. Business owners also do not realize what they have achieved and what they need to work on in the field of branding when it comes to their own companies. They might have a great logo, which is one of the essential elements, but without a website or advertising, no one would know about the company. They might have all the elements, but without consistency, it would not be enough to get the idea out there. These are the things that companies need to realize and be informed about. If not, it results another major problem that designers face today, communicating with their client. The client (the company) needs to have a basic understanding about the “goods” and “bads” of design in order to have a healthy relationship with

DESIGN BRIEF

the designer. There are many great books published about branding and the elements it contains. However, there are mostly written by one author, an expert on a single field, and with one perspective. Books are mostly addressed to designers, therefore they are written in a language that designers are familiar with. A lack of books about branding and design “for companies” in the market is what I have realized on the path to my thesis project.The reason for my thesis project is my dad, who also per-fectly fits in my target audience profile. He owns a medium sized textile company, based in Turkey and have interna-tional business relations with Italy, Spain, Israel and other countries. He wants to expand more as a company and with the textile design department he is launching. The company has a logo, which has been used since the launch of the business. Combined with the other elements, the branding of the company does not reflect anything about the com-pany and causes a lack of attention of the new possible customers. On the other hand, the owner of the business is not aware that the success of a redesign can bring. Besides that, he does not know what branding is, as he told me in one of our conversations. Currently they do not work with a designer except their textile design department. Everything is held by them and brought to life by the computer engi-neers in the company. He is my main target audience and my starting point for my project.Besides the non-designer corporate profile, my book can be used as a guideline by designers and anyone who is inter-ested in learning about branding and design. I have various objectives that I am aiming to accomplish with my book. My main goal is to make companies aware of the opportunities that they can have by having a suc-cessful branding. Even thought they might end up with a designer, I am willing to provide them a brief understanding of what branding is, elements, and ways to make it success-ful. By having the book in a checklist format, I am hoping to make them follow their existing branding strategies and realize their own strengths and weaknesses. In addition, by providing them a collection of articles from experts on each

area, I am aiming to support my arguments. Overall, this will lead to an informed client who has a basic understanding of design in branding and as an ultimate goal, enhance the communication and relationship with the designer and the client. The project will consist of one major and two minor ele-ments. The main element, titled “Branding Checklist for Challenging Companies” will be in the form of a hard covered printed book. It will target the companies, and will be written in a simple design language. The second element will be the case study: the redesign of Mayteks (our family textile business). It will be presented to the company and as my thesis project in a printed identity booklet format. The case study will utilize the points that will be mentioned in the book and take it as a guideline to redesign the compa-nies’ identity. The third element will be a written evaluation regarding the overall experience and the book’s contribu-tions to the redesign. By doing this, I am willing to see the strengths and weaknesses of the book, which will help me to take it forward even after the school is over. With this project, my aim is to create an easy to read book that company owners can read in their free times. By know-ing they hardly have free times, my aim is to make the book entertaining by including many visuals and a collection of articles that are put together for them. Another use will be for designers who want to have a basic guideline to follow in their projects. I believe that the other two elements (case study and the evaluation) will be the supporting elements that will make my project stronger. I am hoping to deliver a successful identity project based on the guidelines of my book that will actually be used by the textile company: Mayteks. This will not only help the company to go further, but also prove my project’s success which will hopefully be reflected to my evaluation.The branding inspiration of the book itself comes from two basic and functional elements that the companies use everyday: checklists and highlighters. I will be playing with elements that are familiar to them and make them unfa-miliar by abstraction. The squares that form a checklist will be brought in every section of the book and in my layout

as section breaks. The most known highlighter color yellow will be used throughout the book as well and might be an additional element that is presented with the book. My aim is to add stereotyped elements a design twitch to make the book attractive for the companies. The additional element, identity booklet, will follow the aesthetics of the re-designed companies branding and identity. The size of the printed book will be 9’’ in a square format to keep the consistency with my checklist inspiration. The book will be black hardcover and presented in a box with a highlighter. Throughout the book, I will make use of visuals and bold type in some cases to make it attractive and easy to follow. Overall, it will be between 80-90 pages. On the other hand, the styling of the identity booklet will be formed according to the presentation to the company. It will have a corporate look and will reflect the values and the visual look of the company.The printed books will be limited edition that consist of two or three copies and will be funded by me. The rest will be used as an e-book for sustainability purposes. For the Parsons Festival I will need a table to display my printed materials. I might have a sideshow or a video that shows the use of the book (a business man using the checklist). Therefore, I am requesting a screen on the wall to display the video as well. The book “Branding Checklist for Challenging Companies” will be completed by the end of the semester. During the winter break, I will collect all the identity documents by visiting the company and prepare for the redesign process. The second semester will be mostly about re-designing the identity of Mayteks, and last three weeks will be preparing the identity booklet and writing the evaluation.

BRANDING CHECKLIST FOR CHALLENGING COMPANIESsome spreas from the book

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BRANDINGCHECKLIST FORCHALLENGING COMPANIES

FOR CHALLENGING COMPANIES

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Checklist for the companies to understand essential elements of their own branding that aims to help them realize what they have achieved and what they need to work on.

Aims to educate beyond the design world, the client.

Aims to enhance the relationship between the designer and the client (the company) by informing the business owner about the fundamental elements of design.

A useful guide for designers to follow.

Targeted to challenging (medium and small) companies but contain examples from global companies.

Embodies a collection of perspectives and ideas from experts in each field, written from the author’s perspective.

THE BOOK

3

Checklist for the companies to understand essential elements of their own branding that aims to help them realize what they have achieved and what they need to work on.

Aims to educate beyond the design world, the client.

Aims to enhance the relationship between the designer and the client (the company) by informing the business owner about the fundamental elements of design.

A useful guide for designers to follow.

Targeted to challenging (medium and small) companies but contain examples from global companies.

Embodies a collection of perspectives and ideas from experts in each field, written from the author’s perspective.

THE BOOK

13

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING

REALISING THE VALUES OF THE COMPANY / CREATING A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

38 SOCIAL MEDIA46 PACKAGING54 WEB62 ADVERTISING70 ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN: RETAIL STORE

METHOD

GRAPHIC IDENTITY18 LOGO 26 MESSAGE / TAGLINE34 BASIC IDENTITY TOOLKIT

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THE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING

REALISING THE VALUES OF THE COMPANY / CREATING A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

38 SOCIAL MEDIA46 PACKAGING54 WEB62 ADVERTISING70 ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN: RETAIL STORE

METHOD

GRAPHIC IDENTITY18 LOGO 26 MESSAGE / TAGLINE34 BASIC IDENTITY TOOLKIT

15

Nowadays, branding and marketing are conceived as forms of art and design rather than just being selling techniques for companies. Modern marketing and branding aim to create an added value for customers and create personal and emotional relationships. In order to create customer–centric personal relationships with customers, it is crucial for companies to define and create a culture that fits not only with their employ-ees, but also with their customers. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of companies in corporate America that create value, happiness, trust, and satisfaction for the customer. Zappos.com is one of those few exceptions where everything is based on customer loyalty and happiness.

For Zappos, having an excellent customer service adds value for their customers, thus increasing customer satisfaction and repeat customer rate, which is currently above 75%.2 They heavily invest in their customer service department and every employee has to be involved with the customer service depart-ment as part of their training program. On the other hand, they have a minimal budget for public and online advertisement as they believe personal customer relationships and satisfaction has more return on investment in the long term.

Today, handling customer service requests is all about reading automated scripts and limiting the authority as well as person-al input of the customer service agents. In contrast, Zappos.com approaches customers amiably and they are not limited to automated scripts. In fact, the customer loyalty team is en-couraged to provide their own feedback on products, and they are not hesitant to direct customers to its competitor’s site, if they do not have the specific product available. To make things even deeper and emotional, the customer service department actually spends %50 of their work–time sending hand written thank you cards to their customers. 3 This is a crucial market-ing effort as it creates a bonding between the customer and the company.

The situation of the market allows us to witness the endless launch of new businesses, products and ideas. This condition makes it very hard to be distinct and differ from others and highlights the importance of branding.

“Manufacturers tend to think that the best marketing is simply producing a great product, that’s not wrong, but it’s all worth-less if no one knows who you are.” 1

— David Froment

REALISING THE VALUES OF THE COMPANY / CREATING A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCETHE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING

POW

EREDbySERVIC

E™

15

Nowadays, branding and marketing are conceived as forms of art and design rather than just being selling techniques for companies. Modern marketing and branding aim to create an added value for customers and create personal and emotional relationships. In order to create customer–centric personal relationships with customers, it is crucial for companies to define and create a culture that fits not only with their employ-ees, but also with their customers. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of companies in corporate America that create value, happiness, trust, and satisfaction for the customer. Zappos.com is one of those few exceptions where everything is based on customer loyalty and happiness.

For Zappos, having an excellent customer service adds value for their customers, thus increasing customer satisfaction and repeat customer rate, which is currently above 75%.2 They heavily invest in their customer service department and every employee has to be involved with the customer service depart-ment as part of their training program. On the other hand, they have a minimal budget for public and online advertisement as they believe personal customer relationships and satisfaction has more return on investment in the long term.

Today, handling customer service requests is all about reading automated scripts and limiting the authority as well as person-al input of the customer service agents. In contrast, Zappos.com approaches customers amiably and they are not limited to automated scripts. In fact, the customer loyalty team is en-couraged to provide their own feedback on products, and they are not hesitant to direct customers to its competitor’s site, if they do not have the specific product available. To make things even deeper and emotional, the customer service department actually spends %50 of their work–time sending hand written thank you cards to their customers. 3 This is a crucial market-ing effort as it creates a bonding between the customer and the company.

The situation of the market allows us to witness the endless launch of new businesses, products and ideas. This condition makes it very hard to be distinct and differ from others and highlights the importance of branding.

“Manufacturers tend to think that the best marketing is simply producing a great product, that’s not wrong, but it’s all worth-less if no one knows who you are.” 1

— David Froment

REALISING THE VALUES OF THE COMPANY / CREATING A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCETHE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING

POW

EREDbySERVIC

E™

17GRAPHICIDENTITY

LOGO / MESSAGE/TAGLINE / BASIC IDENTITY TOOLKIT