Art Yale School

Click here to visit Yale Art School website

Even though the popularity and the fact that frankly no one would visit this website without having a previous impression about YaleArt school. I don't believe that this can substitute a website's structure and arrangement. The extremely bright colored text boxes are clashing, or sharing a border. However, there are some common elements between this design and the Fauvism movement. Even though work from the Fauvism period might seem more organized.


On the other hand, all these distracting elements should not get in the way of users actually using this website, thus the navigation bar is clear. While on the side where it is always and the elements in it are straight to the point.

Branding (Corporate)

Small businesses don't even realize they have a brand, but every single business actually does has a brand. but was the brand created intentially or by accident? A brand is more than a logo, a brand can set your directions, tell a story and has it's own visions. Branding is the art and science of defining and differentiating the company to the public. A brand defines the foundation of a company, it's the core belief, company's voice and  and it's purpose in life. However, it rotates around intent and clarity at every customer contact point, it's the purpose the drives the business. 

I've read some reviews and point of views written by different authors, each stating the basics and structure of branding. According to Wheeler, branding is a disciplined process used to build awareness and extend customer loyalty. It was also said that a mandate is needed from the start to invest the future. As was mentioned before, a brand is not a logo, but why is it more than a logo? As Marty Neumeier stated in his book The brand gap, "The term logo caught on with people because it sounds cool, but what people really mean is a trademark, whether the trademark is a logo, symbol, monogram, emblem, or other graphic device". Brand, logo and identity are not the same, but they do somehow meet at a point, all together form a perceived image for a business or product. However, a logo identifies a business in its simplest form through the use of a mark or icon, while identity is the visual aspect that form part of overall brand. Wheeler mentioned "The best identity programs embody and advance the company's brand by supporting desired perceptions. Identity expresses itself in every touchpoint of the brand and become intrinsic to a company's culture-a constant symbol of its corse values and its heritage".

Moving away from the visual identities and accessing into the function of branding, a brand can grow its perceived value, associate certain attributes or qualities amid it in the minds of customers and increase the depth of breadth of overall consumer awareness. In addition to Healey's point of view, "Your brand is what your customers think it is. A brand manager's job is to make sure customers realize, branding can help". He also stated that if a politician's voters really knew him, they'd like him better, meaning that it's a politician (company) who needs better branding. 

Brand can be confident, passion, belonging, action and security. The brand must have a purpose of existing, or in other words it can be said a brand is what a brand does and offers to it's audience. In the book More than a name recites "A graphic designer working on a new brand must be absolutely clear on why the brand exists, its positioning and what message it gives to its audience". So it's important to know the audience you’re trying to reach and design a communicable mission and purpose for each account.

It's very important to know how to connect the design of the product with marketing and business. People nowadays judge the product by it's design. Recently, I extracted some information concerning this subject from the book More than a name, that while advertising  can raise up to 8% of purchase, up to 35% of purchase decisions can be related to great packaging (and as much as 70% of purchase decisions are made in the store).  A brand should know when to be targeted, posed difficult, but irresistible challenge for brand-owners who want to win its attention, its money and even its love.

As a conclusion, It is necessary what my Brand mission is identifying and gaining the devotion of my target audience, it's necessary to reach out those objectives. My goal is to create a brand that grabs the customers' attention of the product designed. A design that is barely found in markets and stores. Since I will be focusing mostly on the design, I want the design to be the reason why people think my product is different and somehow unique from the rest. As I take the lead from the design field, my designed products will grab marketing and business to my area, that would indeed show what branding is about: visual identity (design) and marketing.

References:

Davis, M. (2005) More than a name: introduction to branding. Switzerland: AVA Publishing SA.

Design, M. (2004) Branding: from brief to finished solution. Crans-Pres-Câeligny: Rotovision SA.

Wheeler, A. (2009) Designing brand identity. Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons.

Neumeier, M. (2006) The brand gap: how to bridge the distance between business strategy and design. Berkekley, CA: New Riders.

Healey, M. (2008) What is branding? Crans-Pres-Câeligny: Rotovision SA.