Interbrand Design Forum » Design

What’s in a Logo? Besides Everything.

Ryan Brazelton — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:04:46 +0000

I love a good logo. There is nothing quite like the elegance of a brand boiled down to its core values and essence and then visualized in a single symbol or signature. Great logos or brand identities are simple, iconic, and powerful.

Simple means the identity doesn’t have to literally represent every single aspect of the brand, but it does have to be able to encompass everything the brand delivers, and that is no small task. To be iconic a brand has to be aware of its industry, and look for white space or opportunities to differentiate, As well a be aware of general trends, and the overall cultural and human experience that is delivered by its symbol or signature. Of course, always being sensitive to building or leveraging its heritage where appropriate, which is really a key point—the idea that great brands always evolve their identity to be relevant to the era, brand, and most importantly the customer. Coke, AT&T and Apple are great examples of brands that understand that their identities or logos are living breathing assets that must be tended to like a garden from time to time in order to keep them fresh.

When is an identity powerful? I think there a several measures to consider. First and foremost, do your customers think it signals the right kind of emotions? Next, it's important to understand the uniqueness of the mark. Is it different, disruptive, eye-catching, attractive, aspirational, really is it special? Does it have badge factor? Do you want to wear it? When the brand can answer yes to these questions there is a good chance the mark is powerful.

Far From Being Taboo, Imitation is Welcome in the Marketplace

Ethan Smith — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 20:29:34 +0000

The other day I felt like the Mayor of Imitation-ville. I sat there at lunch reading the Daily Beast on my Android phone, while eating a foil wrapped burrito from Qdoba. None of these were an original idea. Tina Brown didn’t invent the 24-hour social media news blog fronted by a middle-aged woman with an accent, Ariana Huffington owns that claim to fame. The iPhone, not Android, was the original app-driven super-powered touch-screen do-everything smartphone. Even though Chipotle didn’t “invent” the foil wrapped burrito they were the first to roll out the model on a massive scale and hit a nationwide home run with the concept.

When I was growing up if you had a dragon instead of the alligator on your shirt, or the embroidered horse on your shirt didn’t have a polo rider, or you soccer shoes had four stripes instead of three, you were not cool, because you didn't have the real thing.

To Create Memorable Brand Experiences, Engage the Senses

Scott Jeffrey — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:49:38 +0000

So it's that time of year again. Over the next three months, you can find me at my kid's high school athletic field, watching his soccer team practice four nights a week. I rather enjoy those days. They’re a combination of fresh air and pride watching my kid trying to be the next great Springboro High goalkeeper. As I sit here this evening, there is a slight wind that keeps the flag flying, pulling its cable against the flagpole, creating that hollow metal pinging sound. At the far end of the bleachers, a runner is doing some stair work. Her shoes make a sharp pop, I can feel the vibrations down my row as she hustles up and back down again. The evening sun is warm and the smell of freshly cut grass fills the stadium. Based on these sensations, you could blindfold me and I'd still know where I was. A few retail brands stand out when I think of sensorial experiences. How many times have you smelled a Cinnabon before you saw it? You can smell and usually hear an Abercrombie before you come across one in the local mall. A similar volume of music (not to mention the genre) somehow seems very out of place in an Orvis store. Bath and Body Shop does a nice job of seasonal scents to grab your attention. As retail designers, we rely a lot on the visual sense to communicate to consumers. But let’s not forget that those brands that engage all of the senses create the most memorable experiences.

Retail Designers Must Pursue a Global Perspective

Brandon Avery — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:32:47 +0000

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time in our Madrid office collaborating with a cross disciplinary team to brainstorm and develop a cultural food destination concept that would be a reference point for the city of Madrid. So far project and our ideas are having great success with the client and we are really excited about the potential of the concept. The experience of working abroad, for however long a period of time, in another office is fantastic! If you ever get the chance to work in another office, especially globally, drop what you are doing and go! It’s a great way to get a fresh perspective on what we do by seeing how other offices/cultures work and engage with each other and their clients. Anytime you can get exposed to new people and fresh processes and ideas it’s really energizing! This is true from both parties perspectives as well. The creative tools I brought were greatly appreciated by everyone, since it was a fresh way of working for them. So, the door swings both ways. I conducted a brainstorming/ideation session with the internal team only, and it was great to see everyone get excited by this "new" way of digging through ideas to discover the concept. By the end, our brains hurt, we were a little sweaty and tired, so we went off to the bar to refresh our creative minds.

What American Designers in Asia Need to Know

Matt — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:25:29 +0000

Stay ahead of rapid expansion Singapore, Seoul, and Mumbai are cutting edge markets and this means high expectations. Going into a project as a designer in these cities is intimidating. Shoppers live in aesthetic cultures where every imaginable design has been popularized. These cities are changing organically. It almost seems instantaneous. Within 3 months of being away from Singapore three new malls have opened. It's all about knowing past/ present memes and looking toward ways of either (1) creating a new twist or (2) breaking the boundaries all together.

Stand out In most cases Western design tends to fit in with its surroundings. Success in Asia is all about being bold. Whether it be a silly chewing gum commercial or neon signage that puts Times Square to shame, there is always something screaming for your attention. When you consider how busy people are in cities like Beijing and Tokyo, getting someone's attention takes a strong effort. In my opinion, the solution to this is a simple design that allows for a detox from all the noise.

Interbrand Design Forum Teams With Michaels To Create New Store Experience

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:20:30 +0000

Consumer insights key to creating prototype with smart space allocation to maximize brand and ROI