The thought of entering into a creative design class at the beginning of the year made me nervous; I had never thought of myself as creative nor had the creative computer ability with programs such as InDesign. What I thought was my downfall, ended up helping me because I was able to get the most out of this class. The other modules gave me the foundation for marketing and branding by studying scholars such as Keller (i.e. Customer-based Brand Equity Pyramid) and exploring global branding (i.e. InterBrand and BrandZ). However, it was this class that allowed me to emerge myself into the foundations of what makes a brand through a creative side.
In our first lecture, I was introduced to a new vocabulary of different elements and principles of design (Beaumont, 2011). Not only can an image evoke an emotion, but also the layout can guide your eyes to avoid “visual vomit” (Beaumont, 2011, p. 38). This lecture coinciding with the first blog post assignment (Freund, 2014) sums up the heart of this class: asking “why?”. For example by asking “Why?” to an advertisement, I am not only able to investigate a deeper understanding as to why or why not it may appeal to me and others, but also why a particular aspect or technique was employed. Being able to ask this question will help me with my future career in branding by being able to appraise my own work as well as others so I can continue to learn.
The history behind brands and their evolution as society and cultures evolve is why I wanted to study Brand Management as a focus in the first place; my favorite aspect is that marketers can employ a creative technique that can redefine a company. Branding Design class reinforced my fascination with branding; throughout class we constantly appraised the transformation of logos for companies.
(Generator Design of Canada Inc., 2014)
A first glance of the different Pepsi logos made me think that Pepsi is only adapting to the inevitable change in society. However by asking “Why?” and probing the Internet, the thought that goes into a drastic or subtle change for a logo is immense. I have learned that colors not only evoke different meanings to individuals, but across cultures. Similarly typography can as well, which goes beyond using serif or sans serif fonts; the degree to which a letter goes below the baseline or the counter space in a letter presents a different connotation (FontShop International, 2014). As with the different vocabulary I learned from the various elements and principles, being able to select an appropriate color scheme and typeface greatly help me with my future career options. However, it was an unlikely acronym that gave me the courage to begin implementing these tactics.
As with Esther, the acronym CEO (Confidence Experimentation Observation) stood out to me in lecture and is something I know I will think about throughout my future career (Akinbolu, 2014). I really enjoyed applying this approach to our final project within groups. My group and I repositioned a power tool company to include women as well. We were able to observe a gap in the market, experiment with different design options, and portray confidence as we presented our final approach and campaign to the class. I have enjoyed group work throughout my studies at Kingston University because it has opened my eyes to a range of different cultural experiences I was not accustomed to during my undergrad at Virginia Tech. Having group work experience makes me confident I can work collectively in a company, which will be fundamental when working with other colleagues.
Throughout our lectures during Branding Design, our professor showed us many examples of current and previous campaigns. Not only is it beneficial to be able to relate what we are learning in lectures, but also the different cultural backgrounds allowed me to expand my interpretation (when asking “Why?”) and appreciate all the work that needs to go into a creative campaign. During one lecture, we looked at different safety videos for airlines, primarily Virgin and United. As a class, we discussed the different layouts of the videos that reinforced a primary aim for a company: always keep in mind your primary target. The customers for Virgin and United are different, thus different safety video avenues. This may seem like an obvious idea, but this lecture solidified the notion of carefully identifying and selecting a target audience. Looking at examples as a class not only expanded my knowledge, but also encourages me to apply what we discussed to my everyday life.
With my new found confidence and ability to seek answers by asking “Why?”, the tutorials and projects using Adobe design applications are invaluable lessons. I am now able to perform simple tasks such as finding colors for printing and/or web use or eliminate a background to a photo. It has been inspiring to gain real life examples and advice through our professor. As she has told us, having the ability to perform such tasks will help save time and money to any future company. Although I can admit I am not an expert by any means, the ability to make small changes due to the in class lessons and projects will be a valuable asset to any company.
I love interacting with people and learning about their different experiences, which shapes who we are. For my future career goal, I aim to help a company grow their brand by strengthening the relationship between the company and the consumers. My interest in different cultures excites me because I am willing to relocate anywhere in the world. Although I do not know my definite career as of yet, this class will allow me to stand out amongst other applicants as one of my points-of-difference (Keller et al., 2012). I will be able to aid in creative ventures because the terminology will allow me to communicate effectively with designers. In doing so, work will be more productive and time well spent. Upon graduation, I plan to seek jobs that are looking to redevelop their image. I am very grateful that Kingston University introduced this class as a part of the program; my only wish was that I had more time in the module to expand my knowledge even more.
Reference
Akinbolu, E. (2014) CEO. Available at: http://estherajogun.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/ceo/ (Accessed: 14 April 2014).
Beaumont, C. (2011) Basic design anatomy: A handbook that dissects the elements of design and explains the rationale behind assembling type, images, and form for effective communication. 2nd edn. Ellsworthio Press.
FontShop International (2014) Typographer’s glossary. Available at: www.fontshop.com/glossary (Accessed: 1 February 2014).
Freund, A. (2014) Why? Available at: https://ashleymariefreund.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/why-2/ (Accessed: 21 April 2014).
Generator Design of Canada Inc. (2014) New year’s image refresh resolution. Available at: http://www.generatordesign.com/whats-new/new-yeare28099s-image-refresh-resolution/(Accessed: 21 April 2014).
Keller, K., Aperia, T., and Georgeson, M. (2012) Strategic brand management. 2nd edn. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.
ashleymarie 