After a challenging second term of our Masters program, it is nice to be able to sit in front of my computer and reflect on what I learned about in Branding Design. From the way we approach an ad in terms of space and texture of design, to the typography aspect and representing a brand through fonts and phrases, to colour schemes characterizing and moulding an image of a brand, all the way to the final outcome of our group Ad Campaign – it has been an exciting and entertaining journey to becoming an (amateur) brand designer.
The greatest benefit I, personally, have received from this journey is my branding guide since it is something I have never done in the past and something I hadn’t even known existed. Although the process was difficult and very time consuming, the outcome was better than I imagined and helped create clarity in regards to the background of a brand. Brands are not just logos; they are concepts, stories, emotions, investments, and most importantly a relationship between consumer and product. Without portraying the values and benefits of a brand, the product becomes merely a tangible (and often intangible) item or service that can be replaced by the lowest priced alternative. Therefore, learning the behind the scenes of brand building through a step by step guide explaining fonts, colours, application, and concepts allowed us as students to understand the dimensions of a brand and its connection to consumers in practice rather than theory.
To apply ourselves further, we formed collaborative teams in hopes of creating a successful multi-national ad campaign, in which we chose the brand of Bailey’s. We wanted to reposition the brand towards not just men, but the sensitive side of men. So we were sent out to recruit models, props, and Bailey’s of course, in order to create a photo shoot as we would in a real-live setting.
We had a small budget so we utilized campus resources such as the bar, tables, and props, and used classmates as models. The process wasn’t the tricky part; rather, it was the editing and formation of consistency between all three ads that made designing a campaign so difficult. Luckily, we were able to reach out to students to receive feedback from our first trial that was beneficial in creating our final campaign. We went from a bar atmosphere to a lounge environment to create the image of lure and attraction to a modern man with a good salary who enjoys a Bailey’s on a night out. The feedback helped us mould the attitude of our “Bailey’s man” as an upper-middle class gentleman with style and confidence.
With our prior knowledge in Photoshop and InDesign, we were able to create scenes of lounges in Spain and cafés in Italy for our multinational campaign. Learning how to adjust exposure levels, colours, shadows and edit blemishes with stamp tools or the lasso magnetic tool became quite beneficial to us during the making of the campaign. Although we were in control of our own photo-shoots, there were things that we weren’t able to control such as natural lighting and space (due to our low budget). Therefore, we spent many hours on Photoshop editing certain lighting angles and cropping out portions of photos to create our final advert.
In addition, what helped tie the image of our ad to the campaign slogan was the short tagline that we included on the ads. We used the 15-5-5 rule that we had learned where at 15 feet away an individual will be enticed by the image, at 5 feet away they will be drawn to a more detailed area of the image, and at 5 inches away they will read the text to understand the message and to reveal who the brand or product is. We wanted to portray a touch of play and humour and flirtation in our ads that would call the attention of our target audience, so we used a font that was thin and sleek to introduce flirtation, and used colours such as grey to reiterate masculinity across the ad.
As I’ve mentioned previously in my blog, colours are so important when advertising to consumers because it plays on the psychological component of a human being when they are exposed to an ad. Therefore, we stuck to colours that were strong, such as dark grey, brown, black, and beige that tied into the image of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Again, we were fortunate enough to receive feedback from men on and off campus in order to understand what would really attract them to Bailey’s, and how they felt when shown certain images.
Lastly, we took our knowledge from the semester in Branding Design to action when we presented our campaign. Although designing our campaign wasn’t easy and coming up with a tagline was even more difficult, we were able to collaborate together and take what we learned to class and use it. For instance, my group and I would collaborate for hours and shout out ideas, as crazy or off the track they might have been, in order to shape our final tagline: Charming women since 1974. Many headaches and long nights went into the creation of our campaign, but what we did that we learned was to break through the idea of “it’s too crazy” and just run with certain ideas that were bold because that mentality is what stands out the most. And that’s what we wanted to achieve: an ad that grabs you and reels you in.
Finally, I think what I will cherish the most is the lesson we learned in speaking with colleagues and professionals. Learning how to direct a conversation and/or argument positively is vital since I plan to become a professional in a field where collaboration is unavoidable. Learning to use “and” in place of “but” or “no” allows for the individuals involved in the discussion to follow you in your direction rather than feel put down or rejected for ideas or plans. For example, “I see what you are bringing to light and suggest that we include monkey’s on a chair in addition to your banana breakfast idea.” It shows respect for the other’s idea, but subtly changes the theme or the direction in your favour.
Learning to direct conversation is important to me in my future and helpful to me in order to advance into higher ranked positions. It is because of this module that I can take away the knowledge of designing a brand from typography to application, the meaning of font and colours and correct utilization of both, working with others on transnational campaigns including photo-shoots, and becoming confident in directing conversation and delegating work to maximize efficiency.
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