Branding
In this section I will cover where I did most of my work for the collective as elected branding manager
Naming
Today we were in charge of naming ourselves and creating a logo plus some social media pages.
We had originally decided on the name of Captured Magic as it seemed to fit our theme of gothic photography studio however we couldn't use that name on instagram as it was already taken many times over. However, we were absolutely 'captured' by this name a couldn't let it go no matter how much Tina tried to help us choose a new one. She offered for use to use the word collective in our name but it didn't seem right.
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According to Jazmin who is a practicing witch, the correct spelling of magic is actially 'magik' which led me down the rabbit hole of misspelling our name. It started with Magik, then Kaptured with a K. Then I noticed our initials but no J for Jazmin so then it became Kaptured Majik and with emphasis on our initials it became kApTured maJiK for each of us respectively.
Branding research
Wiryananta, K., Safitri, R. and Prasetyo, B.D. (2021) states that branding is most poular with young people and students and should be taught in an educational environment to prepare them for becoming professionals. Social media branding is important to the the changing times and having a personal brand on social media sets you apart from the competition when it comes to entering the workforce.
Haynes, A., Lackman, C. and Guskey, A. (1999) says that brand consistency is important when portraying your image to the customer. Based on the brand identity the customer will have expectations on the price, quality and message that your company delivers. TODOR, R. (2014) Agrees that adapting to the market in a strategic way adds value to the brand and can influence the consumers which in turn should drive sales.
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Branding when done correctly is used to influence your customer base to feel a certain way about your brand by using visual assets. ideally your brand should make them think that what you can provide is valuable to them and eventually invoke loyalty to the brand. Velarde, O. (2023)
Brands that consistently reinforce their message and values foster trust and loyalty among consumers, even during product missteps. The speaker emphasizes that consistency is essential for brands to establish and sustain consumer trust.
The video highlights the importance of having a compelling brand story that resonates with customers, creating a consistent brand look and feel, and investing in brand design from the beginning.
From this research we understand that branding is important because it shares a message with the our consumers and if it is a positive message then those consumers have the potential to become loyal to our company. It is also an important way to set yourself apart from your competitors online via the use of social media and that sharing a consistently positive message should increase our consumer base.
Inspiration
Smith, L. (2023) says that Gen Z are only interested in product if they feel it is inclusive. Purple has long been used as an androgynous colour bordering between pastel pink and baby blue and has for decades represented the queer community long even having the Whitehouse light up in lilac for pride month to show solidary with the LGBTQ+ community. This specific shade doesn't matter as much as the tonal range it is situated in between lilac and lavender, this pale shade represents purity and cleanliness which is why many makeup and skincare brands are now using it to market to the younger generation.
Bicaku, E. (2023) states the number 1 emerging trend in branding for 2024 is monochromatic colours. This means selecting a colour that embodies your product or service industry and choosing multiple tones of that same colour.
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Bicaku, E. (2023) also states that the gothic aesthetic was fifth on the list of top 10 graphic design trends of 2023. Trends can quickly go out of fashion especially in this digital age but not all of them change year to year or season to season. This depends a lot on market trends in other areas of design such as fashion, interior design or even makeup trends.
Logo
Creating a logo, We had the idea of creating an graphic logo that contained a witchy gimic, an appeture and an ornate frame. Since I have Canva pro I hopped on and created two logos. One with a silver frame and one with a gold frame as I am quite partial to gold but Jazmin really prefers silver.
Although we liked this logo, it seemed a little unprofessional and portrayed our business as pet related which we didn't like so we moved on to a text based logo.
I found this Template on Canva and adjusted the colours and text to fit our business. I also added the flair's to our initials.
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This is where we established the colour pallet which consists of an off white, pastel purple and a deep purple shade. We chose these colours as they represent our target audience as well as portray a bit of whimsey and mystery. This is also where we made our font choices which are TAN Pearl and Helvetica.
At this stage We made two versions of the logo, a Light and a dark so that no matter the circumstance we would have a logo that was easily readable. We also played with sizing of some of the elements because it didn't feel very even
Here we have changed a lot of the elements as the balance on the logo was still an issue. I took it into Adobe Illistrator to edit all the elements and get them to a comfortable place. I also added more sparkle to portray the Majik of it all.
Flyer
We knew we were going to have to market ourselves at some point as well as us needed to secure some models for our project so we decided to make a flyer looking for models and post it on our personal social medias
Kayleigh's Leaflet
Leaflet 2
Jazmins' Leaflet 1
Leaflet 3
We decided these did not fit the brand image so we took all the ideas and melded them together. Kayleigh's leaflet had all the content we were looking for but did not fit the brand identity we had already established. Jazmin's were a little to halloweeny which is something we had discussed that we wanted to stray away from but we did like the idea of having the images at the bottom as an example.
Rendition 1
Rendition 2
Rendition 3
In the first rendition I put together a quick mock up to run by the other girls and see how they liked the spacing and the borders as well as the text content. Rendition 2 Images were added and the text was moved around a little bit for a better flow when reading. In rendition 3 I got Canvas' image editing AI to generate a darker background for Alison's image as it was too bright compared to the other two and the date was changed due to a scheduling issue.
Other branding elements
I created the presentation for Anca's Finance and Fundraising Assignment, it was a foundation point for the brand vibe other than the logo itself. With Smokey affects and minimalistic star graphics. Due to this being an analytical presentation there is a lack of interesting imagery however this is the only piece in the branding that doesn't have alternative photos.
I adjusted the website to have the brand colours and fonts that we have been using consistently as well as make it a single page website for easy reading. The website doesn't have a lot of content on it so it didn't need to have a navigation bar with multiple pages. I also added in a smokey background as that is what has been used in all of the content I have created so far.
This is our Pitch presentation that has all of the work we have done so far on the project to portray fully and clearly to a panel consisting of Tina West and Guests. It contains all of our inspiration as well as our reason for choosing the project we did. It includes all of our branding and is consistent with everything we have included so far.
Reflection
Experience
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I was designated the branding manager after I created the logo for the collective and I did a little research on what the current trend in branding are and how |I could use our branding to market to our target audience. Since I have a fair amount of design knowledge I created a brand palette and all of the brand materials were designed using this. ​
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Refection
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In hindsight I wish I had created a more in-depth palette with more colours and was less strict with the kind of images I used as backgrounds for elements to sit on top of (i.e. the smoke that is commonly found as the background) as I felt the palette was quite plain and lacked a little pizazz. maybe an accent colour or fun element like neon yellow icons would have been a nice touch.
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Action
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When creating a brand palette in the future such as my own I will be sure to do some more research on elaborate brand identities and highlight that research in my development of the brand. I will also be sure to take on peer feedback and implement it into my designs.
Bibliography
Bale, S. (2023) Brand wheel: The definitive guide, Lane Agency. Available at: https://www.thelaneagency.com/blog/brand-wheel/ (Accessed: 15 November 2024).
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Bavar, R. (2011) Why your brand needs consistency, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqTtZHwG3xQ (Accessed: 15 November 2023).
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Bicaku, E. (2023) Top 10 new branding trends of 2024 (with tips and examples!) | looka, Looka. Available at: https://looka.com/blog/branding-trends/ (Accessed: 29 February 2024).
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Haynes, A., Lackman, C. and Guskey, A. (1999) ‘Comprehensive brand presentation: Ensuring Consistent Brand Image', Journal of Product & Brand Management, 8(4), pp. 286–300. doi:10.1108/10610429910284229.
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Smith, L. (2023) How gen-z purple became the new millennial pink, Blog LIVE. Available at: https://www.wix.com/studio/blog/lilac-purple (Accessed: 17 January 2024).
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TODOR, R. (2014) 'THE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING AND REBRANDING FOR STRATEGIC MARKETING', Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Brasov.Economic Sciences.Series V, 7(2), pp. 59-64.
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VanDusen, P. (2022) 7 secrets to Branding Your Small Business - what every small business needs to succeed, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBXcQrMpMt8 (Accessed: 15 November 2023).
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Velarde, O. (2023) The Complete Guide to branding in 2024: What is it & why is it important?, Visme Blog. Available at: https://visme.co/blog/branding/#:~:text=Why%20is%20Branding%20Important%3F%201%201.%20Branding%20helps,Branding%20supports%20your%20marketing%20strategy%20and%20drives%20sales. (Accessed: 17 January 2024).
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Wiryananta, K., Safitri, R. and Prasetyo, B.D. (2021) ‘The importance of self-awareness in building personal branding of Brawijaya University students through Instagram’, Technium Social Sciences Journal, 24, pp. 218–227. doi:10.47577/tssj.v24i1.4790.