This issue takes much more attention from the design community right now in the era of total branding and copying of standards than before.
In this situation, the problem of national identity, its unique path of development and visual national identification becomes obvious. It is this problem, namely its solution, that becomes an extremely important factor on the way of defining and perceiving the region not only by an outside observer, but also by a compatriot.
Large companies and Western corporations spontaneously participate in the formation of what surrounds us – this is how our visual culture is formed through advertising of their products. Today, the abundance of all kinds of brands and their information messages involuntarily form the surrounding space and urban environment. It is in large metropolitan areas that we can really feel it. Brands shape space, and therefore our consciousness.
In order to touch upon the problem of trademark design, their advertising and partly consider their influence on our visual culture, we need to understand what is behind the concept of a trademark, what do we put into it? The legal term “trademark” approved in the West is equivalent to the Russian “trademark”. These two terms exist on equal terms in the specialized literature. However, today, in relation to large and successful trade marks, it is customary to operate with the concept of a brand.
What is a brand? Our tech branding agency defines a brand as: “a name, mark, or symbol used to identify a seller’s product and to distinguish it from competitors’ products.” However, one can disagree with this definition of the word and the concept “brand”, since it does not fully reveal its essence. Walter Landor, one of the most influential figures in the advertising industry, defined a brand like this: “Simply put, a brand is a promise. By identifying a product or service and confirming its originality, the brand provides a sense of satisfaction and quality. ” David Aaker, in his book Building Strong Brands, defines a brand as a “box of feelings” and deduces the essence of the brand as follows: “A set of qualities associated with a brand name and a symbol that enhances (or weakens) the value of a product or service offered under this symbol “. The most interesting definition that the author has encountered is also the most comprehensive. It is owned by Paul Feldwick, former director of strategic planning at DDB: “A brand is a collection of perceptions in the consumer’s mind.”
The official definition of a brand, recognized by experts from around the world, is as follows: “A sign or set of signs that identify the origin of a product or service and distinguish it from similar products of competitors.” Historically, brands, or stigma (from the English Brand – stigma, brand), were put in order to protect manufacturers from theft. Cattle were branded to identify their owner and return the animal if it was stolen. “Brands”, or trade marks, were also used in ancient Greece to identify amphorae with wine or olive oil and create value in the eyes of consumers by building a reputation as a manufacturer or trader of that wine or oil.
Today, there are many definitions of a brand. Every marketing expert insists on its own meaning. This problem is evident in our region as well, since we see the results of branding, brand creation and promotion activities, and, accordingly, advertising “selling” these brands, we see every day and many times. This problem is exacerbated when it comes to the question: how should brand strength be measured? How does design contribute to solving this problem? What kind of communication should be and what features should be taken into account when choosing the most effective way of communicating about a particular product or service?
But we should talk about design and the advertising itself that serves trademarks a little later, since it is necessary to clarify the definition of the very concept of a brand. In this issue, according to the authoritative expert in the field of brand management, Jean Noel Kapferer, two approaches should be considered. In the first approach, the consumer is the protagonist and focuses exclusively on the relationship between consumers and the brand. These relationships can be characterized by both complete indifference and attachment, commitment and willingness to buy, which are based on beliefs in the superiority of owning this product or service and the emotions they generate. Another approach is to measure in rubles, dollars and euros.
In this context, it is necessary to take into account the issue of quality and level of design, with the help of which the brand is presented. What should be the design for successful branding? After all, its role is far from unimportant in brand assessment. The answer to this question cannot be unambiguous and satisfactory for all companies and organizations. Because very few branding agency owners really know what their product means to the consumer, what makes it unique, different from others. Advertising campaigns are very often based on copying the strategy of advertising companies from other brands. As Jean-Noel Kapferer writes in his book A Brand Forever, “Only individual brands have their own strategy that defines their long-term distinctiveness and uniqueness.” Unfortunately, the list of successful global brands does not include domestic manufacturers and owners of large brands. The answer to the question of how a particular design participates in the brand building process does not seem easy. It cannot be found in graphic reference books and guides for the implementation of the next corporate identity.
Thank you! You can also read 10 Secret Facts About Indoor Labels Printing That Still No One Knows.
