Brand Corporate Identity - Task 3

Edita Chew En Thung / 0357357

Brand Corporate Design / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Task 3  : Positioning & Identity

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Table of Content

1. LECTURES

2. INSTRUCTIONS

3. PROCESS

      i. FINAL

4. FEEDBACK

5. REFLECTION

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LECTURES

Lecture Notes: Brand Ideas and Their Importance

Introduction to Brand and Brand Ideals

• Definition of a Brand:
  • A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company.
  • While companies cannot control this feeling entirely, they can influence it by communicating qualities that differentiate their product.
    
    
• Definition of a Brand Ideal:
  • A higher purpose of a brand or organisation that transcends the products or services they sell.
  • It reflects the brand’s inspirational reason for being (Stan Gale).
  • Acts as a moral compass and aspirational point of reference.

Importance of Brand Ideals

1. Unity and Purpose:

   • A shared intention aligns leadership and employees.
   • Companies with cohesive beliefs create effective connections with their target audience.

2. Long-term Engagement:

   • Brand values rooted in timeless principles foster purpose and loyalty among stakeholders.

3. Examples:

   • Google’s initial motto: "Don’t be evil" (removed in 2018).
   • Nike’s "Just Do It" campaign encourages perseverance and success.
   • Apple’s "Think Different" campaign reflects creativity and quality over quantity.

Case Studies

1. Nike:

   • "Just Do It" (1988) inspires personal success regardless of fitness levels.
   • Featured bold campaigns like Colin Kaepernick’s "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything."

2. Apple:

   • Struggling in 1997, it launched the "Think Different" campaign under Steve Jobs.
   • Focused on creativity, simplicity, and connecting deeply with customers.

Core Elements of Brand Ideals

Every strong brand ideal rests on foundational values, which include:

1. Vision:

   • Definition: A compelling and clear direction provided by passionate leaders (e.g, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson).
   • Requirements:
     • Courage to imagine what others cannot see.
     • Tenacity to achieve ambitious goals.
   • Example: JFK’s vision to land on the moon inspired a nation.

2. Meaning:

   • Brands stand for a big idea or set of defined values.
   • Meaning evolves over time and must be communicated clearly through design and storytelling.

3. Authenticity:

   • Clarity about market position and genuine self-awareness.
   • Authentic brands create trust and form personal connections with customers.

4. Differentiation:

   • Brands must compete and stand out in a noisy marketplace.
   • Key Question: If your brand disappeared, would anyone miss it?

5. Sustainability:

   • Ability to maintain relevance amid constant change.
   • A sustainable brand becomes a symbol of trust and familiarity.

6. Coherence:

   • Consistency across all touchpoints reinforces the brand message.
   • Coherence strengthens recognition and trust.

7. Flexibility:

   • Ability to adapt to changing environments while maintaining core values.

8. Commitment:

   • Dedication to the brand’s vision and its long-term goals.
   • Engenders trust within internal teams and with external audiences.

Conclusion

• A brand ideal represents a company’s higher purpose and aspirations, influencing how it connects with employees, customers, and the broader community.
• By leveraging vision, authenticity, and differentiation, brands can cultivate meaningful relationships that transcend products and services.
• Successful examples like Nike and Apple demonstrate how brand ideals transform businesses into cultural icons.

INSTRUCTIONS

fig 1.0 | MIB (Module Information Booklet)

Task Overview

• Position and design the brand identity for "PAPAN," a high-end custom furniture brand. The brand identity should reflect its core values, focusing on timeless, sustainable, and luxurious elements.

• Deliverables:

  • Logo Applications:

    • Business Card
    • Letterhead & Continuation Sheet (with and without mocked text)
    • Envelope
    • Invoice

  • Collaterals:
    Design four brand-appropriate collaterals, such as a T-shirt, tote bag, lapel pin, or product packaging.

  • Digital Presence: Create digital assets such as website UI and social media mockups.

  • Environmental Graphics and Simulations: Simulate branded physical environments, including the store exterior, interior, and other signage.Documentation: Compile all research, sketches, designs, and insights into a logical ePortfolio post. Ensure all works are labeled, dated, and described chronologically.

PROCESS

All process screenshots are documented in Google Drive : LINK HERE

fig 1.1 & 1.2 | PROCESS

This section highlights how each element of the project was completed, step by step.

• Logo Design:

  1. Conducted visual research on furniture brands and their logo trends.
  2. Sketched multiple logo concepts inspired by wood textures and minimalist typography.
  3. Refined the selected design using Adobe Illustrator, focusing on clean lines and versatility.
  4. Integrated deep green, earthy brown, and warm beige tones to align with the brand's eco-friendly and luxurious ethos.

• Mood Board:

  1. Curated a board using imagery and typography to reflect PAPAN’s brand personality.
  2. Selected a deep green, earthy brown, and warm beige colour palette for a natural, timeless aesthetic.
  3. Incorporated textures such as polished wood and matte finishes.

• Corporate Stationery:

  • Created a cohesive design for business cards, letterheads, envelopes, and invoices emphasising simplicity and elegance.
  • Ensured that all pieces used the brand colour palette and reflected the crafted nature of PAPAN’s products.

• Collateral Design:

  • Developed mockups for a ownership card, care card,  delivery sticker and catalog.
  • Incorporated hand-crafted patterns to align with the bespoke, artisanal image.
    
    Note: Feedback that was given by lecturer was that I should change the collateral from physical furnitures to smaller items.
    
    

• Website UI:

  • Designed a minimalist website landing page that balances clean layouts with imagery showcasing PAPAN’s furniture.
  • Focused on intuitive navigation and visual storytelling through carefully chosen fonts and images.

• Environmental Graphics and Simulations:

  • Designed the exterior of PAPAN’s store, visualising its placement in an urban environment with wooden elements and modern architecture.
  • Simulated the store’s interior, showcasing furniture in a curated, luxurious showroom setup.

• Social Media Mockups:

  • Created an Instagram layout showcasing furniture images.
  • Focused on cohesive visual branding.

3. Outcomes

• Developed a timeless logo and corporate stationery that align with PAPAN’s core values.
• Created mockups for physical collaterals that elevate brand visibility.
• Designed a user-friendly and visually stunning website interface.
• Produced realistic simulations for PAPAN’s physical presence, including store visuals.
• Built a cohesive Instagram profile, visually reflecting PAPAN’s brand identity.

FINAL

link in GG drive HERE

FEEDBACK

 

FEEDBACK

• Hierarchy

• Mock text, company info, colour of logo, full logo.

• Pattern change as it’s too “in your face”, too distracting from main brand “logo”

• “Should have your brand logo somewhere. Maybe on top left then title of care card to be flush left beside brand logo?”

• “Is there a back design for this? Maybe brand logo there and some fine print text”

NEXT PLAN OF ACTION

• Improve the mockups and artworks

 

REFLECTION

Findings
Through this project, I gained a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between branding, brand identity, and their role in marketing and business strategies. Researching the market and analysing successful brands allowed me to see how design not only represents a product but communicates its values, vision, and personality. By exploring PAPAN's unique traits, I learned how sustainability and timeless design could be visually and verbally articulated to appeal to a niche audience. This process emphasised the importance of cohesive branding elements like colour palettes, typography, and environmental graphics in forming a strong, recognisable identity.

Observation
While working through the design process, I noticed how critical it is to align creative methods with a brand’s core values. The challenge of maintaining a balance between aesthetics, functionality, and messaging became evident during the development of PAPAN’s applications, from the mood board to collaterals and digital presence. Small decisions, like choosing earthy tones and minimalist layouts, significantly impacted how the brand felt to its audience. Observing feedback from peers and instructors reinforced the idea that branding is not just visual but an emotional and experiential connection with the audience.

Conclusion
This project helped me develop a more refined approach to applying creativity to solve branding challenges. By aligning PAPAN’s identity with its vision of sustainability and timeless luxury, I learned how to turn abstract ideas into tangible outcomes that tell a story. The iterative process of designing, receiving feedback, and refining taught me resilience and adaptability. Ultimately, this experience solidified my ability to use design methods strategically to create impactful and meaningful branding solutions.