Design Forum » Brand expertise

Create a Retail Brand Experience, Not a Mess

Scott Jeffrey — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:08:07 +0000

My kid will tell you that I make a mean chocolate chip pancake, but that's only due to my ability to follow the directions on the box. I'm not much of a cook, I'm afraid. I think the most difficult part of cooking a meal is the timing. I admire the planning that goes into starting one thing while thawing another all the while mixing something else and like magic, they all come to the table at the same time. I tried baking a layer cake once and didn't make it out of the frosting phase unscathed. I ended up with a sticky mess and a birthday promise that went unfulfilled. Thankfully, the local bakery bailed me out. Evolving a brand into a new, more engaging incarnation can be just as magic, or if improperly handled, just as messy, resulting in a brand promise that goes unfulfilled. Expectations are always high when we embark on the path that leads to transforming a brand, from both our friends on the client side as well as ourselves. Designers inherently embrace a challenge, and we see every project as an opportunity to make a brand all and the very best that it can be. A lot of teamwork goes into executing a brand—that is, following the recipe we’ve created for an engaging shopping experience. If the recipe isn't followed, your outcome can suffer.

Brand voice includes corporate citizenship

Ethan Smith — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:16:47 +0000

Brand assets and touch points are like words in a sentence. By themselves they might have their own independent meaning, but when combined they add up to convey a larger meaning and message or voice. Everything a brand says or does has an impact on a brand’s voice. Historically brands and the business they represent were viewed by the general public simply as a business, with basic economic and strategic issues to deal with. However, right now we are witnessing a shift in the way consumers think about brands. Consumers are now seeing brands more as living, breathing entities with personalities and voices all their own. As a result, brands are being asked to act more like good citizens and have an overall net positive impact on the world or at the very least to limit their negative impact. It wasn’t that long ago that the majority of consumers had no clue about a product’s life cycle. They didn’t know or care where their food came from. They had no idea what a brand’s policy on energy was of if it recycled. Consumers didn’t think about human rights issues in the factories of the developing world.

Impressions of the 2010 World Expo

Matt — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:06:20 +0000

Amazing things are happening in China. I recently traveled to Shanghai to witness the 2010 World Expo first hand. It was nothing less than astonishing. I managed to see pavilions from North Korea (an altogether unique experience as it was their first appearance on the world stage), Iran, Belgium, the United Kingdom and India just to name a few. Disney World for adults The best way to describe the World Expo is that it’s a temporary and ambitious way to put the world on display, country by country. Imagine a place that takes in on average 344,000 people per day, every day, for six months. When I arrived on my second day around noon, the count had clocked 460,000 attendees. Queue lines were outrageous, lasting up to five or sixhours for the bigger pavilions. Some parts of the park were so crowded that I had to literally fight my way through masses of people. Sticky humidity and sweltering heat made for a very exhausting experience. However, when I passed the grey wall shrouding the UK pavilion and the iconic Seed Cathedral, all of those negative elements faded away. Project Dandelion Having seen a lot of great design around the world, the UK’s Seed Cathedral has to be one of the most incredible pieces of architecture I have ever seen. The concept is elegant and awe-inspiring.

The Worst Brand Placement Ever

Elise Krieger — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:42:45 +0000

On a recent trip through LAX, feeling like a co-star in the George Clooney flick Up in the Air, I began the habitual routine: head to self check-in, find a seat near the front of the plane, drudge to security, get my identity squared away, enter the waiting game, strategize about which line is shortest at the security check and prepare my belongings for scrutiny. I’m pulling out my computer and liquids; taking off my shoes and jewelry; and—what’s this?! The security bins aren’t the normal smudged grey. Rather, each display a shiny, newly installed advertisement—for none other than the Skechers Shape Ups. Putting aside the misconceived brand marriage of health and wellness with Skechers, let’s consider the advertising locale: the airport security bins. At no other point during my airport visit do I feel more vulnerable, valueless and at edge than when standing barefooted with my personal belongings projected for the viewing pleasure of four complete strangers. While I grow increasingly more concerned about how the TSA agents stare at the x-ray of my purse like it’s this summer’s blockbuster while I’m waiting there shoeless, Skechers wants me to consider wearing Shape Ups. I almost feel mocked.

Story is King at Pixar

Mike Hampton — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:01:53 +0000

On June 18, Pixar Animation Studios released the third installment in their flagship franchise, simply titled “Toy Story 3." Now that the reviews are in, Pixar just missed the mark in producing the first movie trilogy to receive 100% fresh ratings on the popular movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes. A 100% rating is near impossible for any individual movie, considering the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes are not a single opinion but an aggregate of hundreds of movie critics’ ratings. Doing so for all three movies in a trilogy, or even coming this close, would seem to be an impossible task. And yet, they came within inches.

Also, this eleventh feature-length offering from Pixar has all the indications of another smashing financial success. While any individual moviegoer may have some negative opinions about some of Pixar’s movies, it’s hard to argue against the overall universal acclaim and the respective worldwide box office returns. So how does Pixar do it? Three simple words: Story is king.

The Hot Wheels Brand: A Study in Eternal Coolness.

Scott Jeffrey — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:39:10 +0000

We are all students of brand in one way or another, and I believe we begin that learning early, in our formative years. I remember sitting with an Etch A Sketch for hours and being completely engrossed in little lines drawn in a field of silver dust. A few shakes and I got a completely new canvas. Amazing. Maybe that helped shape my future as a designer and if so, thank you Etch A Sketch. But I suspect there is another brand that, at the very least, helped shape my love and fascination for the automobile. Could there be a cooler brand than Hot Wheels? I admit to still having my very first Hot Wheels car, a red '68 Custom Mustang that is my sole prized possession. It is missing a hood, a bunch of paint, the wheels in the back are curled up like many did back then and it has some original dirt that I happily applied as a kid. It never lost a race. Somewhere, playing with that car flipped a switch in my brain and I've loved the automobile ever since. I could get philosophical about the Hot Wheels brand and how I think it mirrors many aspects of the time in which we live. About how the graphics on the packaging can be seen as an indication of trend and how it becomes a miniature testament to the actual car brands themselves. About how the proprietary designs from the Hot Wheels design studio draw from many aspects of modern culture. Ask any young child what you call the little tiny cars and I'll bet that you'll get the correct answer 9 times out of 10. The folks at Mattel have done a great job over the (40!) years of providing a consistent message, keeping true to their calling while managing to leverage their asset across a vast array of other products, from PJ's to fruit snacks and Saturday morning cartoons. It's a great historical brand case study and one that continues to be relevant.

QSR Wake-up Call. Drive-thru Focus Leads to Customer Drive-by

Tom — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:25:19 +0000

For years, the majority of cash at quick service restaurants has gone “through the window." The growing car culture has dictated a focus on drive-thru efficiency to the point where the dining room has become an afterthought to operators and subsequently a barrier to customers. The cost of updating and maintaining a dining room has seemed cost prohibitive to many QSR chains and their franchisees, especially in light of the high drive-thru ratio. But by not offering a unique, pleasant dining experience, they have let the brand image wither on the vine. And it's now coming back to haunt them. I contend that the high drive-thru ratio is in large part due to customers avoiding the “ick” factor of enduring outdated, smelly, deteriorating environments with no sense of place or brand personality. The dining room is the brand.

The Value of Brands

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:29:45 +0000

Design Forum has changed its name… sort of. When we became part of Interbrand in 2002, we kept the name of the company that I founded in 1978. Since then, we’ve evolved from a pure design entity into a multi-disciplined consultancy with a deep pool of talent, including a lot of brand expertise. “Design Forum” contains valuable