A short slideset I was asked to put together for a guest talk at Duquesne University. It briefly defines branding and offers a few examples of my perspectives on “Brand Families” and “Brand Voice.”

1. Simply Branding

2. Old Vs. New
“Branding, having replaced corporate
identity in the United States, has
forced many businesses to place a
higher value on a well-designed,
well-managed graphic identity.”
–
Design Issues: How Graphic Design Informs Society
By D. K. Holland
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3. Brand » Defined
“Simply put, a brand is a promise. By identifying and authenticating a
product or service it delivers a pledge of satisfaction and quality.”
– Walter Landor
“A brand is a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer.”
– Building Brands.com
“The sum of traits that identify an item, a family of items, or all items of a
particular seller.”
– Kolbrener USA
“A consistent voice used by an organization to speak with clarity and in a
unified way that makes good on its promise to the public.”
– Me
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4. Brand Markers
Reputation
How well is the brand known by its audience?
Esteem
How highly do its audiences rate the brand?
Relevance
How much do the brandʼs audiences care about what it does or stands for?
Differentiation
How different is the brand from others? Are other brands similar?
Source: Design Issues: How Graphic Design Informs Society by D. K. Holland
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5. Branding Program Goals
A strong branding program can (but is not limited to):
 Communicate the organizationʼs value proposition (promise) more efficiently
and effectively.
 Grow the size of the audience
 Motivate an audience to spread the word (word of mouth is the cheapest
form of marketing)
 Inform the next steps for marketing and programming
Source: Design Issues: How Graphic Design Informs Society by D. K. Holland
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6. A Few Quick Examples » “Family Voice”
Work © Daniel Pipitone
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7. A Few Quick Examples » “Family Voice”
Work © Giant Ideas
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8. A Few Quick Examples » “Immediate Family”
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Work © Carnegie Mellon

9. A Few Quick Examples » “Extended Family”
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Work © Carnegie Mellon

10. Our Responsibility
“Brands go too far when an unspoken
strategy is to lure the consumer into an
environment created at such a scale as
to reinforce our human significance.
When the objective is to appeal to the
irrational…to elicit greater brand
commitment, then the brand has gone
too far.”
–
Tibor Kalman
Design Issues: How Graphic Design Informs Society
By D. K. Holland
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11. Our Responsibility
As communicators, we have an important responsibility.
Never before has our role in shaping our surroundings been as important
as it is today.
No longer can the impact we have be measured solely by how our work looks,
or how clearly it communicates to one intended audience.
Today, communicators are ethnographers. We are agents of change and cultural
architects. We provide navigation for the most complex of interactions.
We are creators of social awareness and amplifiers of our political voices.
Our way of thinking is a valuable new commodity, even across the blurred lines
that once divided many disciplines.
We are asked to guide, consult and innovate while being cost-conscious, efficient
and timely. We are expected to inform, improve and rebuild while we are also
called on to be pragmatic, sustainable and green.
To be a communications professional today is to take on the responsibility of
proving our value by seeking knowledge and understanding needed to solve
creative problems, regardless of medium.
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