I surveyed a dozen entrepreneurs, marketers, and designers working with small and medium-sized businesses and noticed a twisted understanding of what brand and branding are.
"Just make me a logo and brand book" is the main request of small businesses and startups.With this interview, I would like to clarify such a metaphysical object as a brand , for those who do not have a clear understanding of how to form it. For entrepreneurs, to understand the model of working with the brand designer and the designers themselves, in order to put their work in the right direction.
Not surprisingly, the age of digitalization and the desire to ascribe rules or principles to everything has come down to such sensitive and emotional things as a brand, because these feelings completely influence the decision to purchase.
How does the metamorphosis take place from “just business” to “brand”?
Let's figure it out with Stepan Solodkov.
Stepan is a multidisciplinary designer and art director from Russia.
- Lives and works in Tallinn
- 8 European awards in 3 years
- Including Designer of the Year ADC * Estonia-2018
His work is closely related to the brand's visual communications .
I will leave links to Stepan's works at the end of the interview.
What do you do on your job?
To begin with, I'm not just making a logo. A logo is a part of the big concept of identity and communication . We must build completely communications .
Branding is a tool for perspective.It is clear that a small startup does not need this background, deep philosophy, etc. to launch. but for me these projects are no longer interesting, and they do not come. They are eliminated over time, when you refuse a couple of times.
Now it is interesting to work with museums, exhibitions and events, not quite commercial stories. There is more freedom: the opportunity to go into art is always more interesting than into an applied thing. For me, many things are easy to do, so experiments and non-standard graphics are interesting. The very fact of going over the edge.
What is branding?
Branding is a broad discipline, where identity is not an unimportant part of it.
This is the philosophy of the brand, its principles and intentions, they cannot be touched. It is a set of qualities and how you see a company, product or person.
How the brand communicates with you, what language it speaks, all this flows into your attitude and loyalty to the brand.
If branding is a person, then identity is clothing. How you are dressed - so you will be perceived.If at a business meeting, where everyone is in suits, you come in shorts. First of all, you will not be understood. All the same, the whole person remains a brand, but not yet understood.
Branding is a conversation with a consumer. Your inner perception of this person, his character, charisma, etc. - this is the brand.
Do you delve into the work associated with the meanings that form the brand?
I conduct several interviews with a client, trying to get the idea of ​​what he is, who he is, how he sees his brand, how can I help him create this, the graphic shell of the brand of the future or current.
When you delve into it, everything is important: I learn completely about the character, what message the company is, I try to get the client to tell me all this. Not to think for the client, but to squeeze out of him, so that he himself says.
“Design is just a solution to a problem,” you said that you have a different vision, tell us?
The design is great. I'm talking about graphic. The problem can be solved simply, but in graphic design it is still the development of taste, style, and understanding of the user.
The solution of communication problems can be carried out by type and there is no need for creativity and other things. And all the same, those things that have character are remembered .
That is, design as simply solving problems is a spineless thing. Structured, logical, but not expressive.
Like a fashion model on a catwalk, they are chosen with ugly faces. They are gray, they do not stand out, but clothes fit well on them. They shouldn't stand out from the clothes.The design that solves the problem is the same, it doesn't stand out.
And in identity, in graphic design, very often you need to stand out, you need to show character . Of course, there are areas where this is not needed. But I prefer to work with those areas where you need to stand out, where you need human emotions. I am in favor of the design of emotions so that a person sees and has personal feelings, whether he likes or dislikes them, the sensations are like a default state.
What are the areas that don't need character in design?
In terms of packaging design, there are local brand products that stores produce themselves. Macaroni, ketchup, if we're talking about packaging, there is absolutely no need for character. There is a product. Write what it is and the person will buy it.
Or a million is the first company that sells plastic windows and all competitors sell these windows, they are no different from each other, except for the price. People do not look at them as faces, personalities. I'm talking about a certain price segment, of course. There you need to project the site so that it is convenient and everything, the most primitive.
You know, like in Maslow's pyramid, where is the base and the superstructure . Emotion design is an add-on, this already goes higher, this is when a person has closed the need for something, and he needs emotions. It is more interesting for me to work here, at this level, than below.
Design as a solution is exactly the basis . And when it covers the basic needs, but a person needs more - then the design of emotions.
What creates the brand's image and character?
I will highlight the design - external , and the correct guides (rules) for copywriting.
Look, Burger King came to a creative agency and said, "let's be this kind of humbug." This is the tone of such a "bad" guy who comes out of the entrance: "Hey, hey, girl, you don't need a husband?" And everyone liked it. Cola-Cola always chooses a conservative tone, always for family values ​​and McDonald's there too. They don't rock this position. And Burger King is experimenting with these facets.
Copywriting is the voice of a brand, how it sounds, how it communicates.
There are brands that are as helpful as the restaurant. And there are brands - like / dislike - buy! This is how Apple removed USB ports from the poppy, buy this balalaika, stick it as you like, we don't care at all whether it's convenient for you or not. We are trendsetters and we are. You are either with us or you are not.
There are brands that "we will do everything for you, you just stay." These are all parts of big company branding that are spelled out at the entry level. The brand book of a large corporation will consist of 100 pages of graphic guides, and the same number on business ethics, brand philosophy, and so on. This is necessary for large corporations where standards are important i.e. where the model is copied is important.
Tell us about “innovation” in branding. It seemed to me that many clients are afraid to do something progressive and stick to what their eyes are used to?
I believe that every designer has his own customer and vice versa. A designer doesn't have to fit every client.
Back to the point that design for me is not only about solving problems. If I were solving problems, I could solve them like a pipeline.
But practice shows that designers have their own style and the client does not come to solve the problem, but to this designer, to this style. This is another level. Therefore, the clients who come to me, they no longer wait for a typical solution, see the portfolio. Therefore, it is important that the portfolio always contains projects that are relevant to what you are doing now and what you want to do, and not what you don’t want.
, , ?
This interpretation is at the core.
Example: Sberbank logo, green symbol is shown. The designer creates one thing, and people interpret for themselves. Someone thinks that this is a wallet into which money is flying, someone sees a savings bank.
There are brands that are more abstract, they are open to big meanings, here everyone sees for himself.
I'm sure not many people see the mermaid in the Starbucks badge and don't even know why it's Starbucks.
The best logos are Nike, Adidas, but they are not the best in terms of graphics. They are the best because they survived the time . In general, as a logo is remembered, so it works if it is often shown and everywhere. If you take Skype and disassemble it, it will have a terrible design, but you still recognize it.
What about small business branding?
There is already a good field for experimentation , if there is already a more or less loyal audience that will notice your personality. And if you already have some kind of character, then you can already start experimenting. I love working with medium-sized businesses because it's the perfect post for experimentation.
Large businesses are clumsy, for them to lose loyalty is very scary. Little ones sometimes don't need it, while the middle ones can try themselves, they won't lose a lot of money, clients and can take risks. They just need experiments, I work with them.
What is the position of the designer in relation to the client?
There are many variations. Basically, I try to come in as a consultant. We are equal with the client: he has his own expertise, I have my own. And we need to help each other. I try to make the client as involved as possible in the process. Because “do something, I'll be back in 2 weeks” is the worst model.
The client is, most often, the owner. When working with medium-sized businesses, I go out to the owner, if possible. If not, then the next step after the owner.
The hardest part about branding is the customer. He doesn't understand what he wants: he has his own barbecue, 2 gay bars, an armory, and he also loves dogs, channels with recipes, and so on. He needs branding ... What about the fact that he has his own taste, the taste may not have been seen?
Clients rate themselves a little higher than designers. They understand that they pay you, and you have to do the job based on their taste. Such people come to me, but I do not go to them.
When a person comes to you, he has already made his choice. You are chosen by portfolio.
In the design world, customers come from 2 main channels:
- Word of mouth
Someone recommended, so he came. I always ask first of all: "have you seen my work?" I show what I'm doing. I explain the algorithm of my principles by which I work. If you agree with all of this, then we will work; if you have questions, we will discuss. If not, then we will not work.
When you first start your career, all clients are like that. - By portfolio
Your works flicker, they are noticed, you are found by them.
The client in working with you is the head, and you turn him to the right place.You know where to lead. You do so that the decision was yours, but he took it. You showed him this, and he agreed. Better to spend 2-3 interviews helping the person formulate their thoughts than just doing something. If the client himself does not see the solution, then it is useless for you to do anything.
What determines the cost of branding?
Besides the personal brand and the designer's style.
How much I talked with colleagues, the purely technical part, in fact, can be calculated, but it depends on who does what.
Everything is relative here: whoever wants to do so. There is no labor input, for example - 10 nuts can be pulled out of 1 kg of metal. You have no basic needs: just a head and a computer. You have not spent anything, you have created something from nothing, so the cost of the work varies according to your needs. You have to pay for the office - one price, you have to pay for 10 workers under you - another price. If you work alone from home - the third price. If you have a super cool screen, fourth price, and so on.
Can you tell us more about the analysis of the company, it all starts with studying the brand of the platform? Do you work with a brand platform?
I understand what you mean, "brand platform" is the terminology of Kozhanov (director of the Higher School of Branding).
Sometimes the client has something, comes with something. If the company is larger, then they have brand books and some established priorities. And some of you sit with the client and work out who you will be, what kind of person.
If your brand was a person, what would it be? How does he speak, what does he like, how do you want to be paid attention to?Your graphics are based on these things. Those. in fact, we sew clothes for a person who is a brand, we try to reflect his inner features through these clothes, create an image.
Does the consumer play a major role? Do you do consumer analysis?
Yes, the target audience is the most important thing.
A topic like focus group is already an outdated thing, it doesn't work. If we say that we are making a brand for young people, I will not make it as for old people. I'm exaggerating. You choose the target audience, its core. The larger the brand, the larger the audience.
You try to understand who your main client is, who they are, how you want, this is taken into account, but without focus groups and things like that. I have worked with companies that commissioned large marketing research i.e. I was part of a group, people who did the analysis, interviewers, in this interview created a brand platform, and I, relying on it, created a visual image. Sometimes you create it yourself, sometimes you already have it, in different ways.
Can the effectiveness of rebranding be measured?
It is if the rebranding is possible, if the brand is new, then you cannot.
This can be done in packaging: sales have grown or not, it can be traced.
If corporate branding is difficult to understand.
I recently saw on Facebook that the guys from Pike made an identity for SkyEng and posted it, like they thought that this identity would bring such and such a profit to them. But the question is: how did they calculate it? No response was received.
In a budding web design, I clearly trace the point that some made the cloud site so easy. Someone has gone and everyone is copying it now.
Do you follow the designers in your field or do you try to abstract yourself?
I have Instagram, and all that interests me is there, there are 100 studios, people that I like. When I travel to the country where my favorite studio is, I always call them and ask for meetings, sometimes it rolls, sometimes not.
I don't like the concept of trend. I used to watch such things a lot, but now I’m no longer, I’m tired of it, everything has become monotonous, all the trends are copied there, feeds, typography, etc. You try to abstract yourself.
Final question. What do you rely on in your work? Come up with something new or take a ready-made one?
I am learning new techniques, animations, 3D, textures, stuff like that. I am very interested in animation lately, kinetic design. Roughly speaking, I always have a few things in my head, a sheet that I would like to try, but have not tried. And when a new project comes, I check with this sheet and, if something intersects, then I can use something, I will definitely go there and in this project I will experiment new textures, new techniques, I will implement with a new idea.
This allows you to learn on each project that you have not tried before.
I try to avoid clichéd solutions.They help speed up the process, but not make it new or more interesting. That is, experience allows you to solve a problem very quickly, in stereotyped ways, standard solutions, but I use them in small proportions, I try to try something new every time.
Therefore, for each project I take more time than necessary. In fact, I could have made more by doing faster, but I'm not interested. It’s interesting for me to sit for 2 weeks, fuck with a new thing that I didn’t do: it won’t work, I’ll redo it a hundred times, but I’ll achieve what I want. Though I will spend a lot of time.
The client will never understand how much time and effort I spent, but this will greatly affect the overall result.In my work, I try to show the client only one final solution.
Showing drafts is like showing undercooked borscht. You know that you will add salt, and the taste will change, and the client will not notice it.
I show one option, otherwise I pass on the choice to the client. Those. I don't know how to do it myself. There were cases when the client was overwhelmed by 50 options, what kind of platform could be discussed there, so and so, with or without frills. No difference.
Thank you for your attention!
Links to Stepana:
Behans
Links to me:
Behans