BRANDING
Branding – the process of determining in the public consciousness the unique iconography of an organisation, product or service – has been lauded as marketing salvation and fetishised as a dark art.
From a designer’s perspective, divining the essence of a customer’s identity and underlying values can be part counselling session, part exorcism, with elements of both interrogation and confessional in what is – by necessity – a very personal exchange of creative fluids.
One wouldn’t expect to be presented with a perfectly tailored bespoke suit after just one fitting, and similarly, branding has more than a little of the ‘nip and tuck’ about it. A satisfied customer will find their ethos and character reflected back at them, in ways which are transferable across a range of media and futureproofed for applications yet undreamed of.
Branding is more than just a stand-alone logo, of course. The Black Limelight approach tends toward the playful and illustrative, rich in allusion and visual punnery – but that won’t suit every customer. It can also be as plain as a pikestaff at first glance, but carry nonetheless a spark of instant recognition.
Designers have traditionally viewed the branding process as a cash cow, piling on charges for the conceptual work, the inevitable revisions and even the subsequent iterations, in the hope that the customer won’t notice. This form of ‘gold plating’ is deeply unethical, and can be avoided by clear communication from the outset.
