A Designer's Guide to Branding

A Designer’s Guide to Branding Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a company will change its name, logo, design, or a combination of these in order to develop a new image with their customers. A graphic designer is often called upon for ideas. In order to truthfully tell their client’s story, a graphic designer needs to thoroughly understand the company through means of communication. In Melissa Mazzoleni’s article, Behind the Brand, she describes the rebranding of a business to be as essential as the changing of one’s style. When looking at old photos of ourselves, we may notice we have changed our hairstyle or the way we dress. Why do we do this? Mazzoleni explains it as this, “When my branding didn’t match with a genuine description of myself, I’ve had to evaluate, reflect, and update to keep the truth on the surface”(55). Companies need to do the same to keep up with the changing times. They want their image to stay up to date yet they don’t want to change who they are. So where does a designer begin when hired by a company to rebrand? According to Alina Wheeler, author of “Designing Brand Identity”, storytelling is essential to branding. Generally, consumers learn and retain more information when it is presented to them as a story.
Honesty is also important when telling a company’s story. A designer needs to learn as much as possible about a company, unveiling its past and present to find a truthful representation of the client. Wheeler says,
“The best stories are easy to share, memorable, have meaning, and are authentic. Meaning is a campfire for everyone to rally around. Authenticity is quite simply being genuine. It’s never about changing a brand story. That’s inauthentic. For me, it’s about unearthing the best and most relevant stories”(56).
A designer wants to uncover the truth and reflect that back to the consumer. When speaking with designer Jacqueline Jones, she insists research is key. “Learn everything