Whether I’m happy in my current situation, looking for a job or just casually scouting around to see what’s happening out there. It’s benefited me in a number of ways, one being making connections and becoming known to various companies and individuals within the communications industry.

There have been times where a resume sent out comes back to visit me just when I need it most, someone calls and says, “Hey are you still doing such and such” or, “Are you still interested in a position?”.

Being a web enabled worker means I need to keep a constantly updated profile online, and with tools like WordPress and freely available themes of all kinds it makes setting up a website for just about any purpose a real synch. So I acted on a thought which has been bugging me for a while and registered www.nurahmadfurlong.com to use as an easily up-datable online resume or profile. Currently I’ve slapped up a simple digital business card wordpress theme to post a few vital contact and social link details but I plan to build a more comprehensive resume website which I can keep updating and can also feed RSS and other activity streams into so I can consolidate my activities into 1 personal space. I use dreamhost for my personal hosting and they make it super easy to register new domains and install software like wordpress within a few clicks, no FTP necessary.

It also makes it easy to just pop the link into a message instead of scratching around for my most updated CV or intro letter at times when I need to introduce myself for whatever reason.

I highly recommend any professional builds themselves an online resume or personal profile of some sort which gives new prospects or potential employers a good idea of who you are and what you’re doing or have done in the past. It also shows you take your career seriously. It’s not extremely hard to set one of these up. You could either register a low cost domain & hosting package or use a free website service like wordpress.com or any other for that matter.

Then there’s also resume services zerply.com where I recently registered for a free online resume. The cool thing about Zerply is you can quickly pull your career history details from Linkedin or Facebook and have a resume up in a minute or 2. Have a look at mine – http://www.zerply.com/profile/nomadone

Of course I do keep my CV on this site as well so anyone visiting can download and get a quick idea of my experience and focus. I have 2 CVs, a 1 page PDF document and a much longer more detailed one when I need to provide more details into my career history, skillset etc.

Having designed the Jayz Corporate Identity a while back, and then styling his previous site, it was a welcome experience taking it another step further with this latest re-brand. This re-design focused much more on personal branding, something which I think I need to pay a little more attention to myself, but which Jayz does really well.

So what do you think of the Jayz new look?

www.strictlyhalaal.com

The first of them, a site which hasn’t launched yet but is pretty much completed is www.strictlyhalaal.com, which serves as a listing/directory site for “halaal” certified businesses.

Strictlyhalaal.com uses a few great free plugins:

• GD Star Rating allows for users to give each listing a rating.
• Collapsing Categories Plugin created that cool expandable category list on the homepage
• Ad Minister allows you to created widgetized ad spaces to add dynamic ads or content

Next up is Learningcurve.co.za

Learning Curve is a dedicated education technology supplier, representing premium brands such as Adobe, Apple, Dell, Autodesk and Toonboom. This was the first time I have setup an e-commerce website using WordPress and proved to be quite a challenge to begin with but also turned out to be a really valuable learning experience, no pun intended.

To power the e-commerce side fo things I used the wp-ecommerce plugin, which is a really powerful yet free plugin system allowing you to turn your WordPress site into an online store in a few clicks. Customizing the online store’s appearance was a bit of a mission for starters but it’s worth learning the ins & outs of this plugin, developed by the boys at www.instinct.co.nz.

I can’t unfortunately divulge the sales figures for the first 2 months, but lets just say I was more than pleasantly surprised. It’s great to see your work directly benefiting your client’s bottom line, especially immediately after it’s implementation.

Last but not least is Duomarketing.co.za

This is the first time I make use of a Woo Theme to develop a client site. I’m very impressed with what the guys at WooThemes are up to, and even more so when I took a little lookie under the hood of one of their themes. The theme options part is really well done, some of the code still boggles my mind a bit, but it allows the user to easily switch stylesheets for a change of colour and style.

The widgetized areas on the homepage works out quite well also allowing you to add pages into certain block of the homepage layout. The cost of the premium theme definitely adds value to the mix as it allows the client to aquire some really great features for a fraction of the cost of cutom development.

I’m still at wireframe stage but would appreciate some feedback from anyone out there with regards to the little mockup above and also how you think I should improve on my site based on the current design & layout.

So I need to know about:

Colour, Graphic Elements, Layout, Usability, Readability, Functionality and last but not least, Content, the area I think probably needs to most focus.

I signed up on the network a while back in the testing phase but only really started using it in the last few days and I have to say, Linkedin needs to take note of some of the features in Salambc.com’s network. Salambc’s profile’s work alot more like a facebook and creating and joining groups is alot easier than Linkedin.

They’re described themselves in the following manner:

The Salam Business Club is the world’s first social business network especially for the Arab, Asian and Muslim business world with members from 170 countries around the world. Join the hottest Internet startup and find old friends, colleagues, valuable business contacts and new markets for your products. Extend your network and connect with decision makers, freelancers, entrepreneurs and the managers of the future.

I’d love to know if their backend is custom built or running on an open-source platform. Have a squiz at Salambc.com and sign up if ur interested in networking with Muslim/Arab Friendly business professionals.

An aquantance of mine criticised the special focus of this social network saying no social networks should be specifically for certain groups. I had to dissagree, as  person with a specific set of values and ethics, I’m interested in networking with others who share my values and on a business level I’d like to network with other business people who appreciate that there are certain types of business practices I cannot promote, joining Salambc gives me this opportunity.

Salambc is not exclusive though and even though it encourages doing business in an islamically acceptable manner, it invites all interested to join. If you do join though, know that there are rules to any game, so promoting business which does not conform with Islamic Business rules is not allowed, those being interest based financial services, gambling, alcohol, anything of an adult(XXX) nature or any unhealthy products or services.

I take my hat off to theses guys and wish them every success going forward.

Praxia Positions itself in the following manner.

“Our mission is to help our clients realise the full potential of their network, communications and computer hardware and software.”

Saeed of Praxia Technologies approached me, firstly to refresh his web presence and put something up there he could manage himself. This has become pretty much a standard request for web design projects as no-one wants to have to call up an html coder each time they want to update a page on their site.

As usual I recommended WordPress, due to it’s quick and simple framework and user friendliness, especially for Praxia’s simple CMS(Content Management System) needs. I found a template which suited their requirements and went about giving it a complete facelift. Praxia’s logo also needed a change and I was happy to oblige as logo design is one of my favourite areas of focus.

First Things first – Establish a new Brand

We started off with the logo design so we could base the site’s look & feel on the Brand and create a nice consistent looking online presence.

After exploring various directions as I usually do with logo design projects the client was split between 2 logo options and we had some back & forth discussion on the pros and cons of each direction.

We settled on the more practical option, the other being the 3 dimensional X element. The focus on the X stems from their original logo and was maintained to keep some kind of consistency going in the re-brand.

Next comes the site in WordPress

We decided to re-use the 3D X element with each component of the X representing a specific business unit as the client still liked the element and wanted to maintain it somehow.

Because Praxia is an IT Tech company focusing every element of a clients IT Tech needs they wanted to go with something which links well with the technology they use. A few stages of design drafts and the client was pretty happy with the look though felt something was missing, and with the inclusion of the brushed metal background we’d settled on a design which the client was very excited about.

To see the final coded result visit www.praxia.co.za. Let me know what you think.

What do the rest of you think of the logo?

Grab the badge below or paste the code into your sidebar to let others know you’ll be there and to encourage more to join us!

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found on http://www.theethicalagency.co.uk

No this is not my business, of course not, not yet that is. I’ve come across quite a few UK based agencies of this nature in the last few years and it’s been my mission for a while to start one here in South Africa.

TEA – The Ethical Agency, is a UK based ethically motivated advertising company which promotes ethical business and lifestyles and does so in a really thought provoking manner.

Visiting their site has pricked my imagination somewhat and helped further crystallise the idea which has been brewing in my head for way too long.

So who out there has any ideas regarding ethical business?

Does this interest you, do you see a need for it?

Anyone passionate enough to take it a step further and do something?

We are all agents of change in our own right and have the responsibility to create a better space for all of us to live in.

I found these inspiring quotes on TEA’s website:

Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, for as long as you can. -John Wesley

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. -Greek proverb

The person should be independent, or looking to go independent. Someone with a wide skills or knowledge base and a solid network of strategic connections would help. Someone with previous experience in advertising, brand development, web development or journalism would be suitable.

Are you an entrepreneur in the making? If you’ve thought about starting an agency or consultancy more than once a month in the last few years, then this may be your chance to do just that. If you don’t need to do a wikipedia search to know what Design Thinking means then I’d love to pick your brain and maybe develop a business together.

Someone with a highly ethical approach and positive outlook on the environment and development of positive values in society would be ideal.

Interested in chatting, mail me on nur@nomad-one.com or contact me on skype with “one-nomad”. Looking forward to chatting soon.

The aim of this article is to bring out some of the benefits of having a design centric operation, one which appreciates the value design has to offer to all aspects of ones business, and using design as an integral part of a profit generating strategy.

As a designer I am always questioned about the need for design within a business and the value or purpose it serves. A discussion with one of my peers lead to some introspection and research to uncover the facts behind this supposed mystery.

How do we quantify Design Value?

To many business people it’s difficult to quantify the effect design might have on their business. This is true for all aspects of the business and all forms of design, be it web, print, internal(within the company), external(customer focused), for products, services, communication and aesthetic purposes. The best way to quantify the value design has to offer is to analyse how design has added value to companies who are Design Centric. Design Centris meaning those who appreciate and employ design to enhance business value.

Insights from US & UK Design Research

Research done in both the US and Britain have shown conclusively that design has a positive impact on the performance, profitability and positive image of companies across a wide spectrum of industries. The “Value of Design Fact Finder” study, done in the UK, had the following to say about the impact of design on business performance:

Businesses which use design perform better than their rivals. There’s unmistakable proof of that in our Value of Design Factfinder, a unique online information tool.

The Value of Design Factfinder was launched in June 2006 and shows the positive impact of design on practically every measure of business performance, including market share, growth, productivity, share price and competitiveness.

In businesses where design is integral to operations, over three quarters say they’ve increased their competitiveness and turnover through design. Similarly, four out of five (79%) businesses that believe design is integral to their business think that design’s importance to competitiveness has risen over the past decade.

I don’t want to bore you with graphs and figures but would encourage you to take a look at the findings for yourself at www.designfactfinder.co.uk. The organisation had also conducted some case studies into how 11 leading companies have recently used Design to increase their competitive advantage, from Microsoft which previously was more of a technology focused company to companies like LEGO, XEROX, Sony Playstation and Yahoo. This show that the worlds top performing companies see real value in being more Design Centric in their approaches to increase their competitive advantage.

A few Business Benefits of Design

Design to persuade

As all entrepreneurs and business people know, it’s not enough to have a product or service without marketing it. Whether you have produced the ultimate, highly sought after product, or offer the best service in any specific field, if people don’t know about it you’ll never make any money. This is the task of marketing and sales activity. This alone won’t guarantee results as the manner in which your products are marketed or sold will have varying degrees of success. Communication is key and the key to communication is persuasion.

Design plays a vital role in persuasion, both in terms of the sales approach and the visual appeal. The manner in which a product is presented to a prospect is crucial in securing a sale, choose the wrong sales person could result in a top product to start collecting dust on the shelf. While we may not agree that this should be true, it is an unfortunate reality, that poor products which are correctly marketed could sell more than their superior, yet poorly marketed counter-parts. Though you can’t judge a book by its cover, many badly written books are sold because of well designed covers.

• Great product + Poor Marketing = less sales
• Great value Needs to be communicated well
• Communication is key & the key to communication is persuasion
• Design plays a vital role in persuasion
• You can’t judge a book by its cover but you can sell it by its cover

Design fills the communication/persuasion gap on a number of levels. From packaging to presentation material, language, product design itself and information design in relation to explaining the benefits of the product or service to name but a few. Another designed space is the store, or the website which acts as the shopping environment. Creating a space which facilitates the sale of products or services is an area large companies invest millions in.

Unique Identity Setting oneself apart

Differentiation is another keyword to remember. You don’t want to appear like a cookie-cutter-copy of your competitors. While some chinese ripp-offs survive off this type of approach, it’s not the best business model on the planet unless you’re willing to complete solely on price. Standing out from the crowd has never been more difficult with new products and service providers popping up like mushrooms. Design is used increasingly to give businesses a unique differential edge. It’s the same with people, we choose clothing within a specific niche, but try to keep our choices as different, interesting and personally meaningful as possible. Dressing your company up in the right clothes simply cannot be done without a certain amount of Design as well as creative/strategic thinking. Thinking is part of the Design Process.

Establishing a recognizable Brand

The visual language you use to convey what your company is about, can’t live on it’s own though. You still have to stand for something, offer something of real value, and be a genuine benefit to those who use your products or services. Building a brand can sometimes be like trying to give shape to thin air, because its filled with so many intangibles. Feelings and perceptions which people have about your company are difficult to manage and to encourage if they are positive. The Communication Language (literal and visual in fact all sensory communication) is an area to focus on and the way you speak is important. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and creating a visual Branding experience can speak volumes on what you want to convey. This extends into the entire sensory & emotional/psychological experience your customer has with your business & product/service. These experiences need to be Designed.

Design to give your operation a professional look

The last thing most businesses want is to look cheap, even if sometimes that’s their only unique difference, but you’d almost never find companies saying they are the cheapest. They’d use words like value for money, cost effective and all manner of other pleasant terms to describe the low cost nature of what they are offering. When something looks cheap we expect the quality to be poor and tend to stay away from this type of product or service. Design plays an important role in expressing and highlighting the inherent quality and professionalism of what you offer. If you’re a project management consultancy but your website is the most disorganised around, do you think people will believe you can manage their projects effectively? Many new prospects might not think so, but you’d never know because they simply won’t contact you.

Design for better usability

I’m sure you’ve heard of form following function. This expression explains objects taking the necessary shape in order to produce the best result. Many times we come across products, websites or even books which may look good aesthetically, but fail to fulfill their intended function.

Usability conscious design takes into account how the product will be used, determines the design decisions needed to enhance the users’ experience and to maximize the products intended functionality. It could be as simple as a decision on where to put the “sign up for newsletter button” on ones website, or what text to bold in a paragraph, or as complex as choosing the right technologies, materials, manufacturing processes or even developing new technologies to solve the business problem. These decisions have to be done in combination with an understanding of what will be aesthetically pleasing to the user.

Design for better readability

No, design is not just about creating pretty pictures, like many people think. Creating a message which is easy to read and conveys its intended meaning clearly, is also a design function. Take the example of a billboard. If I were to cram some essential but less important information into a small disclaimer, which was not legible to those the message was intended to reach, I would have failed at my job of designing the billboard to be fully functional.

A less obvious example would be increasing the letter spacing or line heights in a paragraph of text to make it easier to read. The choice of typeface or even the colour of the text can make a huge difference in the way the reader engages with your message. These issues are all a function of the design process.

Design for better communication

When communicating with different people, we shape the way we speak and interact with them based on our relationship with them. We also do so based on the relationship we would like to have with them as well as their level of understanding. This includes language or even accents. The same is true for business & organisational communications. We need to understand many factors which influence how our messages get across. We need to know the rules of the medium, understand who we are speaking to and what their level of understanding of the subject is. The more we know about our desired result and the target audience, the more tools we will have to develop our message. Design plays an important role in structuring and packaging messages into a format which can produce the desired result. Using the appropriate information the designer can create just the right message for the intended purpose.

Design to educate

Many times we need to educate our audiences on a specific subject, before we can convey our primary message. If you’re selling software for example, just rattling off the features might not be enough to convince your prospect. In this case you need to take your prospect through an educational journey in order to give them an experience of your product. Education takes place internally when conveying new company policies or processes. Maybe your factory has just implemented a new manufacturing process which needs to be conveyed to thousands of workers. Developing materials, presentations and guides to teach people is something that requires a thorough understanding of information design, typographic treatment, visual language and iconography and many other design related skills. With good design the task of teaching becomes easier. It’s common knowledge that Audio visual or multimedia presentations enhance people’s ability to grasp a subject as it engages their senses on multiple levels and creates and experience. A badly designed presentation could further confuse people on a particular subject and cost companies and organisations thousands in mistakes and lack of productivity.

Design can also unlock and enhance the positive attributes of your products and service by drawing. As we have all experienced when sitting down at a restaurant to have a meal presentation is very important in creating an appetizing experience. If the food is presented in a mixed up and disorganised fashion which does not bring out the good qualities of the ingredients we may even refuse to eat it. This applies to your business, your products and your services.

We can use Design to create focus on things which are of primary importance, to establish personality, to appeal to certain tastes, to fit into culture of a specific market, to improve efficiency and productivity, to uncover innovative ways of manufacturing, packaging and presenting products and services. What all of these do together is sell. Your customers will be happier if you design better experiences for them or give them a more usable or aesthetically pleasing product.

If you’d like to learn a little more about how Design can positively impact on your business, give us a shout, on nur [at] nomad-one [dot] com or contact us using our other details at the top of this newsletter.

So far, setting up this little competition has allowed me to focus on the theoretical or technical aspects of Logo Design. It has helped me get back to the nuts and bolts of it so to speak, and to get together a collection of best practices which has already started influencing how I go about Designing Logos. All in all, the competition from my perspective has been a great success, so much so that I’ve been thinking about having it as a standard feature on my site with a winner chosen every 2 months.

I haven’t chosen the first winner yet

There have been a few last minute entries and I’m also a little confused as to which questions deserve to win. I hoped there would be a question which stood out head & shoulders above the rest, but there are a few good ones and I want to take some time to decide.

I was thinking of opening it up for a vote

The questions already have ratings and can be rated once per visitor. I’m not sure if this is viable due to the slow traffic at this time of year though.

I was also considering asking the entrants to post a motivation as to why they think their question is a winner. This would help me with my decision.

The questions which stand out for me so far are:

# 7 – Should the values of my organisation be reflected in its logo, and how would a designer go about communicating these values visually and in an enticing fashion?

# 10 – Ok, so I’ve got a logo but I think it’s starting to look out of date. I’m also worried that we shouldn’t change our branding when we’re already recognised by it. What can I do?

# 11 – Is there a difference between a logo and a brand and if so how are the two connected?

#14 – Logo’s these days are designed to flashy shiny and very web2.0 … what are the principles that you would use to design a timeless classic.

What do you think? Check out the questions on the Logo Design Q & A page and post a comment or a motivation as to why your question, if you asked one; should win.

I’m also interested to know:

• What you guys think of the competition?
• Was it useful?
• Any ideas on how to improve it?
• What do you think of my choices for the winning Question?
• What else would you like to see happening at nomad-one.com

Blog Design Questions & Answers Competition to start soon …

The reality, however, is very different. Many business people are still struggling to come to terms with exactly what a Brand is and how to build it. I just “AskedWiki” the question: What is a Brand?, and this is what they served up:

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or other feature that distinguishes products and services from competitive offerings, as defined by the American Marketing Association; however, according to The Chartered Institute of Marketing, a brand represents the consumers’ experience with an organization, product, or service.

The roots of Branding – a little history

Branding has been with mankind for longer than most of us realize, dating back to the earliest discoveries of human communication where symbols were used as representations for ideas or entities, most notably in ancient Egypt.

Skipping forward to the not too distant past and we stumble upon the concept of “cattle branding”, whereby farmers used specific symbols burnt into the hides of their livestock to identify them as their own.

Brands have been used as marks of identification at some time in all countries and civilizations. The branding scene below is shown on Egyptian Tomb walls dating back to 2,000 B.C. www.barbwiremuseum.com

Criminals were also marked or fire-branded, i.e. labelled as criminals by burning marks onto their skins.

The Fore-runners of Today’s Brands

The modern equivalents of Brands are not very different to those age old methods in my opinion, using symbols and their associated value.

Modern Brands started appearing around the late 1800′s. Pears soap started producing its transparent soap commercially in 1789. The Pears Brand is thought to be the worlds oldest continually existing brand, according to Unilever. Heinz Beans is another of those old Brands (established in 1886) which took the lead in marketing innovation and product diversification, with its wide range of baked beans, 57 to be exact. The Brand is now worth Billions worldwide and is one of the most well known in its category. So it all started with some soap and a can of baked beans then.

So what makes up a Brand a Brand?

All the Touch Points

What is a touch point? Think about it; it’s every point at which you touch someone, be it physically, psychologically, emotionally or spiritually. Every point of contact and means of engagement someone has with your company, product, organisation or even yourself, represents your Brand for that specific entity. A Brand is therefore the sum of all influences resulting from an entity, whether it is a single entity or a group of entities. If you applied this idea in a wider context, you will see that people are in fact Brands, because each aspect of an individual; be it their look, sound, approach, accent, language, clothing, mannerisms etc, make up the perceived entity. This also stretches further to more abstract traits like the emotional and the spiritual.

With regard to commercial Brands, orchestrating touch points to create a consistent experience, is a fundamental aspect of developing the Brand and building a strong relationship. Every interaction goes towards reinforcing the perception of that Brand and every slip-up eats away at this consistency.

My Changing relationship with the Apple Brand

An example of this is my own changing relationship with the Apple Brand. Years ago as a young designer working in the Advertising industry I was accustomed to working on Macs instead of PC. My education at design college was done exclusively on Mac, so naturally I had a relationship with the Apple Brand. When the first series of iMacs were unveiled, the cool designs and user friendly approach got me to purchase my own iMac. Unfortunately that was where the relationship started being strained as I experienced endless problems with my iMac which created an increasingly negative picture of the Apple Brand in my mind.

Up until very recently, I have been very much a PC lover, influenced by many things including price, compatibility issues, availability of software, and cheaper/easier upgradability. When I won an iPod Nano (from cerebra.co.za) in a blog commenting competition recently, my old relationship with the Apple Brand received blast of positivity. The little product has been such a huge benefit to me in a short space of time that I am now looking to become a Mac notebook owner in the near future.

It is true, however, that certain Brands have managed to transcend the point where mistakes are immediately punished. Some Brands have managed to create a virtual cult-like status and following amongst its adherents, displaying beliefs related to the Brand and it’s culture and even setting up certain rules of engagement..

Putting a stake in the Ground

It’s really all about owning a unique space in your target group’s mind, or for that matter, anyone’s mind. When we ponder upon of some of the most well known and unique Brands in the world, we can quickly gauge that each has done a good job of staking claim to this specific space in people’s minds. Think of the Virgin Empire and you’ll make connections with Richard Branson and his daring personality, doing things differently, challenging conventions and always being up for a challenge in terms of countering the norms of how things are done.

Archetypes

The archetype is a like a common mould or pattern which contains certain inherent characteristics.

The word “archetype” was coined by Carl Jung, who theorized that humans have a collective unconscious,

“deposits of the constantly repeated experiences of humanity…. a kind of readiness to reproduce over and over again the same or similar mythical ideas….” This shared memory of experiences has resulted in a resonance of the concepts of hero and heroine that transcends time, place and culture. Jung called these recurring personalities archetypes, from the Greek word archetypes, meaning “first of its kind.” found on tamicowden.com

An Archetype is a great way of understanding Brands, as archetypes are like brands themselves, constantly repeating the same characteristics and essential elements in a way that is recognisable. Big brands like Nike have latched onto these mythological characters and modelled themselves many times on recognisable personalities. Nike was the name of the goddess of victory.

Carl Jung, the Swiss Psychiatrist responsible for advancing the concept of the Archetype in Psychology, has outlined some of the patterns which repeat themselves across all cultures in human society as highlighted on this wikipedia page.

Visual Persuasion

The visual representations of Brands are only a small part of the overall Brand. The logo is a visual symbol which gives people a way to recognize the brand and something to identify with as well as a way to visually differentiate one Brand from another. These visual symbols should represent the essence of the Brand’s vision & personality in some way. Other Brand visuals like photography, illustration and extended Brand graphics should work towards enhancing the desired perception of that Brand.

The style of the logo and all other Brand imagery must connect with the targeted audience in order to maintain a common, clear level of visual identification with that Brand.

The BP visual re-brand a few years ago is a classic example of how making changes to the visual aspect of the Brand can have an impact on how the Brand is perceived. This was also achieved by speaking a new language. The reality however is very far from what has been claimed by the visual re-brand, and the new messages created. By re-interpreting the meaning of BP from British Petroleum to “Beyond Petroleum”, a serious message was sent out. The Company has been heavily criticized by those who know more about it’s activities saying that its actions are not living up to the statements it is making and that it is leading the consumer to believe it is doing more than it actually is.

While the visual aspect of the Brand plays a big role it has to synchronize with the real activity on the ground. Promises made must be kept if Brand messages are to be believed.

Consistency

Something which allows us to have a generally accepted expectation from any specific Brand is consistency. The coffee from your favourite coffee shop always tastes the same, they always create a nicely shaped swirl with the foam of the cappuccino, the waiter has a specific approach, the , the lighting in the store, the music, everything works together to create a perception of the place and a relationship with the Brand.

If these elements were not consistent you’d never know what to expect from the Brand, kinda like someone who you always step around because you’re never sure if they’re gonna be nasty or nice.

Consistency does not necessarily mean being overly obsessed with unimportant details that add no value, but being consistent in the things which form perceptions and influence decisions is important. Neither does consistency mean having a static Brand which does not change, far from it, it could actually mean keeping up with regular changes, as has come to be expected from leading Brands.

The Future of the Brand & new Branding Approaches

LOVEMARKS

Like the old traditional Trademark, the current form of Branding is destined to become outdated. Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi and Author of the book Lovemarks: the future beyond brands, takes a look at the evolution of Brands from another angle.

An advertising man, Kevin’s approach is naturally to look at ways of making Brands more appealing and creating a greater sense of aspiration towards those Brands. The way he proposes doing so is by looking further than merely core human needs to those higher up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. He focuses on the sphere of the emotional, which play more on the imagination, dreams and self-realisation.

It seems to focus on pampering and flattering the consumer to the point that they are infatuated beyond reason (Kevin’s wording of this concept is more subtle).

First we had trademarks, then we had brands. That was last century. The concept of Lovemarks is that businesses and consumers can aspire to something more than a world full of homogenous brands and branding.

Whereas a brand is owned by a corporation, the starting point for a Lovemark is the consumer’s life and point of view. Lovemarks are owned by consumers – take a brand away and people will find a replacement, take someone’s personal Lovemark away from them and they will protest its absence. – www.lovemarks.com

I’m not completely sold on the idea of the Lovemark being very different from traditional Brands. I see it playing more of a subtle role in terms of stroking the targeted egos into submission. Ideally we would like to see Brands moving in the direction of providing maximum benefit to society on multiple levels. The Utopian vision of a society where businesses refocus their offerings to take society forward and remove all their negative influences is probably a tall order.

CLUE TRAIN MANIFESTO

The Clue Train Manifesto has a different take on the relationship between the Corporation and the consumer.

As far as I know the Clue Train Manifesto was the first to predict the downfall off the corporation as it exists today, heralding the coming of a new era of B2C interactions.

As society evolves and the relationships between company & consumer go through constant changes, it’s inevitable that companies will have to up their game and give more value to their target audiences. In an age where attention spans are shorter and competition is fiercer, the value companies add to people’s lives with their products and services has to improve.

It’s no longer of any value to push messages down the throats of captivated TV audiences, expecting thousands of feet through ones doors(no matter what those messages may be). The way people make decisions is changing fast, and the speed with which technology is enabling people to network and inform each other is creating a complete different playing field. Human values, ethics, environmental well being, corporate social responsibility and genuine trust are ideals which have come to be expected of companies. Those who don’t meet the real needs of individuals are doomed to die a quick death.

The Anti Branding Movement

The negative side of branding is one which does not get that much airtime though we can all know how Big Brands can and are exploiting their power.

Organisations like Adbusters.org have sprung up to counter and expose the bad practices and influences of big brands. These organisations aim to give consumers an alternative to brand names and their negative effects. One venture of this anti-capitalist organisation is the blackspot Brand.

In their own words:

This is your chance to unswoosh Nike’s tired old swoosh and own one of the most Earth-friendly shoes in the world.

• 100% organic hemp upper
• recycled tire sole
• made in a union shop in Europe
• hand drawn logo & sweet spot
• designed by John Fluevog
• produced by Vegetarian Shoes

Another attack on the evil Corporation is the No Logo campaign, which started with the book written by Naomi Klein.

No Logo uncovers a betrayal of the central promises of the information age: choice, interactivity, and increased freedom. And as job security disappears, the respectful reverence which corporations enjoyed as engines of the economy is also dissipating – as is their protection from worker and citizen rage.

Equal parts cultural analysis, political manifesto, mall-rat memoir, and journalistic exposé, No Logo is the first book to put the new resistance into pop-historical and clear economic perspective.

Naomi Klein tells a story of rebellion and self-determination in the face of our new branded world.

The world of Branding is by no means dull, with battles raging on all fronts, and Victors on all sides of the fence. Whatever business you’re into, adding value and building trust are the cornerstones of building successful Brands. It’s those companies and organisations which have a holistic approach, and develop real, meaningful relationships, which stay a step ahead of the rest.

There’s no one recipe for guaranteed success. In many respects Brands are like people, there are good ones and Bad ones. Some of the Bad ones get ahead and some really good ones die way too early. You be the judge!