The Design of Flexible Identity Schemes
Sunday, January 27th, 2008
Earlier in the week an article by Ben Terrett titled Data, Branding, Web Design, Pouring Acid Into My Eyeballs and What Graphic Design Is For peaked my interest and I wrote something about it. Ben suggested that data is pushing back at design in a way that makes us revisit the real reason for graphic design – to make complicated information easily understandable to others. As opposed to simply creating pretty pictures.
Equally as interesting… An article by Michael Johnson titled All Change, linked to from Ben’s article, puts forward an overview of flexible identity schemes. In other words, for some clued in companies the logo isn’t just a static identity scheme anymore but has become something that can be reshaped and played with while retaining its branding impact. Examples are Target, Google and ABC 2. The Target logo (red and white circles) comes in various states including the red circled eye of a white dog and a man holding a red hose reel. In each case the brand identity is retained without being stuck in the rigidity of a single stoic emblem. This newer paradigm is fun, flexible and, more importantly from the organisational perspective, it offers a great opportunity to make that emotional connection with the customer or client.
Eric Karjaluoto’s The Heart of the Matter, published in the January 2008 edition of Canada’s Applied Arts Magazine, points out that emotion is at the very heart of design.
I wonder if we need to temporarily put aside our talk of brand, strategy and execution, and consider our power to influence emotion. This is what we’re doing when we get people to stop and admire a wine label, laugh at a magazine ad, slow down to observe a billboard or put a promotional poster up on the office wall.Eric Karjaluoto
