Branding legend Michael Johnson gives a taster of what to expect during his hotly anticipated speaker session at Impact Conference this Thursday.
Charities have long been patrons of good design. But as the credit squeeze continues to impact donations, non-profit organisations are having to be increasingly creative in their campaigns.
This Thursday, branding legend Michael Johnson will discuss the unique challenges presented by 'design for good' at Computer Arts' first-ever Impact Conference.
He'll join Louise Kyme, brand and design manager at the British Heart Foundation and Deborah Szebeko, founder of ThinkPublic, to share valuable insights during a packed one-day schedule of speaker sessions from some of the world's biggest names in branding.
In the countdown to Impact, Computer Arts caught up with the johnson banks founder to find out more about the agency's expert approach to new branding projects.
Cystic Fibrosis Trust branding
Here, Banks explains the company's four-stage process to branding and identity design...
"I do it in a linear way: one, two – research, narrative. And then design, implement – three, four," begins Banks, drawing two arrows at the top of an A4 sheet from his notes, and two below them.
Often, he explains, brand consultants or strategists handle the first two stages, research and narrative. Designers frequently aren't involved at this level, and some don’t even like the planning stages of projects.
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This results in a space between how a brand is verbalised by a corporation, and how it is visualised by a creative agency. It's what makes branding such a tough area to work in.
Mind the gap
"There's a gap there, and you've got to mind that gap, literally," says Johnson. "It's all very well agreeing a piece of paper with everything on it, or a 20-page Powerpoint presentation – 'this is who we are and this is what we’ll be' – but then jumping into design and the visual is very tricky."
"This is where there’s always been a problem," he adds. "It's really hard for some companies to do that."
Exclusive offer: 20 per cent off tickets for new branding conference, Impact
Want to know more about how johnson banks tackles the huge branding challenges posed daily by its impressive portfolio of global clients? Then you'll need to be quick: you've got just a few days left to get your ticket to Impact…
The good news is, we're offering Creative Bloq readers an exclusive 20 per cent off ticket prices - while they last. Simply:
