Last night I had the pleasure of presenting on the above subject to an audience of businesses, entrepreneurs, not for profits and recent graduates. I don’t do as many of these events as I’d like to, it’s a great opportunity to reach new and different audiences, talk about the power of good design and creativity and maybe warn against some of the excesses and pitfalls. It’s part of their ‘Points of View’ season, looking at how images have shaped the last century as much as words, and highlighting that their amazing collection is more than text alone.
I’m hoping that the audience had a good time too, learnt a little and at the very least had some food for thought. I tried to expand on what a Brand is, beyond a logo, how it can be strengthened by effective and careful selection of photography, illustration, sound and video.
There is a bewildering array of choice and jargon facing someone from outside the creative industries when it comes to commissioning or developing a look and feel for their enterprise. Most people settle at just a logo and think ‘job done’, the smart ones look deeper and realise that the successful visual elements of their brand are far more complicated and deserve proper consideration and attention.
This evening was about the use of images as brand elements, some triumphs, some villains, some excesses and some healthy debate too.
If you were there then I hope you enjoyed. If you’d like to get in touch to continue the debate on some of the issues raised then there’s a handy tab up there on the right with which to drop me a line. Same said if you want to pick my brains on any other issues raised.
A big thanks to Clare Harris (no relation!) for inviting me to come and present. Fantastic host in an awesome building. If you’re a small business or just staring out you could do a lot worse than check out the British Library IP Centre. They’re on the first floor and have a whole raft of advice on all sorts of business, copyright, trademark and market research issues.
