Synopses & Reviews
From an interactive website to a business card, a brand must be recognizable, differentiated and help build customer loyalty. This indispensable resource presents brand identity fundamentals and a comprehensive dynamic process that help brands succeed. From researching the competition to translating the vision of the CEO to designing and implementing an integrated brand identity program, the meticulous development process is presented through a highly visible step by step approach in five phases: research and analysis, brand and identity strategy, brand identity design, brand identity applications and managing brandassets.
From global corporate mergers through entrepreneurial ventures and nonprofit institutions, twenty-two case studies portray the brand identity process in action. They illustrate a range of challenges and methodologies and represent a select group of branding and multidisciplinary design firms.
The scope of material includes history of identity design up to the latest information about online brand identity standards, naming and trademarking, with practical project management resources about decision making, and creating brand briefs.
Alina Wheeler specializes in brand identity. She uses her strategic imagination to help build brands, create new identities, and design integrated brand identity programs for Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurial ventures, cities and foundations. Wheeler works closely with founders, CEO?s and senior management to insure that their vision and their brand identity are communicated clearly to accelerate the success of their organizations. She has been the principal of several design firms as well as a consultant to some of America?s largest business consulting groups. She is a former national board member of AIGA and was named an AIGA Fellow in 1998.
Hallmark Features
- Unlike most books that show identity programs, this book outlines a rigorous, complex and proven process from research and analysis through the design development of a new identity and online standards through launch and brand asset management.
- Comprehensive, easy to understand guide that is organized by spreads bysubject for easy reference.
- An indispensable reference for anyone with responsibility for brandidentity.
- Meaningful and actionable information that will accelerate the success ofany brand identity project.
- A toolkit for design firms and professionals, design students and designmanagers.
- Presents the relationship between effective brand identity and creating,building and managing successful brands.
- Presents case studies from Cingular, Amazon, Citibank, TAZO, Zoom, HarleyDavidson, FedEx and twenty others.
Review
"...the new edition of this well-regarded book is a joy...an inspiring and powerful toolkit" (The Marketer,May 2006)
Review
"...anyone building or changing an identity should use this book for each stage. Smartly written, cleanly laid out, helpful examples...." (Brandchannel.com, June 2004)
"The book's easy style and comprehensive scope make it an appropriate choice for design students and professionals in need of a big-picture view of brand identity." (Design Issues, 4/1/2004)
"Written in a friendly and lucid style, it will be equally appealing to the account executive and the creative director." (uk.internet.com, 8 April 2003)
"Wheeler has created a voice, which is at the same time relaxed, authoritative, and informative. It's not a book necessarily read cover-to-cover: it's a very scanable book, organized by spreads. So it is easy to use- increasing its value as a reference book. And finally, the book is thoroughly visual- not just showing photographic examples of branding but employing charts and type layouts that use design to case the conveyance of information as well." (Communication Arts, May/June 2004)
Synopsis
The designer’s guide to building visionary brand identities
Designing Brand Identity is an essential toolkit for branding and design firms, marketing and design students, and clients. This comprehensive and accessible resource meticulously maps out the process, provides the fundamentals, and never loses sight of the big picture. From translating the vision of a CEO and conducting research, through designing a sustainable identity program and building online branding tools, this book helps companies create stronger brands.
Synopsis
Praise for Designing Brand IdentityThis is the new bible for creating the look and feel of a brand. Step by step, touchpoint by touchpoint, Wheeler shows how to turn brand strategy into a perfect customer experience.
—Marty Neumeier, author, The Brand Gap
Alina Wheeler provides a practical structure for the brand-building process, a remarkable achievement in a discipline that is notorious for being out of touch with reality.
—Al Ries, coauthor, The Origin of Brands
Wheeler has succeeded in publishing a compendium that will prove to be a valued reference book for all members of the branding team.
—Communications Arts, May/June 2004
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 224-225) and index.
Synopsis
This innovative approach -- blending practicality and creativity -- is now in full-color!
From translating the vision of a CEO and conducting research, through designing a sustainable identity program and building online branding tools, Designing Brand Identityhelps companies create stronger brands by offering real substance. With an easy-to-follow style, step-by-step considerations, and a proven, universal five-phase process for creating and implementing effective brand identity, the book offers the tools you need, whether a brand manager, marketer, or designer, when creating or managing a brand. This edition includes a wealth of full-color examples and updated case studies for world-class brands such as BP, Unilever, Citi, Tazo Tea, and Mini Cooper.
Alina Wheeler (Philadelphia, PA) applies her strategic imagination to help build brands, create new identities, and design brand-identity programs for Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurial ventures, foundations, and cities.
About the Author
Alina Wheelerapplies a dynamic process to help enterprises express their brands. Her clients include entrepreneurial companies and foundations whose leaders embrace the future. Wheeler collaborates with strategists, designers, and managers, seizing every opportunity to build brands and provide compelling customer experiences.
Wheeler speaks frequently to management and creative teams in companies, as well as to business and design students at universities. She introduces branding fundamentals, identifies brand trends, and connects their relationship to innovation and business.
Table of Contents
Perception.Part 1: Illuminates the difference between brand and brand identity, and what it takes to be the best. It’s easy to bypass the fundamentals in the speed of a new project, and critical to establish a shared vocabulary for the entire branding team.
Identity.
What is a brand?
What is brand identity?
Why does it work?
When is it needed?
Who creates it?
Why invest in brand identity?
Brand identity ideals.
Overview.
Vision.
Meaning.
Authenticity.
Differentiation.
Sustainability.
Coherence.
Flexibility.
Commitment.
Value.
Brand identity fundamentals.
Brand strategy.
Positioning.
Customer experience.
Brand architecture.
Cross cultures.
Staying on message.
Names.
Taglines.
Brandmarks overview.
Redesign.
Wordmarks.
Letterform marks.
Pictorial marks.
Abstract marks.
Emblems.
Characters.
Look and feel.
Process.
Part 2: Presents a universal identity process that underlies all successful brand identity initiatives, regardless of the project’s scope and nature. This section answers the question “Why does it take so long?” and addresses collaboration and decision making.
A process for success.
Managing the process.
Collaboration.
Managing decisions.
Insight.
Phase 1: Conducting research.
Understanding the business.
Market research.
Marketing audit.
Competitive audit.
Stakeholder audit.
Language audit.
Audit readout.
Phase 2: Clarifying strategy.
Clarifying brand strategy.
Narrowing the focus.
The big idea.
Brand brief + creative brief.
Naming.
Phase 3: Designing identity.
Designing symbols.
Logotype + signature.
Color.
More color.
Typography.
Sound.
Motion.
Trial applications.
Presentation.
Phase 4: Creating touchpoints.
Overview.
Trademark process.
Letterhead.
Business card.
Brochure.
Packaging.
Website.
Signage.
Advertising.
Environments.
Vehicles.
Uniforms.
New media.
Ephemera.
Phase 5: Managing assets.
Overview.
Changing brand identity.
Launching brand identity.
Measuring success.
Building brand champions.
Internal design teams.
Brand books.
Standards content.
Standards + guidelines.
Online branding tools.
Reproduction files.
Global metrics.
Practice.
Part 3: Showcases best practices. Local and global, public and private, these highly successful projects, created by branding firms, design consultancies and in-house creative teams, inspire and exemplify original, flexible, lasting solutions.
Case studies.
Amazon.com.
ACLU.
American Girl Place.
Assurant.
Atlanta 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.
Aveda Japan.
Aveda Uruku.
Bahamas.
Bank of New York.
BP.
Center City District.
Cereality.
Chambers Group.
Chicago GSB.
Cingular Wireless.
Citi.
Columbus Salame.
Dosirak.
Dummies.
Eimer Stahl.
FedEx.
FedEx Kinko’s.
Find Great People.
The Franklin Institute.
Kort & Godt.
Late July.
Martha Stewart.
Mini Cooper.
Monogram Biosciences.
Mutual of Omaha.
The New School.
Olympic Games.
Parkinson's Disease Foundation.
Presbyterian Church.
Princeton Athletics.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Superman.
Tate.
Tazo.
TiVo.
Unilever.
Vanguard.
Velfina.
The Wild Center.
Zoom.
Origins of brand identity.
Bibliography.
Index.
About the author.