Illustration: john williamson (Click on the photo)
After over 20 years as a design professional, I’ve finally settled/focused on 2 areas which I think I’m good at and where I think I can contribute something new. These 2 areas are Branding and Interactive Design.
I love all the other areas of Design; Editorial, Packaging, Corporate collateral, Product (especially cars), Posters, Illustration, etc… the list goes on. But, I’ve chosen Branding and Interactive Design. Great! I love them both to death. But what REALLY gets me excited is when Branding and Interactive Design are mixed and interwoven. Branding can take a leaf out of User Experience design’s “book” as can Interactive Design learn and grow from what Branding has to offer. They are both, after all, about creating Experiences. This is an exciting area to work in and one which I believe will be at the forefront of and lead the way in creative communication.
Let me explain this last point. We all know about Branding, so allow me to muse a little on Interactive Design. When we think about Interactive Design we tend to think about the internet, mobile digital devices, ATM’s, interfaces, Apps, buttons, scrolls, user experience, etc. Basically all digital channel stuff. There are loads of specialised companies and agencies carrying out projects in this area and doing very well, thank you. But what if we move out and away from digital channels and into the real world and then consider the implications of mixing Branding and Interactive Design, what happens then? What can we expect from an environment where we can interact by touching, hearing, smelling and even tasting the stuff a Brand lays out for us? Now this is exciting! For sure shops and stores are branded environments with much thought and design work put into them. But I feel they always fall short of being a REAL Interactive Brand Experience and end up being a fancy “tarted-up” marketplace.
Recently my eyes were opened up by two REAL Interactive Brand Experiences. Both were by Spanish Savings Banks (Cajas). One is “La Casa Encendida” from Caja Madrid, the other is the “Caixa Forum” from La Caixa. Both are exhibition areas which are free to get in and hold expo’s, concerts and other cultural events. They have shops and cafeterias too. I love these places. I love going there with my kids and spending a couple of hours watching films, seeing and exhibition or just hanging out with friends. I feel like I’m learning by seeing something culturally new and different. I feel relaxed as I interact with these places. These are two REAL Interactive Brand Experiences.
So, what do these interactive experiences do for their respective Brands? On one hand they’re fulfilling the building society Brand promise of putting back some of their profits into something good and positive for “the people”. They are being generous and creative. On the other hand, it gives the Brand a “halo” effect. I’m actually warming to two financial institutions. Yes, me!.. someone who’s always thought that the collective noun for Bankers is a “Wunch”. Maybe I’ll consider being a client. Maybe my kids, when they’re old enough, will choose to open an account with Caja Madrid or La Caixa. Their experience of “La Casa Encendida” and “Caixa Forum” will certainly be a positive influence on their future choice.
Companies take note. Interactive Branding is NOT just about how you do things in digital channels. It’s about how you create spaces and experiences which interact and engage with REAL people in the REAL world.
Ahora en Castellano.
El verdadero Branding Interactivo.
Después de 20 años como diseñador profesional, me he centrado en 2 áreas donde creo que soy bastante bueno y donde puedo aportar algo nuevo. Dichas áreas son el Branding y el Diseño Interactivo. Me encantan. Pero lo que realmente me flipa es cuando se mezclan estas dos especialidades para crear algo nuevo y apasionante. Por sí solas ya son fascinantes, pero creo que si el Branding puede “aprender” algo del Diseño Interactivo, y viceversa, ambas salen fortalecidas y progresan. Después de todo, ambas sirven para crear experiencias. Creo que la mezcla de estas 2 áreas será la vanguardia de la comunicación creativa.
El Branding lo conocemos bastante bien, pero ¿y el Diseño Interactivo? Cuando pensamos en él, solemos pensar en internet, dispositivos digitales móviles, cajeros automáticos, interfaces, botones, etc. Pero ¿qué pasa si nos salimos de los canales digitales y consideramos la implicaciones del Diseño Interactivo en el mundo real?. ¿Qué podemos esperar de un ambiente donde podemos interactuar con las cosas que una Marca nos prepara para tocar, ver, oír, degustar, incluso oler?. Es cierto que tiendas, restaurantes y otras zonas comerciales son ambientes “branded”, pero siempre pienso que se quedan cortos y no llegan a ser sitios que crean experiencias realmente interactivas de una marca.
Recientemente se me abrieron los ojos a dos sitios con verdadero Branding Interactivo. Lo sorprendente es que ambos son de Cajas de Ahorros. Estoy hablando de “La Casa Encendida” de Caja Madrid y “Caixa Forum” de La Caixa. Ambos son áreas de exposiciones de entrada libre y, además de expos, albergan conciertos y otros eventos culturales. También tienen tiendas y zonas de restauración. Me encantan estos sitios. Me encanta ir con mi familia y pasar un par de horas viendo una peli, una expo o sencillamente tomando algo. Siento que estoy aprendiendo algo al ser expuesto a novedades culturalmente enriquecedoras pero de forma relajada y divertida. Interactúo positivamente con ellas y no siento que me están “vendiendo” algo. Son 2 verdaderas experiencias interactivas de marca. Y, hablando de marcas, ¿qué impacto tienen “La Casa Encendida” y “Caixa Forum” para Caja Madrid y La Caixa?.
Por un lado, están cumpliendo con su “promesa” de devolver al público algo de sus ganancias económicas en forma de obra social. Por otro lado, estas “zonas de experiencia” otorgan a sus respectivas marcas un efecto “halo”, es decir, valores como generosidad, creatividad y positividad. Me están cayendo bien 2 instituciones financieras… ¡increíble!. Tal vez consideraré ser cliente de Caja Madrid o La Caixa antes que otros o al menos interesarme en sus productos y servicios. Tal vez mis hijos opten por abrir cuentas con ellos (cuando sean mayores). Estoy seguro que su experiencia de “La Casa Encendida” y “Caixa Forum” será una influencia positiva es sus futuras elecciones.
Empresas, tomad nota; Branding Interactivo no esta limitado a lo que hacéis en los canales digitales. Es la forma en que te comunicas con tu público creando espacios de verdadero Branding Interactivo y experiencias que enganchan a la gente en el mundo REAL.
Gracias Amelia
I’m loving your posts! Please keep them coming…
Thx César! Coming from you is a great compliment!
You make a great point John. In fact, I would even dare to take it further and posit: “Is there anything we do as designers that does not contribute to Brand Experience?” … The more we realize that any isolated part of the ecosystem of promoting, designing and communicating product is just mere tactics within the larger, more strategic umbrella of Brand Experience (and therefore business strategy), the more we will be taken serious as strategists. That is why I find more exciting to design systems, vocabularies, patterns… rather than piecemeal visual tricks for one-off solutions. Keep up the good thinking!
Hey David! good to see you here and thx for the comment! Agree with what you’re saying and an excellent reflection on how we (designers) can and should be more involved with Brand Strategy. Although I wouldn’t deem to call myself a “strategist”, I do believe that it’s our duty (in order to be taken seriously) to fully understand a Brand’s Strategy and also our place in the greater scheme of things. I think and hope that people hire us for our creative skills in solving complex Brand communication conundrums. But, obviously, there are many instances where we have to firstly put the house in order (strategy) before we can apply said skills. So, yeah… there’s tons we can do to contribute to Brand Experience. One of the is taking a cue from off_line experience and brining it on_line. That’s one of the points I’ve tried to make in this post. Maybe I’ll expand on this area in the future.
Cheers mate!
Congrats! Muy interesante reflexión para las empresas… twitteado!
Muchas gracias Laura… intento que sea una buena refexión tanto para las empresas como para los profesionales del sector. Lo seguiré intentando
Nothing could be more true…It is easy enough to make broad generalisations about the Branding and Interactive Design, but in reality the issue is an extremely complex one. ENHORABUENA POR TU ENFOQUE.
Gracias Coli… tu comentario me motiva a seguir desarrollando temas para este Blog.
Por cierto, que nombre más bonito…
Congratulations, John. Well sustained your considerations and attractive image (and double effort to post them in Sp/Eng). Good luck!
Thanks Amelia.. I’m sure you know well the 2 places I mention and know how special they are. BTW… thx for the much needed improved translation! I now write badly in two languages!
Your point is excellent. Design must reside much closer to brand strategy decisions than it does in the vast majority of organizations. Your example of interacting with customers/consumers is excellent. You can take this further and consider how a brand interacts with employees (work space, hiring/training practices) or how a brand interacts with the community (by taking a leadership role on sensitive topics) because increasingly consumers, employees and customers will use all aspects of a brand to make relationship and purchasing decisions.
Cheers Edward! I think there’s a massive gap between Brand > Promise > Engaged Reality. I feel UX (User Experience) can help close the gap by putting people at the centre of creative communication design.
PS: digging your scene.. http://blackdogstrategy.com/blog
It’s a wonderful point that few young creatives actually, “grok”. We’re not just creating nice looking bits of communication, we’re creating branded experiences, regardless of the medium, and how the consumer/user/client interacts with that design (whatever medium it is) will have an effect on how they ultimately perceive the brand — and thus value or devalue it, rightly or wrongly.
Nicely done, old bean!
Hey! thanks for dropping a comment and for expanding on the point. I think we can all learn for what we experience around us and apply it to our profession (regardless of age). Furthermore, what makes it even more valid is that this type on interaction is for real and not just something which comes from a pretty PPT.
Cheers Johann Gambolputty von…..