Studio 4: Empathy & Enterprise

Studio brief 

Branding is a key tool for any enterprise, large or small. 

Steve Jobs said: “It’s a complicated and noisy world, and we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. No company is. So we have to be really clear about what we want them to know about us.” Apple is one of the most successful brands in the world. But what is a brand? How do you build a brand identity? And have you every wanted to create your own? 

This studio will help students to explore, understand and experience the whole branding process. Our philosophy is that branding starts with empathy: a deep understanding of customers, and succeeds when it establishes a strong sense of meaning and purpose. 

Far from being simply about logos, this studio will explore all the channels through which visual communication can engage audiences. We will consider how to create a “brand world” that is driven by values and encompasses a rich mix of graphics, illustration and language. 

Through a number of visits, talks and projects, we will explore the fundamentals of branding: customer insight, brand strategy, retail as brand experience, tone of voice, naming and brand identity. 

You will work towards developing a brand of your own, using customer insight to inform and inspire your practice. 

Emily Penny

Emily combines analytical and creative thinking. She has BA Hons in Fine Art and Art History from Goldsmith’s and an MA in Marketing and is dedicated to enabling organisations to get the most out of design. Emily has worked in brand planning and design management since the mid 1990s. Since 2012 she has headed up her own consultancy Colourful Design Strategy through which she collaborates on projects with designers, illustrators and writers. Clients have included charities, SMEs and start-ups as well as blue chip corporations. As well as working for her own clients, she offers brand strategy support to a number of London design studios. Emily writes about design and branding and has been published by Design Week, The Drum and Brand Perfect. She also writes case studies for the DBA’s Design Effectiveness Awards. 
Look Mum No Hands! Branding by OPX.

Details

Course Graphic Design BA (Hons)
Illustration BA (Hons)
Tutor Emily Penny
Adrian Beasley
Susanna Edwards
Where Commercial Road, Studio 4, 6th Floor
When Tuesday and Friday

Joao CARDOSO
Adam HAYES
Silvia  LIANO
Marlon NELSON
Robert OLLEY
Kyrle SIMPSON 
Haluk UZUMYIYEN
Jordan WALKER
 
Marta ALVIM
Samir BENOUALID
Lucy HALLETT
Sophie HELMAN
Blaze  KOHTER-GABRIEL
Christopher LINDKVIST
Benjamin MCGOWAN
Luke THOMAS
Sherwin ZAKIPOUR-SABER