Brands are no longer static, owned by businesses or individuals. The world is changing, people want to feel part of what they are buying into. Brand is community. When you buy into something you want to feel part of the bigger picture – personal touches can go a long way.
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We have won an international award with the Design Business Association for our work for Newcastle Carers. These awards are judged on data-driven, evidence-based, effective design. 🎉
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Like other women, myself and my friends have faced sexism and misogyny since our teens. Close people in my life have faced casual sexism, groping, harassment, rape and (a close family friend) – murder from an ex partner. This list is emotional to write and stirs up many emotions. And we still have to repeat this conversation.
It got me thinking again how the design sector often contributes to this bigger problem. Advertising and marketing has a lot to answer for.
By Mandy Barker
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Brand architecture is jargon in design which simply means a brand framework (or system). It is created to show how hierarchy of services and products fit within a business. This is important to bring consistency, visual and verbal order, thought and intention to disparate elements to help organisations grow, make decisions and market effectively. Any company which is growing, merging or going in a new direction needs to evaluate its brand architecture strategy which will support future growth. Most large companies that sell products have a mixture of strategies.
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In November, we were honoured to join a panel alongside Crystallised, Curious, Out the Box and Slung Low Theatre. The topic was ego and purpose. We wanted to share some of our thoughts on the subject here.
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“You never change anything by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.” Buckminster Fuller
This week, we have the pleasure of speaking at York Design Week. I (Mandy) was born in York and grew up on the coast of Scarborough, 40 minutes away. I regularly visit York to see my family and it has a very special place in my heart. It is a joy to be asked to be part of this. So many incredible things are happening in the programme, check it out here: https://www.yorkdesignweek.com/
Much needed in these times of challenges, York Design Week are bringing together change makers, pioneers, activists and creatives all doing what they can to fight for a better world.