“Emotional branding is about building relationships;it is about giving a brand and a product long-term value”….”It is based on that unique trust that is established with an audience. It elevates purchases based on need to the realm of desire. The commitment to a product or an institution, the pride we feel upon receiving a wonderful gift of a brand we love or having a positive shopping experience in an inspiring environment where someone knows our name or brings an unexpected gift of coffee – these feelings are at the core of Emotional Branding.” Sergio Zyman former chief marketing officer Coca Cola]
Category Archives: Design
Design for use not necessarily the user
The design focus is on what the users are doing and trying to do in the context of the larger real world activities in which they are involved.
[An element of the design is based on the user – to ensure that the design is appropriate for them – design brand, aesthetic or surface design of the product.]
As designers we can pay too close attention to users and what they say they want which can lead to timid, over conservative design that does little more than repeat the mistakes of the past in a shiny new package.
Activitity modelling and Participation Maps
Human activity can be understood at three levels of analysis: activity, action, and operation. An Activity Map represents how various activities fit together and provides a rich picture of their composition in terms of actions and operations.
Modeling techniques, such as card storming and card clustering, make it possible to quickly construct a rich activity model that inventories and organizes the full range of activities and actions that need to be taken into account in a design.
Gestalt Principles of Perception
Most of this is common sense when it comes to information design.
Gestalt Principles of perception – where similar elements are seen as a single chunk or group. The main focus of the Gestalt theory is the idea of ‘grouping’ how we tend to interpret an image or design in a certain way.
The main factors which influence grouping are:
1) Proximity – elements close to each other appear as groups.
2) Similarity – how items that are similar in some shape or form tend to be grouped.
3) Closure – items are gropued together if they tend to complete a pattern.
4) Simplicity – items organised into figures according to symmetry regularity and smoothness.
Law of symmetry
If an object is assymetrical the learner will waste time trying to find the problem instead of concentrating on the instruction. Chunking or grouping of information should follow logical pattern.
On a Virgin train to Manchester
I’m really not sure about these ‘not so new now’ Virgin toilets. Firstly scared the bejesus out of some woman who had obviously thought the door was locked as it was closed. Word of warning to future travellers – because the door automatically closes don’t expect it to automatically lock. You need to press the red button to lock it.
Over kill on the signage or rather the use of signage to enhance the usability of a poor product. I can’t help but wonder whether the flush button had been placed a little higher or a little to the right whether it would have made it simpler to use.
Got the message? Advertising meets interactive design – inSynch event
Another great session organised by inSync and AIGA. __Nick Roope, POKE. Discussed the importance of trust with in this space. Customers need to trust and believe in the product. Looked at ways to engage the audience how interaction design needs to connect, interact emotionally with it’s audience. What’s in it for me? There is a need for products, designs to be genuine and real, the whole brand experience is important. The advertising can’t just be tagged on to the end if the product is rubbish, no matter how good the advertising is it won’t sell. Customers want to engage in the discussion, not to be talked at.__Case Studies: My space.com, globalrichlist.com__Mark Shillum, Bartle Bogle Hegarty. Has passive media run it’s course? Is rebranding a pointless exploitative exercise? Huge questions, Shillum argued that there’s need to get back to the Big Idea, the true focus of the company. Interactive design should be telling the story that is the fundamental root of the company. The Big Idea needs to be transcultural, true and resonant with the customer.___www.aiga.org