9 Principles For Great Branding By Design

We all know great design has a critical role to play in building a great brand. But how do we go about making that happen? I recently had the opportunity to speak to three top designers about that very question: Robert Brunner, founder of the design shop Ammunition and author of Do You Matter: How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company; Joe Doucet, founder of Joe Doucet Studio and David Hill, vice president of design at Lenovo and author of the Design Matters blog. Through these conversations, it became clear that the link between design and branding is important, and that having a top design team is to crucial to having a winning brand. Here's what I learned: Branding and design are, to a large extent, inseparable. "A brand is not your logo or ID system," says Brunner. "It's a gut feeling people have about you. When two or more people have the same feeling, you have a brand. You get that feeling via smart design, which creates the experiences people have with the brand. Everything you do creates the brand experience, ergo design IS your brand." If design is the brand, stop thinking of branding and design as distinct disciplines. "It's all about integrating design and brand," says Doucet. "We need to cease thinking of them as different disciplines. The essence of the Apple brand comes through its design. Take the logo off a BMW and you still know it's a BMW." Brands need to create an emotional relationship with people. "We are all emotional beings and we have emotional relationships with brands we trust," says Brunner. "Designers need to make that happen. A designer must take the values and assets of a company and transform them in a special way that connects with people emotionally." Designers need to "get" the essence of the brand. "For designers to build a great brand, they have to understand it," Hill points out. "You need to understand its history, its values, and what it means to people. Can you imagine designing the latent Jeep without understanding the brand archetype of what it means for a product to be a Jeep?" Design needs to be strategic from the outset. "For design to have a major impact, it's got to get involved at the strategic level," said Hill. "It can't be an afterthought or superficial trappings to be put on post product creation. Samsung's brand became powerful only after they put a Chief Design Officer in place and made it a priority for the company." Integrate design early in the process to drive innovation and create solutions. "Good designers approach design as an opportunity to ask questions," says Doucet. "Solution generation starts by questioning initial assumptions. Rather than ask myself 'How should I design Widget X?' I need to be asking 'Do we really need Widget X or is there a better solution to this customer problem? So a designer needs be there at the beginning and be connected to the decision-makers. For example, at Braun, Dieter Rams sat across from the owner of the company." Don't overdesign. "With the increasing emphasis on design in the world today, it's important to avoid the 'over-designed syndrome,'" says Hill. "A simple, well-thought-through, authentic design is often the best. Everything doesn't need to be redesigned; sometimes what we have in hand is better than what we seek. It's not all about being different; it's about being better. If Levi Strauss wanted me to redesign the patch on the back of their jeans, I would look in their archives for the original." Use design to continually reinvent the brand. "Some folks think they know branding," says Doucet. "Figured it out long ago. 'Hi. I'm someone you'll like. You'll know it's me because I always wear a red polo shirt (pantone 185 to be exact) with blue pants and a yellow belt.' You can't think that way today. Brands need to allow themselves to constantly update, and be much more fluid. Look at Google; they morph their logo for special occasions. Constant change is a big part of who they are." Use design to make a difference. "Design can make a difference in how we live," says Brunner. "Take sustainability. A lot of what is done in that area is 'making bad, better.' We're taking wasteful things and seeing how we can make them not so bad. We need to start thinking about how we can use our design tools to encourage people to change. You do that by making 'doing better' also be fun, interesting and (importantly) the path of least resistance. And you do it in an encouraging, not controlling, way. Design needs to do that in order to reach a larger audience than just the small group that is socially driven. While these steps may require a new way of thinking about design for some, they're key steps to the path for those who want to build a great brand and make life better for those who experience them.

Mistah F.A.B. - I'm In London

Now this is one of the best songs i ever heard of fabby baby. He took it to the roots of some hip hop with this one check it out!

:ate Night Blogging Before Bed

Today has been a great day for me. I feel so blessed right now that everything is going so good for me. My hard work has finally paid off literally in this music game. Sales are up, shows are packed, and my music is sounding better than ever. I just want to thank all of my supporters for sticking by me all these years and believing in me and my talents. My Own Lane is breaking past project efforts in shorter time and i'm just happy to be here. If you have not picked up my latest album online yet, Or would like a hard copy mailed to you my paypal address is purpreynolds@aol.com all you have to do is put your shipping address in the comment section and i will have that on it's way! New video shoot will be next month and if you can i hope you can make it out. More info will be posted on here in the coming weeks so stay tuned for this epic visual to a even bigger song.

Big K.R.I.T. Reveals Artwork For Album "Live From The Underground"

K.R.I.T. says, "This is the artwork 4 my debut album “Live From The Underground”. It’s a representation of how I feel about underground vs mainstream music. At times I feel like mainstream music operates on a totally different planet. This illustrates how I’ve crash landed into the mainstream to bring the sounds from the underground back 2 the forefront. I want to thank everyone for all their support of my journey so far. Especially Team Big K.R.I.T. and my K4L supporters. I put twitter and facebook backgrounds in here for y’all to put on your pages. Let’s make history on June 5th."

City Paid Illegal Benefits to Mayor, Council Members for Years

STOCKTON Stockton, the city that's looking at bankruptcy, has been paying illegal benefits to council members for more than 20 years, to the tune of nearly $277,000. "We need to fix this. None of the council members or I had any idea that this was the situation," Mayor Ann Johnston said. City officials learned that council members and mayors, both former and current, were enrolled in the state retirement system, CALPers, and that Stockton was illegally paying in to their funds in addition. Local newspaper columnist, Mike Fitzgerald with the Stockton Record, found it in the city's charter, and brought it to the attention of the city attorney. Be the first to know! Sign up for FOX40 breaking news alerts. "Took him a month to convince himself, but ultimately he decided that the benefit was indeed illegal," Fitzgerald said. "Just morally, it was put in there illegally. Wasn't supposed to be there. So give it back?" FOX40 asked the Mayor. "At this point, I need to look at what the options are and if I have any choices or not," Mayor Johnston said. "Weighing what options on what?" said Ralph White, a councilman from 1971-1986. "Whether to give the money back, or keep it? Do you wanna be a thief, or does she wanna give the money back. That's the option. I wanna be a thief and I don't care about the city of Stockton. Or I give the money back, 'cause I wasn't entitled to it." "A section of the city charter that seems to say it's illegal to receive retirement benefits. It seems to say so clearly and unambiguously," Fitzgerald said. "Do I think I need to know the city charter by heart? No, I go to the charter when issues come up. But I always defer to city staff. They are the financial and legal experts," Johnston said. "Our charter is like our Constitution," White said. "Every council member, and especially the mayor, is the chairman. She should definitely know the charter." Of the current City Council, two members and the Mayor are enrolled in the state system and illegally getting Stockton contributions. The Mayor's portion in this is about $45,000. She told FOX40 signing up for the Council is like starting a new job, and she enrolled in benefits under the direction of city staff.

Picture of President Obama Goes Viral

Now this young lady just became one of the most interesting girls in here town or city. The word is the presidents people wanted the picture took down off the net. Well we have one here at It's Reynolds

Chilling At Blunt World Music Fest