DESIGN AND BRAND MANAGEMENT Visual communication
CONTENT Visual business communication Visual information Semantics Metaphor Metonym Storytelling / Myths TOOLS AND METHODS Meaning building trough visual elements
VISUAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Visual information is 80 % from what we perceive from the environment It provokes easily intuitive, emotional experiences and understanding rather than analytical reflections Emotional response is the essential in how we approach or reject the offering
VISUAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION We can study and develop visual business communication with psychological approaches looking at how Perception Intuitive and emotional experience Dual coding system Mental images Categorisation Work in our minds
VISUAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION BRAIN ACTIVITIES First reactions Unconscious, intuitive, emotional responses by limbic, oldest system at the core of our brains Conscious responses by outer brain area cortex come later guided by the emotional reaction: Analytical, logical thinking We have both nonverbal and verbal routes for coding
VISUAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Perception - Fysiological responses cause emotions RED: Agitation BLUE: Calming
VISUAL INFORMATION Brand attributes should be reflected by brand colour = different colour shades that correspond to the meant feel of the brand Even the same colour can have very different meanings when different shade is chosen elegant: cool and soft sensitive: soft and cool friendly: warm and soft modern: very cool dynamic: warm and hard
VISUAL INFORMATION We are good at interpreting human faces to describe feels and attributes (empathy) Even brand personas are used to research and communicate the essence of the brand
VISUAL INFORMATION TYPICALITY IS UNDERSTANDABLE AND PLESURABLE Artists Komar and Melamied make 1990 s an art project about national taste in paintings: Finnish people prefered a moose and a lake in the forest
VISUAL INFORMATION Kansei (Feel) engineering as a research and development method The product solution is combined through interviews with Kansei words Natural Healthy Tasty Organic Easy Crisp Cheap http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db3oq7wsa0y
A single brand attibute such as safety can mean different concrete things for different users VISUAL INFORMATION
VISUAL INFORMATION With stimulus we firstly form holistic visual understanding, categorisation than start processing separate elements straight away With categorisation we decide whether the brand or offering is at all suitable for our purposes or for our style
VISUAL INFORMATION Sight Sound Touch Scents, Smells Taste Balance We interpret all of these from visual images
SEMANTICS Semantics is the study of meaning that is used for human communication and how people understand meanings Semantic studies and analyses are often used as tools for marketing communication It focuses on the relation between signifiers, like words, phrases, signs, and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/semantics
SEMANTICS Different visual signs: Icon Like the original target Index Straight link Symbol Agreement
SEMANTICS ICON Direct own or copied form Similar form and color Similar environment Source: Susann Vihma (1995)
SEMANTICS INDEX The form is presenting the use The marks of the used tool Light and sound marks The sound of use The scent of the product The feel of the material and form Source: Susann Vihma (1995)
SEMANTICS SYMBOLIC AGREEMENTS The use of symbolic marks Name Symbolic form or colour Symbolic material The symbolic positioning of the form Source: Susann Vihma (1995)
SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL Dishonest Bright Unstable Authoritarian Cynical Narcissistic Energetic Violent Unkind Narcissistic Tight Authoritarian Simple Energetic
SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL ASSESEMENT WORDS artificial - natural traditional modern usual special pleasurable unpleasurable POSSIBILITY WORDS weak - strong light heavy soft hard smooth - rough FUNCTIONALITY WORDS simple complex warm cool playful serious round with sharp corners Source: Osgood et al. (1950 s)
METAPHOR Metaphor the issue/thing is described with the help of another thing or feeling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz7zfoxxees
METAPHOR Strong Kind Distinguished Aggressive Zaltman, G. 2003. How customers think: essential insights into the mind of the market. Boston, Massachusetts: Havard Business School Press.
METONYM Metonym A part is presenting some holistic concept
METONYM A crown is referring to royalty and to the whole kingdom Here used as a story describing a high quality English whisky
STORYTELLING / MYTHS Universal starting points for myths: Golden age (nostalgic describtions and products) Reincarnatios (describtions of change, how to born as a new person) God like heros (sports, celebricity role models) Iternal youth (is able to do in spite of her age) Ronald Barthes (1994): Social stereotypes
STORYTELLING / MYTHS Sociological meanings are built and perceived through opposite distinctions Sacred Earthly Public Private Feminine - Masculine Prison Freedom These distinctions often also form the stories where meaning is pointed out Ronald Barthes (1994): Social stereotypes
STORYTELLING / MYTHS AUTHENTICITY AND NOSTALGIA RARITY, SKILL, SLOW PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION Sociological distinctions: Urban, busy, earthly status consumption / countryside, sacred, slow consumption (hand made, natural materials, simplicity, honesty) Stories and brands appropriating the idea that people live in an urban, stressful, polluted environment although they strive for meaningful, peaceful, free and healthy way of living
MEANING BUILDING SEMIOTIC STRUCTURE DESCRIBES THE DIFFERENT SORTS OF MEANINGS IN PRODUCTS (OR SERVICES) CULTURAL MEANINGS Economical Denotative Technological Functional Meanings (Easy to park high performance) Abstract Connotative Mental images Feel meanings (Cute, comfortable)
MEANING BUILDING EMOTIONAL feel Sensory stimulus Human Touch Affordances, what you can do with this PRACTICAL impact Acessibility
MEANING BUILDING TROUGH VISUAL ELEMENTS - TOOL HOW? Find suitable images and visual stories for the brand meaning communication