- Typography and type design
- Advertising / public awareness
- Branding and logo design
- Editorial design
- Design for screen
- Print making
My essay in particular focused on the role of pastiche and parody within contemporary branding, and how the contrasting viewpoints of 2 leading theorists provide such different perspectives on our now post-modern society.
I argued points such as how the postmodern can be seen as unoriginal and is just a 'cannibalisation of all past styles', not introducing anything new; but then I looked at the other side to the argument suggesting how the post-modern does not actually ignore or de-face history, but gives new life and meaning to what has already been - as in todays society, with the over-saturation of all things image and the notion of being connected, it is increasingly hard to create something entirely from scratch.
I looked at examples in popular culture including how retro-vintage nostalgia can be elicited in title sequences, etc inspired by past movies and books.
And also engaged with how many identity re-brands today are being inspired by and stripped back to the more 60s/70s simplistic vector responses.
- This shows how a brand can justify 'going back to their roots' - going back to a time were the company had a stronger ethos and direction, and better customer trust.
- IT IS a big bold graphic commitment, it needs justification to be accepted or it will be seen as an empty pastiche - It’s a brave move to admit things were better before.
Over time brands can often become lost or evolve in the wrong direction. Stripping back to the origin can provide a new perspective, but it has to ensure it is relevant to the audience and portrays the right message.
- Looking into their archive gives an opportunity to re-discover some long-forgotten brand assets, already owned and ripe for modern reinvention
- “Design has always been a process of reflection on the past and looking to improve things for the future” (Brewer, 2016) - it can be seen as nostalgic as it may provide that feeling of familiarity and comfort for the audience, luring them into consuming, which is what this postmodern culture is all about.
This reflects the bigger picture of how today’s design process has evolved reflection, re-use and even parody into its core principles to inspire new things. But there will always be this argument of how we are becoming more and more of a lazy generation
- But it is this return to simplicity, ’stripping back’ some of the clutter that some brands have gathered around themselves due to the advancements in design-led technology - it means we now have the ability to create anything conceivable, but this doesn’t mean we should - “we are consumed by over saturation of information and image; our personal choices are being defined by algorithms as often as they are by our brains. It’s overwhelming, so it’s not nostalgia we crave, it’s simplicity” (D. Witchell of Futurebrand in Brewer, 2016).
From looking at the rebrands of Natwest and Coop, and also how it is becoming adaptable to different industries such as through the development of football teams to help them grow as more of a franchise now, rather than just a team and sport
- I find the concepts and justifications behind these interesting and I want to have a go at pushing it myself, maybe into a different industry perhaps?
SO - my practical investigation will entail the rebrand of a particular company (preferably one which is declining in popularity or whos direction needs developing) but in the form of a pastiche - inspired by their roots or by someone else successful essentially.
I started looking into possible brands and industry sectors whom identities have started developing/need to start developing..
Starbucks - reflects the stripped back nature of each design - considers how the logo sits at a small scale, about recognisability through colour scheme, type and shape.
BP Petrol - very British, type based, use of the shield but then introduces something completely new
Chevrolet - Can see how the cross design evolved along with the type - ends up with the classic very metallic, shiny car response.
Can see the 60s/70s being very vector based - basic but bold.
Car companies in general - made me realise how the majority of car companies are all typically quite metallic to fit on the hood/grille of the car BUT some of the more forward-thinking, ethos driven pioneering companies have gone back and start experimenting to fit in with this simplistic, more vectorised response and elicit how they are moving forward - not just backwards (inspired by better days?)
- Tesla being the predominant example to look into
Renault - Lastly, Renault provides a very interesting identity evolution - they are one of the older car/mechanics companies so can see the heritage through the tank logo in 1919, which develops into the this diamond response almost imitating the grille of a car and how that developed into what it is today.
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