Brand is more than the domain of the marketing department.

 In his book The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier says "A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service or company". In essence a brand is decided by the customer. A company or organisation can try to influence how their brand is received, but essentially a brand is like a reputation.

In the book Brands and Branding, Rita Clifton says "Brands - whether product, service, retail or corporate, consumer or business-to-business - are demonstrably the most important and sustainable asset any organisation has". Brand is more than just marketing, it is the single uniform idea that must be the driving force behind the corporate strategy. The main business objective of a company is very closely linked to the marketing objective, but it is more than just about aesthetics, it is reflected in everything a company does, says and makes. If a company keeps its brand promise at the heart of everything it does, it will do business better.

Does your company really need a logo design?

 If you are just at the very start of setting up a company, you may not need a logo right at the beginning. If you are having some marketing materials done, like flyers, posters, social media posts etc, there is the argument that it may be better spending the money on something else that is more important for your new business venture. You could just use your business name at the top of any marketing collateral. If however, you have been trading for a while and you don't have a logo, then perhaps now is the time to employ a designer like me to design you a logo. If you would like to get in touch, you can click on the link at the side of this page and it will take you to my Watson Consultancy design website. There you can see samples of my work and get in touch.

Is the First Direct branding losing its bold simplicity?

 Since the bank First Direct started using a fingerprint-like image to accompany its logotype, I think it has lost some of its bold simplicity. Does this weaken their brand? Probably not. First Direct are always top of any survey for good customer service in the banking sector. As they have no branches and are only online, through an app or by telephone, then maybe they can focus more on providing a very good service. As a brand, I think First Direct is very strong. 

For many years their branding and imagery used within their printed and online materials has been very simple and clear. 

Thinking Without Borders - New Flyer

 This week I designed this flyer for Thinking Without Borders. It is for a free Zoom event taking place on the 7th of April 2022 to discuss Scotland's involvement in slavery. The client was very pleased with the design.

Virgin Money Branding

 I am not a customer of Virgin Money i.e. I do not bank with them, so I have no direct experience of the Virgin Money brand, but I am aware of their visual branding. The curly 'M' in the word 'money' and the Virgin logo replacing the 'o' in money. I think this works well as a sub brand of the Virgin parent brand. Virgin's purpose is to "change business for good" and an emphasis can be made on the word 'good' to be both forever and for the greater good. Virgin Money merged with Clydesdale Bank in 2019 and Virgin Money is now a trading name of Clydesdale Bank plc. The Curvy 'M' in the name makes for a quirky logotype and I think it carries off the message of the person who does business differently. Overall I think this is the strongest brand in the Virgin stable of brands and I believe it has the potential to be everlasting.

Community Quiz Poster

 I recently designed this poster for a community quiz for an organisation called A Heart for Duns. The client was pleased with the design.

New Flyer Design

 I recently designed this flyer for an organisation called Thinking Without Borders. The client supplied all the details and I put it together. This is the third one I have done for them. I think they are happy with it.