Brand Shapers

CG. What is the primary aim you try to achieve through the branding process?

BH. Branding is an overused word and is highly misplaced by many people, including many who practice marketing. Branding at one level is all encompassing and there are methods and processes for each of the step. The process for naming is different to developing a positioning statement to defining the overall personality of the brand.

At Brand Harvest, we keep it simple and address the fundamentals. Our path is defined less by the process and more by bringing the brand to the centre of the business.

At Brand Harvest, we keep it simple and address the fundamentals. Our path is defined less by the process and more by bringing the brand to the centre of the business.

CG: What determines the direction of the look and feel of the branding, and how do you ensure it in the result?

BH. The way a brand needs to come alive is purely based on what the brand stands for in the first place. Design, look and feel is the personality of the brand while the proposition and purpose are the essences of the brand.

CG: What lies at the core of creating good branding?

BH. At the core of every good brand/branding is to have high relevance in the category/industry the brand is operating, and thereafter, creating a meaningful and lasting differentiation that gives the brand a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

CG. How has digital media changed brand strategy?

BH. While digital media has impacted the way brands reach out and engage with consumers, at a fundamental level, the brand strategy will continue to be the core to delivering growth for brands.

However, strategy today cannot be devoid of the media, which are personal and digital; because, increasingly, consumers are harnessing digital media for information, infotainment, opinions, views and expressions.

CG. What new creative trends can we expect in the world of branding, in 2017?

BH. The accelerating speed at which brands are rising in the digital era demonstrates that the fall will be equally fast. Hence, you find that creativity is much focused on the short term in most cases.

From being a strategic tool to build brands, it’s increasingly becoming a tactical device to gain market share and share of consumers’ space alike. These models are high cost from a sustainability point, and 2017 will be no different.

CG: How do current and ongoing changes in creative trends affect your style of work?

BH. Creative trends sometimes mirror the society and the changing times. The idea is not to be enamoured by those trends, but to be aligned with the consumers your brands needs to be relevant to.

CG: How do you achieve a clean, minimalistic look that is effective and impactful?

BH. Simple is beautiful. Every design has to achieve two things - first is aesthetics, becasue if it’s beautiful or attractive, it becomes appealing. Secondly, design has to enhance what the brand is trying to fulfil, and therefore, help the brand to become distinctive.

If these two things are achieved by being minimal, then a job is done well.