brand

More than just a logo, a company's brand conveys its culture, permeating all that an organisation thinks and does. It performs an active role for a business, product, event or concept and is a member of the workforce – at the front line. A brand engages your audience with no human support and, as such it must conduct business economically and innovatively. It must be responsive as well as to actively explore all the avenues where your customers can be found. This may be in many forms: digital, such as web and social media; visual, such as logos, advertising and signage; sound, including sonic branding, jingles and music; motion, such as animated infographics and viral video; and finally experiential, such as events and real-world campaigns.

Whatever the needs of your entity, Advantage can identify and execute your brand's design, development, brand extension and sub brands to strengthen your business arsenal. We have done this for over 20 years for clients ranging from Apple to Linklaters, operating alone or alongside other agencies.

Despite many of our clients consisting of large, multi-nationals we love to help build brands from the ground up – so start-ups are welcome here. There is little is more gratifying than nurturing a brand from its inception, through changeable puberty and headlong into its teenage years, and beyond. We are accustomed to the growing pains associated with increasing success (and the challenges from others in the playground). But with every threat there is opportunity for counter attack, and we can assist in turning obstacles into springboards.

Many of our brand creations are still unchanged after more than 10 years at work for our clients, demonstrating a successful strategy for longevity and cost-effectiveness of the design process.

If you want to engage a discussion on branding then drop us a line or a pick up the phone. You are always welcome to pay us a visit where the coffee is organic, the atmosphere genial and the discussion always fruitful.

 

Logos and marques

This is the most concise, composite graphical representation of your entity and can be in the form of a logotype (typographic design), a marque, emblem or glyph. Your logo will define your organisation or enigmatically convey its values to encourage deeper exploration.

We will consider the many factors involved in choosing your brand's new design:

• international reach

• scale of implementation

• flexibility

• longevity

• reproduction

Visual identity

This is a wider image of your business, concept, production or event and encompasses your organisation's graphic language and supporting cast. This may be in the form of a rich  presentation, animation style, an array of graphical icons or artful expression/technique.

Sub-branding

Perhaps your brand requires an annexed representation or requires targeting to a different market to your main brand, in which case a sub-brand will be required. It may need to borrow design cues from its parent or to be significantly distanced. Advantage can help devise the most effective method and design strategy for delivering efficient sub-division of your organisation.

Brand extension

When your company expands it may require a degree of redirection or an need to expand its offering. This may require alteration or the addition of design elements to your existing brand framework. We can assist by working with existing materials and facilitating their cost-effective implementation within the new requirements. Situations where brand extension may be required include:

• mergers and acquisitions

• corporate sub-division

• service extension

• brand partnership

Naming

Finding a name for your entity carries with it many considerations: geography; pronunciation; conflicts; spelling; URLs; perceptions; phonetics, to name a few. We can research, devise and test creative names taking a strategic approach to the best ways in which to engage your audience. Our approaches include:

• territorial research

• phonics

• linguistics

• abstract/fictional

• digital conveyance

• virality/enigma

Tag lines

A potent tagline can deliver extra weight and clarity to your proposition. Clever use of double-meanings, wordplay or simply adopting a direct statement can bring your objectives closer while projecting the entity's ethos or personality.

Ident motion graphics

The world is not static. The moving image is a potent force in the business arsenal – bringing character and life to your brand. Your website can be invigorated and, in so doing, make it more attractive to search engines for improved page rankings. Motion graphics and video can introduce your audience to your business culture, attitude and style effortlessly, acting as a back up your  static graphic language. Our work encompasses:

• animated stings

• 3D sequences

• video and talking heads

• green-screen videography

• audio-visual effects

• logo and identity characterisations

Sonic branding

What does your brand sound like? Through careful understanding of brand culture and personality we can use sound design to further bolster the recall for your brand or visual identity. Whether it's through simple tones, a jingle or vocals, sound may well assist in bringing your brand into the sub-conscious, innovatively, entertainingly and engagingly.