Contemporary Brand Identity – Using Verbal and Visual Branding

Learn how to combine words and design to create a unique brand identity that speaks to multiple audiences.
A great brand identity comes from matching great solutions to the right problem. With so many competitors in today’s market, understanding all the elements it takes to build a strong brand is key to its success. Michael Johnson is the founder of branding consultancy Johnson Banks, renowned worldwide for original and clever branding strategies for clients like The University of Cambridge, UNICEF, and Duolingo.

In this course, Michael guides you through his original branding tactics, backed by over thirty years of experience to create your strategic branding concept from start to finish. Learn the power of words in strengthening a brand’s strategy and narrative to create a unique brand manifesto. Create an effective visual concept inspired by your written elements to then develop a powerful design toolkit.

Meet Michael, hear about his career’s odd twists and turns before starting his branding consultancy company thirty years ago. Explore his influences across design, advertising, business, and communication, and see how they still shape his branding ideas today.

Understand what verbal branding means in today’s market and see examples of how the right words can inspire better visual ideas. Do some market research and analyze where some brands sit on their market map. Then, learn how to contextualize market mapping and see how it can positively impact a branding project.

Start defining your brand by answering its core questions. Explore compelling ways to answer each question then define its core purpose – its ‘why’. Then see how a brand manifesto adds even more power to your verbal branding before you begin writing your own.

Look at how research, writing, and thinking can develop and inspire an original brand identity. Explore Michael’s design process, watch him juggle multiple design solutions selecting the best 3 to 5 ideas. Then learn how to use criteria and strategically present a range of options to clients.

Explore how to push an idea as far as it can go to ensure it performs across multiple channels. Learn the importance of paying attention to detail when crafting your brand toolkit with some examples from Michael’s clients. Finish the course by learning how to ensure your toolkit stands the test of time.