March 7, 2018 3:01 pm

Branded artwork

by Nat Connacher, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, aabalone[red]

When I started as a designer 30 years ago, branding was centered around a strongly controlled identity. Companies could manage the use of their logo, typography, colors and imagery, creating a powerful and consistent brand for specific applications and audiences.

Now this has changed.

Shrinking budgets, dynamic cloud applications, and multiple, diverse audiences have eroded historical brand elements and applications. Where there was original photography, there is now stock photography. Where there were typographic standards, now there are web fonts and dynamic layouts. Traditional print has been replaced by a shifting mobile environment, creating new content delivery opportunities and attention challenges.

With this ever-shifting environment, a company now has new opportunities to utilize this mobile world in delivering their brand to different audiences in new and original ways. It is with this perspective; I have discovered the need for a new and unique brand element that has visual power and scaling flexibility – branded art.

Branded art is the combination of several brand elements, typefaces, colors, logo elements, abbreviations and theme words, into a single original artwork. Branded art will define the underlying emotional strength of a company while creating a tangible and reassuring experience in a dynamic mobile world.