Brands were once singular. Definitive. Complete. Brands today exist in multiple mediums, defined by multiple voices. The media a brand inhabits is iterative, with no beginning, no end, and little permanency. In that context, adherence to a big idea and endless repetition of centralized, definitive rules can make a brand seem unresponsive and out of step with its audience. But without repetition, how does a brand create consistency? And without consistency, what is the value of a brand?
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Hello,SXSW!
Brands as Patterns
Brands as PatternsBrands were once singular. Denitive.
Complete.Brands today exist in multiple mediums, dened by multiple
voices.The media a brand inhabits is iterative, with no beginning,
no end, and littlepermanency. In that context, adherence to a big
idea and endless repetition ofcentralized, denitive rules can make
a brand seem unresponsive and out ofstep with its audience. But
without repetition, how does a brand createconsistency? And without
consistency, what is the value of a brand? SXSW Brands as Patterns
4
Brands were once:SingularDenitive&Complete
PanelistsWe represent practitioners,thinkers, and
commissionersof brand design.
Walter WerzowaScientist, composer,and branding legendThe
development of mnemonics in sonic branding has become one ofWalters
strongest fortes. He developed the 4-note mnemonics for Intel,and
has been providing original music and sound design for
lm,television, and brands for nearly 10 years.
Greg JohnsonGlobal Creative Director,Hewlett PackardGreg has
one of the most progressive minds in brand building today.His blog,
Branding By Being, is insightful and articulate about
Brandexperiences in the digital world. Greg has lead a series of
programs that unifythe HP brand across every touchpoint, creating
coherence between brand,communication, global brand advertising,
product UI, and web interface.
Robin LanahanDirector of Design & Brand Strategy,Startup
Business Group, MicrosoftRobin currently works in UX design
strategy and marketing for newproduct incubations at Microsoft,
looking 3-5 years out. She has anextremely broad cross media
background, having held leadershippositions at companies like Nike,
Wieden + Kennedy and Crispin,and Porter + Bogusky. Two decades ago,
she found her passion fornew products when she led a team at W+K to
invent a new soda forCoca-Cola. She has since worked on bourbon,
jeans, motorcycles,TV networks, mobile phones, and NFC.
Marc ShillumPrincipal, MethodMarc works across discipline to
manage brand coherence, unitingbehaviors, words, symbols, and
signiers into brands capable ofexisting in todays agile and
iterative environment.
Structure
A, A, B, A.
So why patterns?
I like paradoxes.
Interface is In the past few years, Ive designed mostly digital
experiences.iterative That means crafting iterative, successively
released, behavior-based design that is systematically built for
change. The power of the interface is in its usefulness and
relevance, which is reinforced through consistent iteration. The
user denes my world.
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But Im also addicted to Paul Rand, Bass, Chermayeff, and
Sutnar. Im a great believer inBrands are the reductive power of
brands. These are usuallydenitive articulated as artifacts that are
consistently applied and rigorously policed through denitive
documentation, books, or bibles. The power of the brand is in its
truth, its legibility. Its xed in time and is reinforced through
consistent repetition. The corporation denes my world.
I said I liked paradoxes.
I said I liked paradoxes.However, we all know that brandstoday
arent owned by corporations.They are shared experiences.
A brand is arelationship Interface Interaction
The brand is the interface.
The This requires that a brands identity should not only be
dened denitively in a book orbrand becomes bible, but also
iteratively through successiveiterative. release and behaviorally
through interactions. The value of a brand isnt just consistency of
repetition. Brand value is also dened by its relevance and
continued usefulness. It needs to be responsive.
So...
If the brand is the interface,its identity is temporal.
If the brand is the interface,we have a chance to put thebrand
in the interfaces we work on,rather than just on them.
And, if the brand is the interface,It should have a theme and a
variation.A frequency, it becomes a sequence.
BRAND SXSW Brands as Patterns 34
BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES SXSW Brands as Patterns
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BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR SXSW Brands as Patterns
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BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT SXSW Brands
as Patterns 37
BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE
DYNAMIC SXSW Brands as Patterns 38
BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE
DYNAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA SXSW Brands as Patterns 39
BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE
DYNAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA USER RESPONSE SXSW Brands as Patterns 40
BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE
DYNAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA USER RESPONSE SXSW Brands as Patterns 41
BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE
DYNAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA USER RESPONSE
Back to the paradox.Denitive and Iterative.
Consistent and different.How do we do that?
Patterns
Patterns Patterns are unique in the fact that they create
consistency around difference and variation.
Patterns Patterns are unique in the fact that they create
consistency around difference and variation. I believe creating a
consistent brand capable of existing in todays agile and iterative
environment begins with the formulation of coherent patterns.
We want art to be familiar yetat the same time to be unique and
unexpectedToo much familiarity is retread or kitsch, too
muchuniqueness is jarring and difcult to appreciate.- Jeff Hawkins,
On Intelligence
A pattern readingmachine The Neocortex
Rseaerch icntidaes taht theoerdr of the ltteers in a wroddnsoet
relaly mettar. Wahtrelaly mtteras is the frist andlsat leettr in
the wrod. If tehyare in the rhgit palce, you canraed the
wdors.
Digital-rst brands aredesigned to be distinctive,relevant,
& active.
Digital-rst brands aredesigned to be distinctive,relevant,
& active.Ownable, signatureexpressions.
Digital-rst brands aredesigned to be distinctive,relevant,
& active.Personal, meaningful.
Digital-rst brands aredesigned to be distinctive,relevant,
& active.Delivering, doing, moving.
Robin LanahanDirector of Design & Brand Strategy,Startup
Business Group, Microsoft
Pattern language in brandsis about the story.
Story endures as thecontext changes.
StoryA description of a seriesof events that
conveysmeaning.
When you strip away the surface ofall great stories, at heart
they sharean identical form. As in allcategories of art, there is
anunderlying structure. Form is whatmakes a painting a work of
artinstead of doodling. Its what makessomething music instead of
noise.So it is with story.- Robert McKee
Static vs.Dynamic Story Telling Story Framework
Framework questions todevelop a story for your brand:What was
the inciting incident for the creating this brand?What world does
the brand live in?What is the nature of the brands relationship
with its consumers/customers?What does the brand desire that
motivates the brand beyond money? (Values)What are the sources of
conict that make the brands story interesting andengaging?What are
we challenging?Where is there a human truth the brand can build
on?
Pulp Fiction Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 3 diner 1 crash 4 date 5 gold
watch 2 bonnie 3 diner Positive Negative crash execute high
friendly OD saved dead revenge Marv. Wolf help up kept suitcase
near miss hold up no kill told to fall watch shoot Mar. caught
Saves Mar. hold up hold up Jules getaway friendly disco friendsPlot
Points: inciting incident turning point climax Plots: Vince Mission
Jules Quit Butch Escape Honey Bunny Rob Vince-Mia Love
Great brands combineopposites:Its in Apples DNA that technology
alone is not enough. Its technologymarried with liberal arts,
married with the humanities that yields theresults that makes our
hearts sing. And nowhere is that more true inthese post PC
devices.- Steve Jobs, iPad 2 Keynote, 03/02/11
Walter WerzowaScientist, composer,and branding legend
The act of composingmusic is similar todeveloping a brand.
Using music to Time is an essential element to music. There is
horizontal and vertical development. Ultimately, the listener
interactscommunicate with the creator/composer/performer. Music is
valuable as a communicative tool because it isnt inhibited by
language barriers. The message depends on the particulars of music
theory and the associations we, as a global culture, have developed
over time.
Using brand to Time is an essential element to brand. There is
horizontal and vertical development. Ultimately, the listener
interacts with thecommunicate creator/composer/performer. Brand is
valuable as a communicative tool because it isnt inhibited by
language barriers. The message depends on the particulars of the
brand and the associations we, as a global culture, have developed
over time.
Repeat this pattern 45times for one minute.
Repeat this pattern 45times for one minute.Repetitive and
boring.
56 bars45 repeats of the same motive4 exact repeats14 similar
notes with the exact rhythm27 exact rhythm
Successful music is builtthrough the right combinationof what
is expected andsomething new.
Successful brands are builtthrough the right combinationof what
is expected andsomething new.
We lose audiences with eitherthe lack of expected (chaos)or
variation (repetition).
Apply Beethovens methodologyto the Intel 4 mnemonic. INTEL 1
walter werzowa/musikvergnuegen 1 2 Grand Piano Grand Piano
Patterns in Patterns are driving force in our brains. Thoughts
and memories are created through electrical impulses. Thisthe brain
process has variance: a computer will give the same answer 10 times
in a row, but a humans answer will vary each time. In processing,
our brain might come up with many different answers, but the brain
determines which answer has the highest probability to be true.
This model stands for businesses and forward-thinking, innovation,
and creativity. It is a exible system.
The power Though it is possible to trace this memorable
four-note motive through most of the measures of the movement,of
motif esteemed English musicologist, Sir Donald Tovey pointed out
that the power of the music is not contained in this fragment, but
rather in the long sentences that Beethoven built from it.
Successful branding:the reward is dopamine.
The reward Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control
the brains reward and pleasure centers.is dopamine Neuroscientic
studies have shown that dopamine is released not at the emotional
peak of a composition, but approximately 12 seconds
beforehand.
Ourchallenge to you
We believe that the type of designerwe need to steward brands
in thefuture should be:
Experience Able to understand the needs of all of the
constituents of the brand. They are as conversant with user
behavior anddesigners ethnography, as they are with organizational
behavior, operations, and corporate communication.
Time-based Able to create iterative, relevant brand elements
that create engagement across all the necessary interfaces.thinkers
Both physical and digital.
Systematic As adept at organizing a complex system that
provides utility as they are in telling simple narrative that
createsand narrative emotion.thinkers
Comprehensivists Dont make everyone an expert. People who can
formulate patterns between seemingly unconnected things. They are
empathetic, collaborative thinker-makers with strong craft skills
and interests in many disciplines.
And Comprehend the ABCof brand patterns.ArtifactsAny consistent
expression of the brand - a logo, a name, a tagline, a product, a
sound,that is uniquely recognizable and intentionally
managed.BehaviorsA discrete set of states, traits, actions or
responses that demonstrate and personify thebrand through the
relationship with its employees, customer or audience.ConceptsThe
plural thoughts and visions that strategically bind an organization
to its investors,employees or customers.
Learn more:@threepress
@method_inc#patterns10x10.method.comBrands as
Patterns10x10.method.com/brands-as-patternsBrand as Context in
Interaction
Design10x10.method.com/brand-as-context-in-interaction-design