Brand New

Brand New

What is a “brand“?  I added a link to the term, because I think Wikipedia describes the concept better than I can, at least at this stage.  One of the salient words used in the definition is “identity”.  Specifically: “A brand is the identity of a specific product,  service,  or business.” My colleague  Elka Eastly Vera,  transformative coach and brand consultant, defines it such: “A brand is like soul DNA. It’s what people recognize you for. It’s where the “you of you” meets the world. It’s the essence of your business. “

If we look at the idea of a “brand” this way, then it could even be used to describe how we present ourselves in the world.  But that is a subject for another post….

The visual elements of color and design, pattern and image, texture, shape and composition can all be brought to bear upon  the process of developing and communicating a brand identity.  Graphic designers, like the talented Dianna Jacobsen, of Jacobsen Design, do this all the time.

As an artist, muralist, decorative painter, and colorist (not mutually exclusive terms by any means), I am always intrigued with how this works, and fascinated to participate.  We may tend to think of “brands” as purely commercial (cereal, dog food and shoes come to mind), but devoted non-profits and noble institutions also have theirs, and in my experience, a similar approach is taken to communicate them.

Let’s look at a number of  businesses and organizations who employed the painter’s brush as a tool for communicating their message, how color plays a starring role in their brand identity, and why.

When  Benihana Restaurant in Cupertino, Ca. underwent extensive remodeling,  a mural consisting of a branded graphical design was specified to be painted on the “corrugated” concrete surface approximately 10 to 80′ in the air.  Benjamin Moore Creative Paint in San Francisco matched the colors of the restaurant’s branded interior wall covering in  paint. Master color mixer and matcher Norman Chinn chose Ben Moore Aura exterior paint colors by eye. He was so precise that without knowing it, he chose the very strawberry red used as a stock color in the Benihana Restaurant brand, which is heavy on warm reds, punctuated by creams, darker reds, and red-blacks. Red tends to be associated with heat fire and blood…can we read, appetite?

Red is used in a different way in the new  Dress for Success San Francisco headquarters, designed by local architectural firm, Martinkovic Milford Architects.  Dress for Success provides business attire and training for women, and key to the design is the theme of butterflies, expressing the idea of transformation. Tone on tone reds provide warmth, accent, and a sense of womb-like support for the women getting ready to launch out into the business world.  Red’s association with life and love doesn’t hurt either.

  Blush Organic Frozen Yogurt venue in San Francisco’s South of Market District is painted is apple green and crisp white, communicating a sense of freshness appropriate to a dairy-orientated ‘snackery”.  However, this hue of green also provides other tasty associations:  the sharp and pungent flavors of limes and sour apples, as well as the sweetness of kiwis and honeydew melons.  All cool and refreshing, and fruity ingredients that could be used in their delicious yogurt!

Although also used to evoke connotations of the natural world, the greens in the  mural below, designed and executed for San Francisco’s Planning for Elders in the Central City organization serve quite a different function. “PECC”, which works to “improve the quality of life of seniors, adults with disabilities, and their caregivers in San Francisco and beyond….”  wanted to use the tree as a central image to express life, giving, renewal, community and support.  Associations with the Tree of Life, and the Giving Tree are amplified by using the color of leaves, which also represents life.  Green is also one of the colors associated with the heart chakra, standing for love, sympathy, and harmony.

Embarking on this post, I see how rich, expansive, and complex the subject of visual branding and the way artists can support it,  is.  A sister post may be in order to further elaborate on the subject. 

When we think about how everything we see, indeed everything we experience through any of our senses, communicates something, carries and provides associations, and potentially stirs our emotions, it boggles the mind, (no pun intended.)  We see, and experience first-hand just how powerful the element of color is, and how many different ways it can be used. 

We can perhaps understand in a new way, the expression, “…coloring perception…”

What experiences have You had with color branding?  Have you used color as part of a brand consultation? Color consulted with businesses, organizations, or even individuals on the how of hue  for their “soul DNA“, as Elka Eastly Vera, would say?

If so, please share it with us here.  We love to hear from You.

Remember, we are all bounding and branding through this thing called Life, together.

Facebook…and You

Facebook…and You

A Group is Made of Individuals

Recently, I have been approached by no less than three esteemed colleagues, asking me to share with them how I use Facebook, and how “FB” could serve their business, organization, and publication, respectively.  This Interior Designer, Non-profit Director, and Publisher had essentially one goal in mind: swim through the potentially bewildering mass of input that is Facebook, understand its processes, and harness its power to grow their business, raise awareness of their organization,  and increase the readership of their publication.  In a nutshell…to get more people to pay more attention to what they are doing.  In essence, not to be alone howling their message into the wind.

Don't Howl Alone into the Wind

How do we do this?

Reach Out and Touch Someone...

Well…reach out through the digital divide, connect with your keyboard, and touch someone, or, a lot of people.

Say:  “Hello” – (aka: “Hello World!)

Say, "Hello World"

While not a “how-to” guide”, I offer some thoughts,  ideas, and guidelines to the new and the seasoned user of Facebook, in the hopes that they will “friend” the twin activities of giving and receiving, and thus enrich not only themselves and their endeavors, but all of us “FB” users.

OK…So, how do we do this?

Through sharing and caring. (Sound sappy?  It’s powerful.)  We can communicate, consider, and connect, each in our individual style.  It does take some effort.  There are even mathematical formulas expounded, as to how to distribute your energy across the Facebook terrain.  I will share mine (mind you the math part is flexible…adjust to your own needs, intent, and instinct).

Facebook is used to share, communicate, inspire, educate, market, network, promote, inform, connect, and all manner of other good stuff.    It may be used for other things too, but the latter is what I, and most of the folks I am connected to and observe,  use it for.

I present this simple formula for your consideration:

Make roughly 30% of your posts about YOU/Your Work, Product, Service, Cause, or Organization.

Make roughly 60% of your posts about OTHERS/Their Work, Product, Service, Cause, or Organization, or even, their jokes, videos, photos or links that you feel comfortable having on your page, and sharing with your FB friends.  Ways to do this include “sharing”, or re-posting friends’  posts on your page, “LIKING” their posts, and  “COMMENTING” on their posts in an appreciative and supportive manner.  You can also simply post about someone, or something on your page, recommending, extolling, supporting, or complimenting them, or, it, as long as this feels true to you.  I engage in these activities primarily within the context of my field of work: decorative painting, color, the visual arts in general, the arts in general, to keep my Facebook presentation cohesive. I call this activity “CELEBRATIONS”, and it is great to post them regularly.  Celebrating a person, their work, their cause, or their achievement is a gratifying way to show appreciation, reach out, and support your fellow FB friends, or even those you are not (yet) connected to on FB.  You can  promote their work, service, business, or just THEM to the world…the Facebook world, and the world in general (if your Page happens to be public, as mine is.)

Make roughly 10% of your posts about WHATEVER fun, unique, unusual, special, eccentric or eclectic  topics you wish to share…keeping in mind that these posts are indeed, sharing.  These posts may have a more personal flavor, without necessarily looking, at first glance,  like they are directly connected to your Work, Product, Service, Cause, or Organization, although at second glance, they might be.

I realize as I write this how personal Facebook really is, as regards to how folks approach it, how they use it, and what they want to get out of it.  It can be tempting to get really personal on Facebook.  I would just remind everyone that  anything placed  upon the seemingly infinite table of the Internet, can potentially be seen, read, consumed, and responded to by anyone alive on the planet.  So…please!  Be careful…be considerate, be conscientious….but don’t stop having FUN!

Don’t howl alone,  howl with and to others!  They may find your howling helpful, or at least, amusing….

Don't Howl Alone...Howl with Others!

For further FB info:

Here is an informative post on Regina Garay’s  (of GARAY ARTISANS)  far-reaching blog, “FAUXOLOGY” on how to use Facebook for your Business, written by her sister Suzanne.  This post helps to demystify the difference between FB pages and groups, so please read, and enjoy!

If you have the time, and the inclination, let us know what you think, and feel, about this post.  We are all in this thing called Life, together.

Cheerio!