Project Statement

This practical project was created alongside two written essays exploring what branding means in a contemporary context, and how branding interacts with
the lifestyles of consumers.

My argument is that branding is no longer focused on simply distinguishing a product from its competitors, but that brands now feed into a consumer’s sense of self identity.

In my second essay, I provide evidence that consumers buy products not necessarily based on quality, but because the products’ branding aligns with the customer’s own image of themselves. That is to say, the brand reinforces the consumers idea of who they are and how others see them. This is described by Claudiu-Cătălin and Andréa in the essay ‘Brands as a Mean of Consumer Self-expression and Desired Personal Lifestyle’.

Recent years have seen the emergence of what have come to be known as ‘lifestyle brands’. A lifestyle brand is a brand which encompasses the values, aspirations, interests and opinions of a certain group in order to market products to them.

Consumers buy into these lifestyle brands as it allows them to express their values and opinions through the act of consuming. As Olins said, 'Branding enables us to define ourselves in terms of a shorthand that is immediately recognisable to the world around us.’

Instead of rebranding an existing product, I decided to create a new brand. I chose to do this because by starting with a clean slate, nobody could have any preconceived notions, and the task of communicating the brand’s values would be completely down to me, and as a graphic designer, it is my job to communicate information to an audience visually.

Throughout the first year of this course, I have been studying how visual language is used to communicate and I have applied what I’ve learnt to the practical aspects of this project. For example, when experimenting with typography, I took into consideration how to effectively communicate the personality of the brand, such as the use of serifs, kerning, and weight.

This project successfully encompasses what a lifestyle brand is through the use of graphic design. By creating charismatic illustrations for the labels which have been used on additional promotional materials, the brand piques the interest of a trendy young demographic, whilst elements such as the typography communicate the personality of the brand as being friendly and cool. The brand inserts itself into the existing lifestyle of health-conscious, environmentally friendly young hipsters whilst still remaining original and interesting.