We experience brands in every way: we see them, we wear them, we feel them and we hear them. The new communication paradigm requires them to have organic behavior, so that they can adapt and change in real time. Audiences also have a new role, since they have gone from being mere recipients to actors who shape and determine what a brand is or should be today. So how do we build them to survive, thrive and endure in these conditions? What is the future of branding?
Course Beyond Branding: Innovative Conceptualization
Methodologies to learn to interpret the environment and generate innovative ideas through brands that contribute to the development of people and the planet.
Presentation
Who is it aimed at?
Creative profiles who seek to learn to conceptualize in an agile and methodical way to have innovative ideas applicable to any type of design project, in this case in relation to branding, but not exclusively. Profiles can be or aspire to be:
- Creative Strategist
- Creative Director
- Strategic Designer
- Brand Consultant
- Brand Director
- Innovation Strategist
- Product Manager
- Design Director
- Business Designer
Objectives
1 Acquire skills to interpret the environment and generate unique observations
2 Master creative methodologies to organize and systematize the conceptualization phase in any brand design process
3 Cultivate the ability to generate original, own and innovative ideas
4 Explore the most effective formalization techniques for each conceptualization stage in a project
In the context of branding, understanding the environment in which a brand operates, it is essential to develop effective strategies. This involves analyzing what it is, what surrounds it and what it is not but can become.
Conceptualization is a crucial phase in the brand creation process, where your identity and narrative are defined. Mastering methodologies to organize and systematize this phase allows us to structure creative proposals to achieve the set objectives.
In a saturated market, originality and innovation are key to providing value to people and the planet. Cultivating the ability to generate original and own ideas involves encouraging creativity and exploration, as well as the ability to think outside the box.
Once creative ideas are generated, it is important to formalize them effectively so that they can be communicated and executed coherently. Each phase requires different visualization techniques, which can range from outlining to rendering.
Structure and contents
Day 1: Speculation
Introduction to speculative practices in design, with a historical overview and analysis of the notion of the future. We will address the differences between design understood as a cosmetic exercise, as a tool for problem solving, and as a means for imagining and constructing possible futures. We will also explore the difference between predicting and influencing. Presentation of the guidelines and criteria for the week’s exercise.
Day 2: Conceptualization
Linking the reading of objective information about the environment with the identification of one’s own perceptions.
Learning unconventional techniques for generating ideas and concepts aimed at defining a brand’s value proposition, both for existing companies and new projects.
Filtering and selecting ideas through a collaborative dynamic.
Day 3: Materialization
Hands-on session focused on the materialization of the proposed ideas through different media and expressive languages–visual, verbal, physical, olfactive, etc.–using graphics, photography, renders, models, or other types of supports that help explain the proposal and its conceptual universe coherently.
Day 4: Communication
Exploration of different languages, materials, and media to reinforce the project’s narrative.
Review and refinement of the content produced throughout the week, with special attention to the construction of discourse, the hierarchy of information, and the coherence between concept, form, and message, both in the final document and in the staging.
Day 5: Presentation
Final preparation of projects, focusing on project storytelling, narrative structure, and conceptual defense of decisions made.
Presentation of projects developed during the week, with a collective feedback session aimed at consolidating learning around creative conceptualization and its strategic application in the context of a brand.
Faculty
Paula López-Nuño
Head of Education & Strategist at Folch, Director of the Master Beyond Branding and Professor at Elisava. Her professional interests revolve around innovation and user experience in the fields of education, health and urban spaces. As a student she has received various recognitions, including Best Academic Record in the Degree in Design (Elisava), Young Talent (ADG Laus), European Student of the Year (ADCE) and High Potential (ADCE) internationally.