What are the best ways to develop your understanding of branding as an industrial designer?

Understand what your brand stands for in the eyes of target consumers through research(online/offline surveys stating various attributes people associate with the brand) vis a vis competitor brands in the same/similar space. Once we derive conclusive outcome/insights, work towards aligning Industrial design vision/direction to strengthen the image of the brand. Incase the brand image is clearly weak, as industrial designers we should seek to carve new identity for product portfolio. Rest depends on numerous factors beyond design.

Interesting ways to get started are: 1. to study & understand mission, vision statement, brand positioning, brand pillars & brand attributes and how it corelates with product categories which manifests in comprehensive industrial design strategy ( form factor, cmf, on-product graphics, control panel, etc). 2. Competition benchmarking on the above-mentioned aspects & parameters is also an important tool. It is very crucial to understand that even though two brands may be manufacturing & selling the same products but the mission, vision, brand strategies eventually dictates the Industrial Design strategy.

Industrial design should be seen as a tool for establishing branding strategies. Design decisions determine the user experience when using an industrial product and this experience defines the way the user perceives and interprets that product. This perception that the user has about the product needs to be part of the design project and must follow the company's branding concept. Design decisions influence the way the user perceives the company and therefore need to be aligned with the branding strategy

Analyzing diverse brands inspires innovation and creativity. It encourages designers to explore new design approaches, unique functionalities, and innovative branding strategies to differentiate their brand in a competitive market.

Never forgetting the importance of even the smallest detail. This will bring quality. Quality will ensure success and success will ensure your brand.

To grasp branding as an industrial designer, focus on creating cohesive visual elements, telling a compelling product story, and ensuring consistency across touchpoints. Understand your target audience and how your design communicates the brand's values.

Understanding the needs of the target audience enables designers to personalize the user experience. They can tailor designs to ensure they are intuitive and useful for the audience they are targeting, thereby continually improving their designs to meet the evolving needs and expectations of the market.

Je nach gr?sse des Projektteams müssen mehr oder weniger Aufgaben von einer Person übernommen werden. Je gr?sser das Team, desto mehr Spezialisten, je kleiner desto mehr sind Generalisten F?higkeiten gefragt. Branding ist ein Prozess welcher jener der Gestaltung übergeordnet ist und somit auch Einfluss nimmt. Idealerweise stehen die Disziplinen in einem engen Austausch, so ist es m?glich dass sowohl Produkt als auch Marke und Erlebnis als koh?rent wahrgenommen werden. Tools und Methoden aus der Start-Up Welt wie Canvas, Produktvision, Obituary, Tag Line, True Line etc. helfen allen involvierten Parteien um ein gemeinsames Verst?ndnis von Produkt, Firma und Marke zu erlangen und weiterzuentwickeln.

This is the best and fastest way to learn. As great as it might be go spend time deep in your craft, the best way to grow is to immerse yourself in other functions to broaden your perspective and knowledge. In my experience, spending time with graphic designers, marketing strategists, listening to conversations with clients, understanding brand managers and what they need and finally participating in brainstorms/projects has given me more understanding than any article/textbook.

Hands down this is the best way to understand branding. It really should be #1. Being able to talk to a senior creative and walk through the reasoning, factors, narrative and direction will give you the most learning from the most angles.

Es clave colaborar con otras disciplinas para entender el enfoque de cada una de ellas y poder armar un mapa mucho más completo del proyecto, situación o marca. Un equipo multidisciplinar ayuda a generar productos o servicios coherentes, relevantes y que generan valor.

In my experience, although this collaborative approach gives a very fast understanding of the brand, it can also be very frugal. Moreover, there are chances of unwanted noise coming in from many stakeholders. The appropriate thing to do would be to synthesise the learnings & align the same with leadership w.r.t future vision & business strategies before moving ahead into design.

I've been teaching strategic branding on a master level in Industrial Design Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden for three years. In my experience a good way to develop an understanding for strategic branding in industrial design is to explore potential design routes based on different brand personalities. This approach works well to develop an understanding on both a functional as well as an emotional level. In the course we always had a corporate partner that assigned the students real tasks based on real challenges that their brand was facing. The students where given the same design brief, with only one difference, they were assigned to solve the challenge based on a specific brand personality.

Genuine ideas are what makes a brand a brand. Its also what makes a product a product. However, a genuine idea requires exploration and therefore experimentation.

Le Design industriel c'est du Branding ! Lorsqu'on pense image de marque on pense immédiatement Logo, identité graphique. Et c'est effectivement l'expression la plus littérale de l'identité d'une marque. Mais les produits sont le prolongement naturel de cette identité. Ils doivent être reconnaissables et traduire l'ADN de la marque. Chaque produit doit exprimer l'univers, les valeurs, le niveau de gamme, la technicité, le degré d'innovation et le caractère unique de la marque. Le produit ne s'exprime pas avec des mots mais avec un langue qui lui est propre, un langage cognitif qui va s'adresser à nos sens et à nos émotions. La sémantique formelle, les codes couleurs, les patterns, les textures, l'architecture produit, chaque détail !

I like what Tony L said. Exploring within "personalities" thats a super cool way to think about it and relevant to industrial design as its easy to think in those terms of characters, personalities, archetypes, persona's etc,

Brands are all around us in this era. Branding breath is considered to be the design language. what do you think is the design language? If you think it's the aesthetic of the product or its posters or its manifested counterpart. I might say you are definitely lacking some perspectives here. A design language for a true industrial designer is created from its initial stage , the new age product development should start with carbo emissions. Just to remind the times we are in . Supress the EGO and Go Eco . What's your branding style !!!!!!!

Sometimes even brands cannot describe what they need in the first place. So the feedbacks will develop the broader perspective of the brands. Although the brand owner may not be so aware of the design perspective they have a sense about their brands’ general approach. So in my own experience it is better to make the brands talk and as a designer extract the essence. The feedbacks are good source of this “talks” and even the facial expressions work as feedbacks too.

The landscape of industrial design is ever-evolving. Staying informed of the latest trends, technologies, and consumer behaviors ensures that branding remains relevant and resonant. Continuous learning is a commitment to innovation and relevance in a competitive market.

The markets and trends are constantly changing. Staying updated enables designers to adapt to the new market needs and stay informed about the latest design trends, technologies, and methodologies. Participate in conferences, seminars, and events related to design. These opportunities provide insights from industry experts, networking opportunities, and exposure to new innovative ideas and approaches.

Beyond these strategies, consider the global and cultural implications of branding. Sustainable practices and ethical considerations are increasingly important in branding, as consumers are more aware and concerned about the impact of their purchases. Integrating these values into your branding can foster a deeper connection with users.

Crafting new products or environments within an established brand identity involves a process of learning, understanding, interpreting, and translating existing colors, shapes, and tone of voice into something innovative. It is advisable to thoroughly examine brand guidelines, website design, structure, and tone of voice before embarking into the design of a brand's product. In my experience with the design of Lenovo shop at Mediamarkt Madrid I carefully studied the brand’s identity and with the support of other creatives, designed an environment which is undoubtedly Lenovo given its shapes, colors and interactions.

If one agrees that Branding comes from a brand, it is fundamental to understand what a brand is and how its further built. A brand (the perception a user has of a product) builds organically, and initially the brand should have a foundation of a unique positive offering. Typically, this starts with a brilliant creator who leads a team to create a visionary tangible product. A series of business-leaders find the uniqueness of this foundation and weaves the long-term business vision from this; and then follows up in future execution. If the leader understands what the first foundation was, and how the vision resonates with this, brand building is successful. An industrial designer understanding the above context will benefit.