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Brand Essentials is a two-hour workshop which aims to provide delegates with a basic understanding of the process of branding a product or service, through practical advice and case studies. The workshop includes a session where delegates can start to draft their own design brief with the assistance of a design advisor.

Brand Essentials is aimed at pre start-up and start-up companies who have yet to develop an identity, as well as first-time users of external design consultants. The programme started at the end of May 2006 and is ongoing. Brand Essentials is delivered through Design Wales which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, in the UK.

The aims of the workshop are to give the delegates:

·                an awareness of the branding process

·                sense of ownership over the design of their own brand

·                advice on how to construct a design brief

·                advice on how Design Wales can support a branding project.

The workshops were written by the Design Wales workshop coordinator, who has a background in Graphic Design and is a qualified design teacher. They are delivered by Design Wales advisers in Welsh and English, at a number of different locations across Wales. Some workshops are presented in Design Wales’ own offices, some are in partnership with business support agencies and some are to self-selecting groups (i.e. cooperatives, companies).

Design Wales has four levels of design support. Level one is general advice given via the telephone and through email. Level two is Brand Essentials – Introduction to Branding workshops. Level three is sector specific seminars and events. Level four is one-to-one advice given to clients by Design Wales advisors. Brand Essentials helps Design Wales to reach a larger number of clients at once and is a means of assessing a client’s suitability for one-to-one advice (level four).

A Brand Essentials workshop lasts two hours and includes: discussion of the research needed before branding can begin, what branding is, how and why branding can be applied, developing and applying a brand identity, maintaining brand consistency and case studies of effective branding. The workshop then goes on to cover the practicalities of creating a brand including: developing a brief, choosing a designer, what to expect from a designer, the client’s input into the design process, and approximate costs (for design and print). The workshop concludes with an optional session where delegates can start to draft their own design brief with the assistance of the design advisor. 

 

The benefits of these workshops to the delegates are clear. The workshops enable the delegates to be aware of what is required of their company/themselves before the branding process can begin. It gives them an insight into the branding process so that they can have some sense of ownership over their own branding, and feel empowered enough to be able to project manage their own branding project. Care has been taken to write the workshops so that only everyday language is used, avoiding design jargon which might intimidate delegates.

In the first five months of this programme’s operation, 82 delegates have attended the 16 workshops that have already taken place. There are plans for a further 15 workshops in the next 7 months, with an average of 5 delegates attending each one. Delegates attend from all sectors – b2b, food, service, product and fashion – and as word about the workshops spreads, demand is expected to continue to grow.

It is difficult to measure the outcomes of these workshops, as many delegates have no further need to contact Design Wales after attending a workshop, as they have received the information and help that they need. However, evaluation forms received from the delegates after the workshops are on the whole extremely positive, and the demand for such workshops is growing, due to word of mouth.

For further information about Brand Essentials please contact Victoria Jones at Design Wales: vjones@designwales.org


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© Design Wales 2007