This week we looked at the insights of roll out and applications which involved how important touch points are within a brand. I was able to get an understanding of what the step by step process works for myself and my brand identity as well as other options in which I can explore including advertisements, logos and word marks.

Touch points:

Definition of the contact point between a brand and its users and customers. Examples of this can include someone interacting with a brand by searching online, visiting sites via social media, shopping online or in store and chatting or responding by customer services. These touch points are important as they are seen as setting initial first impressions which allow them to receive and analyse feedback.

Other examples of touch points can include:

• Digital - Online interactions encompassing all virtual touch points including social media platforms, company websites, email communications, digital newsletters, online advertisements, mobile applications, virtual customer service portals, and any other web-based interfaces where customers engage with the brand.
• Human - Direct interactions with users through various personnel including technical support specialists, brand ambassadors, customer service representatives, sales teams, in-store staff members, and any other face to face or voice to voice interactions that create personal connections between customers and the brand.
• Physical - In real time interactions occurring in physical spaces such as retail stores, showrooms, trade shows, product launches, branded events, physical merchandise displays, product packaging, printed materials, and any tangible brand elements that customers can see, touch, or experience in person.

Provided above is a useful example I found within my lecture slides today which depicts the step by step action of a potential touch point for a brand. It begins with interacting online and digitally, which moves to human approach where you are now interacting manually with the brand and then leads to a physical touch point, involving a face to face interaction with a real person from the brand identity.

Signage:

Signage is probably the most traditional touchpoint people encounter in their daily lives. While signs aren't as popular as they once were, those done well can impact users in ways that other touchpoints can't match. Too often, brands simply slap a logo and statement on a billboard and call it a day.

Packaging:

Thoughtful packaging can enhance a user's experience by conveying premium quality and careful consideration. With intense market competition today, it's crucial that your product stands out

Miro task sharing:

Towards the end of the lecture, we were given a task which involved us creating and designing a bank card for our bank identity. I decided I wanted to experiment with my chosen colour of blue, but also with a selection of other colour palettes to see what worked best amongst my logo and word mark. I tried a variety of different styles including having enlarged text of my bank name shorted and seen as the background on one of my cards, which came out really well especially with the green which I think I will use at a later stage. Another idea I implemented was the simplicity of including a square design on my cards too, in emphasis to my bank name, ‘Square’ which again came out clean and rather modern which adds to my bank values of being secure, modern and simple to maintain and use.

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I really enjoyed this weeks lecture on touchpoints as I felt it allowed me to improve more on my design approach towards my bank brand. It was a really creative process and it let me be a lot more creative especially when it came to designing my own mock ups of bank cards. I did however struggle in the beginning with using the mock ups in Figma as some design aspects were tricky to edit but I got the hang of it with assistance from my lecturer and I was able to complete a series of mock up designs which showcased my card designs as well as signage and advertisements for my bank brand.

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