This week we explored the process of creating and designing personal brands. During this semester, we have had the opportunity to work on this by developing our own banking brand for a mobile banking app project. Through this process, we learned how personal brands help us understand their purpose and target audience, as well as how design and visual elements can attract both employers and consumers.
Before diving into designing and brainstorming a brand, we were able to go through and get an understanding of what brand creation involves and what questions to ask yourself about your brand's focus. Here are some key areas to consider:
These questions simplify the brand creation process by helping you understand yourself and align your design with potential employers' expectations. Throughout this process, it is important to maintain a focused visual style that will impress your audience including employers. As I progress in my design career and tackle future projects, I can apply this same process to my thinking each time. This approach is valuable because it helps create a clear vision of what I want to achieve.
Next, we explored the design program, a structured framework that guides the creative development and implementation of design projects. This approach acts as a roadmap for maintaining consistency and purpose throughout the design process. It aligns all design elements with three key pillars: the project or brand's objectives, the target users' needs and preferences, and aesthetic considerations that shape visual impact. To show this concept clearly, I've included an example below that demonstrates how I plan and approach designing a brand identity.
Understanding this process helps me see how it applies to design work and how I can effectively use basic elements for both existing and new brands. As an example, I've taken elements from my current banking brand Square and applied them according to the design programme's framework.
As year one of Digital Design comes to a close, our lecturer Daniel provided suggestions for activities we could work on during our break until second year begins in late September. While it's important to take time off from designing, it's beneficial to keep our minds active since we've covered substantial material in our second semester. Rather than risk forgetting what we've learned, we were encouraged to use this time to start developing our personal brands for our second-year portfolios. This project will include creating a Medium account and beginning our design writing. I was also advised to continue practicing my software skills, as these will be essential later on. Below are some example portfolios from previous students that we can use for inspiration.
