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CRAFT: Roy Montibon | Design + Imaging Work 2 
 
Roy's interest in graphic design is based upon an interest in crafting identity. "The word 'corporate' means, 'bodily'. A corporation is a legal entity that is granted many of the same rights that a living, breathing person has," Roy explains. "Developing an identity for a company or a product is essentially the same as developing a character for a novel. The challenge is to create a presence that is credible. In order for this to occur, it must be complex enough to embody multiple attributes, even contridictory ones, yet those attributes have to blend into a coherent whole." Unlike designing imagery, graphic design is a much more interactive process. "Crafting a corporate or product identity involves a lot of thought and a lot of steps, and it is inherently a group effort." "Design doesn't exist in a vaccum - it has objectives to fulfill and more than anything, must be effective," Roy says. "Efficiency doesn't count for much, if the result is ineffective."  "Many of people use the words, 'Brand' and 'Identity' interchangibly. But a brand is a very different thing than an identity." Roy explains further, "Think of someone you know. You know what they look like, how they dress, walk, talk, behave and whether they are conservative or not, serious or not, creative or not... everthing about how they present themselves to the world. This is identity." "Brand, however, is analogous to that person's reputation. A handsome father of three, a pillar of the community, might turn out to be a killer (a lot of novels and movies have been based upon this premise). He now has a bad 'brand'. So the Brand is all about reality being in-line with a kind of promise - and that coherence or incoherence forms a perception - the 'brand perception'. So, if a person identifies themselves with good (their "identity"), and really IS good (their "reality"), then other people's perception of that person will match their identity - and their brand will be positive. In other words, identity is in many ways a promise - if the promise is met, the brand will be good. If the promise is not met, the brand will be bad... regardless of the nature of the promise." "For example, ruthlessness is generally considered to be a bad thing, but a dictator who has been consistently presenting a tough and ruthless identity for decades, who suddenly shows weakness, will have an immediate 'brand' problem - and will suddenly be at a much higher risk of facing a coup d'etat. So, it all cycles back around. Your brand perception - your reputation - also reshapes your identity. And your identity shapes people's expectations." Roy contends that most people understand all of these things about other people - but businesses by and large do not apply this common knowledge to their own 'brand strategies'. "Many business people speak of 'building the brand' - but a brand cannot be built," Roy asserts. "It can only be nurtured and grown. If a person, product or company is consistently delivers on their promises, implicit and explicit, a strong brand will develop. As you can see, branding has a lot to do with consistency: consistently delivering on the promise made by the identity you propagate. Brands 'happen'. Like reputations, they cannot be bought or sold at any price." BACK: Roy Montibon | Design + Imaging Work 1 Back to The Montibon Company HOME Copyright © 2012, The Montibon Company, LLC / Roy Montibon. All rights reserved. |