Recently, I've been really interested in Branding and I've been noticing Arab brands more often than I had before. So when I got a chance to sign up to this week's Nuqat's Branding workshop, I jumped at the chance. Presented by Luma Shehab-Eldin, this workshop, titled "Creating Modern Arab Identities" is an essential guide to modern branding.
On Sunday, which was Day 1, we were introduced to the concept of branding. We learned about what differentiates branding from simply creating a logo. Shehab-Eldin also gave a presentation on "What is Modern Arab Identity?" that answers many questions including: What is "Modern Arab", what is an identity, and what is the future of Modern Arab identities. It comes as no surprise that some of the biggest Arab brands have some of the most cliché identities ever known (I'm not naming names)!
We were encouraged to steer away from the obvious and move to the more modern aspect of branding (simple, attractive, to the point). Using the new information and basic guidelines, we were asked to create a branding campaign for either a brand we know or own, or a brand we're creating from scratch. This project is what we'll work on during the 4-day course.
Today, on Day 2, it was all about the "Process of Designing Identities". We started off with a short presentation about Brand Auditing, and then we got to work on the second part of our project. It was all about research, audit and creating our brand's strategy. We built our brand's story, positioning, personality and name. The projects we're working on are so diverse. There's a jewelry business, a clothing store, an art gallery, among others. The work area is relaxed and easy going. Luma also goes around the space checking on everyone and discussing their projects.
Our assignment for today is to create a mood/inspiration board for our brand. And tomorrow we'll start working on the actual design of the brand (so looking forward to it!)…
