Branded
From Plan to Brand in 12 Hours
The visual communication majors sat on one side of the table. The business majors sat on the other.
Even before introductions, you could guess who was who. The girl with the DJ headphones? A visual communications major. The girl in the snazzy blazer? A business major. The quietness of both groups? Probably due to the unfamiliarity each had with the other’s perspective.
The two majors were brought together by “Branded,” an event created to work with the Seattle Pacific University Social Venture Plan Competition (SVPC). During SVPC student teams create ventures, either products or services, that are both financially profitable and socially responsible. The competition is usually approached strictly from a business angle, but the SPU chapter of AIGA (the American Institute of Graphic Artists) changed that this year with “Branded.” The 12-hour Saturday event allowed design majors to select six SVPC teams and help them create a visual identity for their ventures.
Though business and design work together like peanut butter and jelly in “the real world,” the programs on campus often don’t. “We’re a small school, but there are a lot of faces here I’ve never seen before,” said AIGA President Jeremy Sanford at the event.
The day began with the business majors explaining their social venture projects to the design majors. When they were done, the design majors grabbed colorful markers, laid a large piece of butcher paper over the table, and told everyone to write down all the words they could think of that related to the businesses. The design majors began immediately, leaning over the table and each other to fill the empty spaces of the paper with words and ideas, while the business majors sat with their markers capped. Then, slowly, as the paper began to fill up, the business majors began to add their own ideas.
But there was one common misconception about branding that had to be demolished right away: A logo is not a brand. “Branding is an emotion,” says design student Justin Rusk. “Brands don’t belong to companies; they belong to everybody who experiences them.” Branding is about imbuing a business with personality — not just making it look good.
For the next several hours, SPU’s Art Center was a hub of activity. Laptops were flipped open to design programs. Business majors leaned over the shoulders of design majors to offer suggestions, and design majors encouraged business majors to approach their plans from new angles. Hotel de Canine, a kennel business that would employ and train former prostitutes, became “Unleashed.” The Tea Shop, which would serve as an outreach for homeless teens, became “Bloom,” and received designs for their cups and teabags. And Liftee, the online carpooling site (which will be up and running on SPU’s website this spring) received a spiffy logo and website design.
“Even if we walked away with no visual creative anything, the work that we’ve gone through in getting that other input is still really valuable,” says senior Kasey Graham, a business major and creator of Bloom.
At the end of the day, the business majors and the design majors were sitting on both sides of the table. The comfortable hum of conversation, laughter, and music replaced the earlier quiet. Twelve hours. Six groups. Two perspectives. One goal.
What is the Social Venture Plan Competition anyway?
What: Teams develop business plans aimed at meeting an important community or worldwide need
When: Winter and Spring quarters with a showcase event in April
Who can participate: Students from all majors
Benefits: Experts from the community and faculty act as instructors and coaches in a winter-term course and during the planning stages. Numerous community leaders score the finished plans and others act as judges at the April showcase. Prizes are awarded for the team projects that are deemed to be the most beneficial and feasible. The grand prize is $2,500.
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