Branding

Storytelling

Storytelling requires research, understanding and creative skills. The best storytellers are able to tell the story of a brand in a direct, clear and effective way, without neglecting metaphors and emotional baggage. No word is left to chance: every word is important and there are basic rules to follow in order to construct the perfect storytelling, such as the tone of voice, the character of the narrative, the credibility and coherence of what is being communicated and the characteristics of the story. 

Identity

Corporate identity is the set of key elements that contribute to building the uniqueness and recognisability of a brand. After an in-depth analysis and strategy phase, the pillars of communication are created at a textual and visual level. On the one hand: the name, the payoff, the mission and the vision, and, on the other hand: the logo, the institutional colour palette, the distinctive graphic, photographic and typographic elements.

Brand guidelines define the rules of brand use at various levels. The tool that is created to list them is called the brand manual, or style guide: a document that sets out all the rules to be followed and the elements to be used by all those who communicate on behalf of the brand, from employees to a communication agency. The brand manual consists of several chapters, depending on the level of detail the company wants to achieve. The most common are the use of: the logo, colour palette, choice of fonts, tone of voice, type of images. By fixing these key points of the brand identity, it is possible to build a coherent and valid communication over time.

Closely linked to the brand guidelines is brand asset management, i.e. the implementation and management over time of communication activities and supports related to the brand identity. 

There are some very valuable tools that we use to do this, such as Smartsheet: a work execution platform that allows for easy task management and collaborative discussion between us and the client; and also Frontify: a digital library that allows to store all the elements and media created for an organisation over time (templates, logos, paper materials, etc.), so that we can always have them in case we need them in the future.

Design System

The design system is precisely the set of activities that help to maintain continuity within a digital ecosystem, providing the user with a familiar brand experience on all platforms. In practical terms, it consists of the definition of a number of key elements, patterns, modules and recurring processes, provided with the same logic and the same objectives on any online channel. 

Graphic design is the ability to combine images, text, colours and graphics to create printed communication materials that tell valuable stories.

The graphic designer is the one who, by combining artistic and technological skills, creates a visual concept capable of giving a recognisable identity to the brand and its products.

Production management, an activity with very high added value that consists in the coordination, planning and realisation of photographic services and video sets.

UX/UI

UX/UI is the study and design of the user experience within the new digital product, based on decisions that reward functionality and are consistent with the user profile that emerged during the initial research. The first step is the definition of the information architecture, i.e. the structure and organisation of the contents and the links between the main pages. After that, we move on to wireframes: essential two-dimensional diagrams depicting the structure of all the different types of pages on the site. The purpose of wireframes is not aesthetic but exclusively functional: they serve to organise spaces and information, in order to create navigation paths that allow users to find the information they are looking for with the lowest possible number of clicks. By inserting images and text into the wireframes, it is possible to create a prototype of the site to simulate navigation and test the design.

Once the user experience of the digital product has been defined and approved, the design of the actual layout begins, an activity that combines the initial strategic work on the brand and the user experience. The UI designer's task is to "dress" the wireframes defined by the user experience designer in the previous phases, applying colours, graphic elements and guidelines consistent with the brand and its unique features. The final step of the user interface design phase is a static version of the site: a series of screens that define in detail the graphics of the main types of pages of the site.

The next step is to define the interactions and animations that characterise the digital product: in other words, the behaviours that follow each action (click, scroll, etc.) by users. To give a few examples: what happens when the user moves the mouse over a button? How do photos scroll in a Slider? What effect does the content have when navigating the page? User Interaction Design serves to define all this and to create recurring and recognisable behaviours.