Visual Communication

Branding

Learn what it takes to make a successful brand, and more specifically, how to craft a unique visual identity for any brand! In this course, you will learn:

The history of branding, and why it matters.
How to do design research
The ingredients and technical aspects of crafting a visual identity.
The basics of a design portfolio.
How brand strategists think. Earn yourself a portfolio by following through the classes and complete all given assignments!

Want to get featured on our social media? Share your progress or outcome on Facebook or Instagram and hashtag #preprclass

1.0 Introduction to Branding

What is Branding

Approx. 10 minutes

Understanding the difference between Branding, Advertising and Marketing

Approx. 10 minutes

Why We Brand (and the history of branding)

Approx. 1 hour

Early Mass Marketing during Victorian Era

Approx. 6 minutes

2.0 Introduction to Identity Design

Identity Design in Branding

Approx. 1 hour

The process of understanding a brand

Approx. 1 hour

3.0 Identity Design: Defining A Brand

How to imbue storytelling in your work (generally)

Approx. 1 hour

How to imbue storytelling in branding by Steve Jobs

Approx. 10 minutes

[BONUS] How to come up with ideas using references

Approx. 1 hour

Preparing a moodboard for brand identity

Approx. 1 hour

The difference between moodboard and stylescapes

Approx. 5 minutes

Stylescape: Zero to Hero

Approx. 40 minutes

Designing a stylescape using Adobe Illustrator

Approx. 4 hours

Presenting Stylescapes

Approx. 10 minutes

4.0 Identity Design: Logo Design

What is a Logo, what role it plays in visual identity and what it should embody

Approx. 20 minutes

Stories behind iconic logos

Approx. 20 minutes

Types of logos

Approx. 5 minutes

Understanding logo system

Approx. 10 minutes

Case Study: Finding the magic in logo (Mexico 1968 Olympic)

Approx. 6 minutes

Shape Psychology in Logo Design

Approx. 10 minutes

How to explore different logos through sketch (and how to get your thoughts out)

Approx. 1 day

Letterform for logo: How to improve your letterforms

Approx. 15 minutes

Constructing the Mitsubishi logo

Approx. 3 minutes

4.1 Famous Logo Designs Series

A series of videos covering some well known logos. In each video we learn about the designer and the story behind the logo design. Playlist by Gareth David Studio.

5.0 Identity Design: Typography

Letterforms as Identity: A Brief History of Typography at The New York Times with Kelly Doe

Approx. 3 hours

Understanding font personality

Approx. 10 minutes

Understanding font personality Pt.2: What to look out for when choosing the right font

Approx. 10 minutes

Choosing Fonts Pt.1: How to Select and Pair Fonts in your Design

Approx. 3 hours

What the font - Identify fonts from an image easily

Approx. 5 minutes

Choosing Fonts Pt.2: Check these 5 things before choosing a font

Approx. 1 hour

Open-Source Type Foundries

Approx. 10 minutes

Font licensing 101

Approx. 8 minutes

Overview of type design process with Glyph

Approx. 6 minutes

Designing a font using Glyph

Approx. 1 day

How To Make A Custom Font Using Fontself - Illustrator -software workflow

Approx. 1 day

6.0 Identity Design: Colours

How to choose your brand colours

Approx. 2 hours

How to create a colour palette

Approx. 1 hour

How to use colour in your design

Approx. 1 hour

Understanding Spot Colour

Approx. 3 minutes

An Introduction to the Pantone colour system

Approx. 5 minutes

More understanding into Pantone Colours, and how to use them in Adobe Products

Approx. 1 hour

How to convert CMYK to Pantone in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

Approx. 30 minutes

6.1 Meaning of Colours in Branding

Colours can help to evoke specific reactions. Discover the meaning of different colours and choose the perfect one for your branding project. Playlist by Zanet.

7.0 Identity Design: Imagery

Finding free images and optimise them

Approx. 1 hour

How to Legally Use Copyrighted Images Online

Approx. 7 minutes

Compositing Image

Approx. 1 hour

Make Your Composites More Realistic

Approx. 20 minutes

[Advance] Understanding perspective for better image compositing

Approx. 20 minutes

[Optional] How To Calibrate a Monitor Without a Colorimeter

Approx. 20 minutes

Place Anything into Perspective in Photoshop

Approx. 30 minutes

8.0 Identity Design: Icons and Pictograms

Icon Design Using Grids: Easy introduction to designing icons

Approx. 1 day

Designing a cohesive icon set: in-depth icon design

Approx. 1 day

Free icon resources

Approx. 10 minutes

9.0 Identity Design: Archiving your Brand Assets and Brand Guideline

Why you need a Brand Guideline

Approx. 10 minutes

Breakdown of Brand Guideline

Approx. 1-3 hour

Creating a Brand Guideline

Approx. 1 day

Advanced: Tips for designing Brand Guideline on InDesign

Approx. 1 day

10.0 Understanding Brand Archetype

Just as fictional characters are written according to broadly defined paradigms that help us understand their actions, a brand archetype is a way of presenting a brand – its symbology, values, behaviours, messages – as a persona, thus making it more recognisable and relatable to target audiences. Playlist by Awaken Your Brand.

11.0 Preparing for a Job

What is a graphic design portfolio

Approx. 15 minutes

The brief overview process of updating an online portfolio

Approx. 1 hour

12.0 What’s Next

Books to read as a Graphic designer

Approx. 10 minutes

Keynote: Why I love designing for Public places - Paula Scher - ATypI 2017

Approx. 45 minutes

How to create a great brand name | Jonathan Bell

Approx.

[BONUS] Understanding design strategy and why it is important

Approx. 25 minutes

13.0 Building A Brand by TheFutur

“Building a Brand” is a series where Blind helps to rebrand Hamilton Family Brewery. You'll see how ideas are shaped and take the form of a new identity system, packaging, messaging, website, and ultimately see the brand launch. Playlist by The Futur.

14.0 Olympics: Design Focus

Decades of modern Olympics games can offer great case studies for designers to learn about the thought process behind international branding. Learn about the iconic designs of the Olympic Games in this Design Focus series!

Explore Roadmap

in Visual Communciation

Level up your design skills with one of these in-demand specialisations. Each specialisation represents a niche in the graphic design field. Browse through our available courses to find out what best suits you.