The art of "environmental graphics" along with information about "marketing" can create creativity and intelligence in the heart of business and brand. Because the appearance of "environmental graphics" knowledge that we see in advertising and commercial boards, shop windows, etc., has a decisive role in advertising and commercial activities. Because communicating between the brand and the audience in stores and shopping malls is the task of "environmental graphics". For more information on this topic, in this issue we have arranged a conversation with SARA SAFI, a graduate in Graphics and Business Strategy, which you will take a look at.
Please introduce yourself and explain about your academic education.
I, SARA SAFI, completed my undergraduate and graduate studies in graphic design at Soura and Azad University, and then went on to take international courses in interior design and earn a PhD in Business Strategy (DBA).
What areas does your activity background focus on?
During my twenty years of work experience, I started my activities in various companies and organizations as a graphic designer, and later I continued my work as an art director, creative director and creator of the visual identity of organizations. After entering the world of interior design with an administrative, organizational, store, commercial and villa and residential projects approach, I gained new experiences in the business world, that thanks to God, have continued so far and will be targeted according to the needs of the society.
How much has studying graphics and working in the field of branding influenced your success?
Due to the huge amount of visual information being disseminated and fierce competition between manufacturers in industry and trade unions, graphics are now playing an important role in advertising tools, environmental messaging, dissemination of cultural and scientific knowledge all over the world, and is known as one of the most widely used tools of "marketing" and "branding". Well, I have an academic education in the field of graphics, and along with that, passing business strategies as well as have a mastery in the field of "marketing", has given me the opportunity to combine art and business, to create something that make diversity and difference in the eyes of the viewer according to the intended purpose.
A graphic designer can create the right visual identity based on the skills he / she acquires in the fields of color psychology, texture, composition, aesthetics, etc., and I can say that this part of our work is the ultimate goal of any business. Environmental graphic knowledge such as advertising and commercial announcements, traffic signs, shop windows, urban design and public places such as hotels, airports and subways, restaurants and parks, shops and various sports, arts and cultural centers, writings and advertisements on the bodies of buildings and public transportations, and large-scale graphics and murals, pictograms, and symbolic signs, play a decisive role in advertising and commercial activities. Creating a connection between the brand and the audience in stores and shopping malls is the task of "environmental graphics" Because the commercial impact and identification of the target brand according to the needs of the community and the correct identification and presentation of that brand and its purpose, can only be done by an expert.
Given your field of study, how did you get into branding and advertising?
I started my career in printing and advertising companies from the very beginning, and gradually continued to work as an art director, creative director, visual identity designer, branding consultant, and finally interior designer, as my work history and related experiences increased and I am currently the founder of Studio and I am engaged in artistic and commercial activities.
Please explain the importance of the visual identity of an organization or brand.
Identifying each element, person, or environment makes that brand or organization look completely different from all its other colleagues. This is especially important in business because it makes the business market of that organization or company different from competitors and the final result, which is sales and supply, reaches its maximum.
Organizational color, brand and trademark (logo) are important parts of an organization's visual identity, the most important of which plays a key role in the mind is the "logo" or "brand". By identifying an organization's brand name, fundamental changes can be made to that organization's business.
Which brands and shopping centers do you have a history of working with as a branding consultant in your portfolio?
Panorama Commercial Residential Complex, Rozet Residential Complex, Citadium Commercial Complex, Palm Villa Town, Armani Villa Town, Hamrah Aval, Tamin Holding, Kish Medipharm, Rayaneh Gostar, The One Iranian, Golrang, Bojneh, LG, etc.
What is the main challenge of Iranian brands in your opinion?
This is a detailed discussion that needs to be fully explored, but if I want to be brief, I can point out that I always felt a big gap in the organizational identity of those environments when entering different organizations and companies. By combining the art of environmental graphics and marketing knowledge I had, I was able to play a creative and intelligent role in my projects in business and brand growth.
There are rules in discussing business strategy, one of the most important of which is to have consistency, patience and real quality in that class. One of the most damaging things that keeps a brand from being seen, and often these brands are short-lived, is the lack of quality and exaggeration in the reality of the story. Business owners often take the wrong business route, thinking that they will succeed just by having a brand name. The "logo" or "brand" is only part of the visual identity of the organization, not the whole!
Brand owners need to seek the help of visual identity and branding consultants from the beginning to have a long-term strategy for "brand" development. Remember that no worthwhile goal can be achieved in the short term without effort and depth. Visual identity consultants need to be step by step with business owners to grow and develop a "brand" in order to show it right to the community. Unfortunately, the exaggeration and being the empty vessel (Empty vessels make the most noise), or even the understatement and reduction of the high quality of a product, can inflict heavy commercial blows on an organization in this competitive market, which can not be compensated later by raising and developing the brand name.
In your opinion, what standards do successful global brands meet for success and popularity?
Each environment has its own psychology for providing visual standards. According to the religious and cultural laws that we have in our country, visual identity must be presented in the form of culture, structure and frameworks of the same environment. The only identity that is really seen in any environment and culture and that motivates the society towards itself, is to be honest in showing the reality of the brand's existence. Now creatively displaying existing honesty is the art of visual identity manager and brand consultant who can build a brand identity in the community and expose it properly. Today, "marketing" is not defined as it used to be, and it does not use the previously closed tools to display business identities, and new branches have been added to it, including world-famous brands in the field of "marketing".
Today, the scent, the sound, the style of the organizational team and all the details determine the fate of a brand.
Would you please explain the process of your studio, especially in the two sections of graphic and interior design?
Yes; The first part is related to environmental graphics, visual identity, packaging, artistic consulting and creating content production strategies with the aim of producing appropriate content to improve the quality of the business;
And the second part is related to interior design, which is related to the design of office units, shops, lobbies of commercial centers with the approach of identifying these places, using the rules of visual identity.
The result is that by combining graphic art and interior design, we create and provide branding tools for brand owners.
It is necessary to re-emphasize that today there is fierce competition among business owners to be seen and the output of all these businesses is better sales and monetization. By creating the right business environment for brand owners, we strive to get them to their goal in the best possible way.
In your opinion, what are the indicators of designing a suitable logo for a brand?
The first step is to become acquainted with the world of that brand and to know enough about that business and to examine the logos of the main competitors, The second step after benchmarking is to examine the brand identity and create the brand identity because all the elements of visual identity are taken from the heart of the brand identity or brand DNA, So what is important before designing a good logo is to know the function and strategies of the brand to reach the form, shape, color palette and other elements in the visual identity and create a strong visual identity at the same time simple and intelligent. The last point is that I recommend not to look at the "logo" through the eyes of a brand. In order to create a value for the "logo", we need a branding process to make a strong logo one of the core values of our brand.