Branding for Beginners #1: A Series by Fumi Sasada
A Japanese magazine focused on examining the relationship between marketing and design from a range of viewpoints, Design Research became a monthly publication from its fourth issue. The same issue also saw the start of a series of articles on the basics of branding by Bravis president and CEO, Fumi Sasada.
Active in the branding business since 1978, Sasada has a vast stock of knowledge and experience to draw upon. As the title makes clear, however, the point of the series was to get that knowledge across to a lay audience in the most accessible manner possible. Sasada therefore avoided any traditional textbook dryness and instead used a range of real-life anecdotes to communicate his ideas, and show branding knowhow in action.
After clarifying the relationship of Corporate Identity (C.I.) and branding vis-à-vis one another, Sasada gave a range of easy-to-understand examples. He explained, for instance, how the famous corporate mark of Hakutsuru Sake Brewing Co. actually had its origins in a package design, and analyzed why the current recession is forcing companies to fine-tune the balance between their corporate and product brands.
