Study Task 1 - Research Question

Establishing a research question: Follow these guidelines to establish an appropriate research question 1. Focus on a specific graphic design discipline 2. The question must be open ended. 3. The question must allow for suitable theoretical research as well as visual exploration. 4. Position your research within contemporary graphic design practice - make it work for you. 5. Do some quick preliminary research to gauge how much literature is currently available... do the same to explore what is currently happening within the industry. 6. Consider what primary research methods could be used to support your research.

1. The area of graphic design which excites me most is branding, I think this is the field I would potentially like to go in therefore want to start focusing on this. 

When speaking to my group for help in terms of setting  a research question it was suggested that I looked at the specific elements used in branding that a companies may use without us knowing. 

I decided to start my research of very general and looked up branding strategies. Here's a list of some of the things I found:

• Name brand recognition 

A well-established company will often use the weight of its own name brand to extend to its products. Most often, a company with large name brand recognition can be recognized by its logo, slogan, or colors. Companies such as Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Apple, and Mercedez-Benz are all iconic while featuring multiple subsidiary products featured under the company name.

• individual branding 

Sometimes a larger company may produce products that carry their own weight independent of the parent company. This strategy involves establishing the brand as a unique identity that is easily recognizable. General Mills, for example, distributes Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Kix, Total, Trix, and more—and that’s just the cereal division. The company also distributes other major brands from every food group.

• Attitude branding 

Ambiguous marketing can often go above the actual product itself in the case of attitude branding. These brands all use strategies that bring to life personality and a customized experience with products and services. 

• 'no-brand' branding 

A minimalist approach can speak volumes. No-brand products are often simple and generic in design.

• Brand extension

Brand extension occurs when one of your flagship brands ventures into a new market. Say you have a shoe company that is now making jackets, athletic wear, and fragrances. The brand name carries its own identity to your product mix.

• Private Labels 

Store brands—or private labels—have become popular at supermarkets.

• Crowdsourcing

These brands are outsourced to the public for brand creation, which allows customers the chance to be involved in the naming process, and effectively drives up personal interest in a product.

• Emotional Branding

Emotional branding clearly differentiates companies from their competitors and helps to create deep intrinsic relationships between brands and consumers. Relationships with an emotional dimension are more likely to resist the temptation to defect than comparatively superficial price or convenience-based ones.

2/3. The question.

What is emotional branding and how is it used to persuade consumers?

What is emotional branding and how is it used to influence consumers?

How does emotional branding influence our buying methods?

How is emotional branding used in everyday branding?

How has emotional branding impacted consumerism?

4. Research - look at ad campaigns for companies that use emotional branding and compare and contrast these techniques. 

5. After doing some quick research I have found a lot of useful articles and blogs etc which will aid my writing. 

6. Primary research - surveys depending on the brands. E.g sports brands- go to gyms, sports shops etc and ask people questions.