#brainstoriming

[duskdragonxiii]

after brainstoriming for literal years and only coming to the conclusion "dog" for Lucifers beast form i FINALLY got it. I figured it out. It finally came to me.

[catalinacimpoesu]

Creative resentment

From heaven to hell

During the quarantine, back in March 2020, one of my friend and I wanted to open an online Branding Agency. Having the same goal in mind, we started to build an organised Drive to gather all the required materials. Becoming a freelancer is not such an easy job but many people are voluntarily dreaming of being their boss more than ever (Hershey et al., 2017). A lot of dedication and self-thought skills are required, but in the end, it can be the most satisfying feeling. In simple terms, I was the one dealing with the Graphic Design part of the agency and my friend was coping with the Web Design area. Because both domains work together, our long-term idea could have become sustainable in terms of money and offered quality services. Purchasing a package containing brand identity services along with a personalised site is the bundle many customers aim for in the 21th digitalised century. Unfortunately, neither of us was certified in his subject and the other one’s subject, but we were willing to learn on the way.

Opening a business implies a lot of topics to cover, but despite all the issues we faced we got stuck at the one that supposed to be the non-existent. The mission of creating a brand identity reflecting our traits, emotions and personalities dramatically failed (Lin & Sung, 2014). If somebody would have guessed why our idea suddenly stopped (spoiler alert?), it might be because of a legal matter, the subject designers want to deal the least, but just thinking of not being that made the situation worst.

The struggle

After days of thinking about an interesting name, I came up with the idea of “iscreambrands”. The story behind? “Scream” represents a really powerful word. Whatever the sound is, it certainly makes “things” being observed anytime when is passing a closed space. I preferred thinking about a joyful shout when saying “scream”. A moment of sudden happiness. “Brands” are what we wanted to create. And especially powerful, outstanding brands that would make people wonder who was the artist behind them. “iscreambrands” was meant to describe the fact that “We eat brands for breakfast. We know what we do and we are doing it like professionals.”

Setting a buyer persona and our top 3 beliefs and features helped me understand better what we aim to show to the outside world (Neumeier, 2005). My and my friend had many online conversations where we set and wrote down every aspect that could have lead to strong brand equity (So, King et al., 2017) simultaneously understanding the customer’s and the company’s perspectives trying to create a balance between them. Only through fully understanding our purpose and emphasising with the others’ need we could have delivered unforgettable services and products. 

Despite that our unique selling proposition did not reach my standards and now, looking back, the accumulated frustration was slowly appearing since this moment.

Brainstorming for logo creation process (Cimpoesu, 2020)

It was not the first time for me when I was creating a brand identity from scratch but just having in mind that it's a personal company made it 100% harder.

Creating the brand identity process begun with gathering inspiration and sketching the logo. From the first moments, I have known both of us wanted to be a typographic logo simply showing the entire name. This would have had represented a conversation starter when meeting a possible customer or competitor. Despite that I tried to sketch and explore more sides, looking for that brilliant idea. In my work, the main goal is always to find a story worth to tell when explaining the visual identity. I consider “How would you ever think of that?” type of questions as being the number one priority achievement when interacting with the public willing to discover one of your artworks for the first time. At the same time the logo should have had include any type of illustrated motion symbolising vibration and emotions. In a few words seeing the logo for the first time would have had create and shivery feeling.

Youth, spontaneity and empathy were our defining traits. Yellow was the main used colour and minimalism was the followed style. As simple as it sounds, creating a Mood board was an item that helped me visualising our preferences in order to go further on the right path. Or not.

iscreambrands Moodboard. (Cimpoesu, 2020) All sources and many more here & here

After many hours spent on researching, visualising, brainstorming, drawing, colouring, writing and vectorising nothing was good enough. The plan B was to start visualising the website of the brand. Again, ideas would not appear under any circumstances. Asking myself “Why do I have a blockage? Why could I not see anything even surrounded by al those materials?” while maintaining a positive attitude gave me shivers every time. “I followed all the steps the theory is listing and all I could create is a mainstream logo.” 

Overthinking every step ahead and every possible scenario can be your closest friend and worst enemy (Kapferer, 2008, pp.15-17) if you are being realistic and have enough patience.  All of a sudden nothing was good enough for me to have the will of promoting the agency further. In addition, I came up with a conclusion that there are not many materials published online, helping you overcome the lack of creativity issues.

(Not) all stories have happy endings

My mind is usually visualising things quickly after understanding the brand's needs and story but now it was different. Every learned and followed principle it was not applying on “iscreambrands”. I did not feel the need to create it.

Why? While I was aggressively waiting for the best idea to show up, I started to hate the whole concept and question my actions towards it. In addition, I did not see a bright future for the agency anymore as I started having other priorities. Despite all initial long-terms objectives I was not prepared enough to share ideas with someone else. It sounds a little bit selfish, but being totally transparent with myself I have finally let this though out after many attempts.

iscreambrands logo (Cimpoesu, 2020)

Creating a personal brand identity should be easier in theory because you, as a graphic designer know from the start all the steps, needs and the desired outcomes. On the other hand, it can be really stressful to reach your high expectations, especially when you are not seeing a stable final product. Graphic design includes emotions and despite the struggle of not take every client-based project as a personal one, in this case the opposite happens involuntarily. Exactacting yourself from visualising your personal brand as never too satisfying takes practice and many tries and failures.

“iscreambrands” remains a short journey while I have learned a lot about myself and the others present in the business environment. It is a goal I have stepped outside of my comfort zone for and met a lot of creative people from whom I have learned design tips and tricks and not only. These types of actions are recommended for people willing to challenge themselves because the desired change is guaranteed and visible.

As a future graphic designer, this experience left me with the two major following questions I cannot fully answer at this point in my life, despite of the research I made: “Is it going back to the drawing board always effective? What if you are not feeling that the outcome will be worthy from the beginning?”

To conclude, aiming to create a personal brand was a effective start, but only the experience of working with myself and with other clients will lead to reshaping my creative perspectives, over the years.

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Cimpoesu, C. M. (2020) Brainstorming for logo creation process. Unpublished personal artwork.

Cimpoesu, C. M. (2020) iscreambrands Moodboard. Unpublished personal artwork.

Cimpoesu, C. M. (2020) iscreambrands logo. Unpublished personal artwork.

Hershey, D., van Dalen, H.P., Conen, W.S. and Henkens, K. (2017) "Are “Voluntary” Self-Employed Better Prepared for Retirement Than “Forced” Self-Employed?", Work, aging and retirement (Online) vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 243-256. Available from: https://doi-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1093/workar/wax008 [Accessed: 20th of December 2020]

Kapferer, J. (2008) The new strategic brand management: creating and sustaining brand equity long term, 4th edn, London. Kogan Page

Lin, J. and Sung, Y. (2014) "Nothing Can Tear Us Apart: The Effect of Brand Identity Fusion in Consumer-Brand Relationships", Psychology & marketing (Online) vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 54-69. Available from: https://doi-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1002/mar.20675 [Accessed: 20th of December 2020]

Neumeier, M. 2005, The Brand Gap, 2nd edn, New Riders.

So, K.K.F., King, C., Hudson, S. and Meng, F. (2017) "The missing link in building customer brand identification: The role of brand attractiveness", Tourism management (1982) (Online) vol. 59, pp. 640-651. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.09.013 [Accessed: 20th of December 2020]

[frostedmoonflakes]

“I don’t care how much they hate me. It’s your opinion that matters. Tell me, do you hate me?”

“Yes. Very.”

“Good.”

[charlestrask]

i think in a tv east of eden . i would make charles' letter to adam more prominent. and expand on our view of cathys time with mr edwards. make the sexual trauma with cathy still just in implications but slightly more prominent in the subtext than it is in the book. do more with samuel viewing the hanged man. the only downside of a tv version to a movie version i can think of is that i think it would be a little harder to incorporate the hamilton side stories into episodes than it would be in a singular movie. they certainly can't have their own episodes but i feel like it would certainly take some effort to figure out how to either naturally move back and forth between stories like the plane flying and the ongoing trask plot like •–•–•– or somehow like. hold them in the middle like •••–––••• hmm. i think it does help that they're kind of free-floating and you could move around the point in the trask story that you decide to tell them.

[paulascas]

Creativity 

Working for a youth magazine #2

Today the editor of the newspaper I am currently working for has announced a new, exciting project. Members of the editorial staff all need to pair up and write one article with conflicting perspectives on a chosen issue. It is an interesting task for me for two reasons. Firstly, I have an opportunity to meet a member of our staff that I have never talked to before. I have already spoken to him regarding the topic of our article, and he turned out to be both very creative and nice as a person. Secondly, I am up against a new challenge. Although I consider my writing and journalistic skill to be quite satisfying at my level, I have never written anything in the “two perspectives” format. I believe it will be beneficial for me because not only will I need to build my own line of understanding, but I will also need to find arguments that will counter the claims of my colleague. Me and my partner are currently brainstoriming all sorts of ideas, however, what we have already decided is that our main objective is to choose a topic that would engage the young readers of our paper. 

(06.03.2021)

LO: 1,2,3,4

[mission-aether]

Week 7

Escape Room Ideas Brainstorming

This week we brainstormed some science-themed ideas that might be interesting in creating an escape room around. Some of which were:

Space

Climate change

Insects

Crazy Scientist

Dinosaurs

Finally, we settled on pursuing a space-themed escape room. Then, we brainstormed ideas for this endeavour:

Escaping from a spaceship where oxygen is running out

Design a shuttle to escape Earth

Alien impostors

Rogue A.I.

Mission to different planets

We voted on the first idea (escaping from a spaceship where oxygen is running out) and started brainstoriming on ideas for the shape of the room and potential challenges and puzzles to solve:

Complete a circuit board to turn the lights on

Change temperature and pressure using levers

Get in touch with mission control using binary code (01)

Arrange planets or finding coordinates according to planet placement on a screen

Find a code to unlock the escape pod door.

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, April 29

Cover: Lori Loughlin bribe tapes exposed in college cheating scandal 

Page 2: Jennifer Lopez gets cold feet over marrying cheating Alex Rodriguez 

Page 3: Wendy Williams’ divorce ultimatum but husband Kevin Hunter demands $10M to walk away 

Page 4: Liza Minnelli’s gay lover tells all 

Page 5: Tom Selleck settling scores in $10 million tell-all baring his side of Hollywood feuds and broken marriage and stepson drama 

Page 6: Reformed party animal Prince Harry is set for a showdown with wife Meghan Markle over any plans he may have to celebrate their baby’s birth at a drug den bar

Page 7: Meghan Markle rejects dad Thomas Markle’s plea to see her baby 

Page 8: Madeleine McCann’s secret grave found 

Page 9: Child kidnapping is a global epidemic 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Christie Brinkley, retiring NBA star Dwayne Wade and John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Katy Perry 

Page 11: Balding Kevin Costner got hair transplant surgery, health-challenged Whoopi Goldberg topping the scales at 260 lbs. 

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Kris Jenner and producers of Keeping Up With the Kardashians are brainstoriming ways to win viewers back like adding Kathie Lee Gifford, Elton John gifted a diamond earring to Taron Egerton who’s playing Elton in the Rocketman biopic, Serena Williams, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s wedding won’t be anything like Nick Jonas’ over-the-top wedding to Priyanka Jonas, Andy Cohen’s two-month-old son Benjamin is rocking designer duds 

Page 13: Britney Spears’ boytoy Sam Asghari wants out because he’s not thrilled with the prospect of nursing Britney back from the brink again, Kanye West won’t take drugs to control his bipolar disorder because the mind-altering meds change who he is 

Page 14: True Crime 

Page 15: Scott Peterson prison frame-up exposed, murderous Pamela Smart begs to go free 

Page 16: Real Life 

Page 18: Cover Story -- College rigging scandal explodes -- Lori Loughlin bribe bombshell caught on tape 

Page 20: Katie Holmes meets Jamie Foxx’s family, a morning school run turned into a tense showdown between usually cordial parents Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner 

Page 21: Humiliated William H. Macy fed up with Felicity Huffman, Hollywood Hookups -- CNN’s Don Lemon getting hitched to real estate agent Tim Malone, Covert Affairs star Nic Bishop filed for divorce from Claire Smith which would clear the way for him to marry Legends of Tomorrow star Jes Macallan, Survivors stars Joe Anglim and Sierra Dawn Thomas are engaged

Page 23: How to spring clean your life, readers say Britney Spears is still a fit mom 

Page 24: Health Watch 

Page 28: 76-year-old Linda Evans living out her days alone, ER doctors save “Dog the Bounty Hunter” wife Beth Chapman 

Page 32: Nicolas Cage marriage chaplain shocked by annulment and says Cage and bride Erika Koike were sober at quickie Vegas ceremony 

Page 42: Red Carpet Stars & Stumbles -- ACM Awards -- Cassadee Pope, Kacey Musgraves, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Reba McEntire

Page 44: Movie Links -- Can you link Snoop Dogg to Tom Hiddleston without using IMDB? 

[nityakhanna]

#BRAINSTORIMING#FINALIDEAS

[deepaojha-blog-blog]

Brainstroming

Once the research is complete, brainstorimg ideas starts! This is one of my favourite process. By brainstoriming we are coming up with as many creative ideas as possible. The end of this process helps you choose the best concept. This is literally what I do when I get stuck or when I'm blank. Looking at design books, different magazines, inspirational artists also helps.

[thetallestloli]

Hmmm what to do.. o.o

I was thinking about making a IRL ask cosplay blog and my friend Ashley suggested Princess Peach! xD but not sure who though o.o...