Six Branding Project Ideas for Middle Schoolers

To kick off our study of Brand Identity Design, each student reads 30 Definitions of Branding in an article written by branding expert Heidi Cohen.  The designers are encouraged to select the quote that makes the most sense for their branding efforts!

In another article, Pitfalls of a Modern Day Brand by Matthew Turner, students learn about common problems for brands such as a lack of voice, a low ceiling, and being easy to forget. Together the class studies WHY this is important to avoid.  These lessons acted as mantras during the Brand Identity Design unit, as each student printed their quote by hand and placed them in the back window of their Process Journal.

A brand logo acts as the face of the organization.  For our first project challenge, Students design a logo based on client parameters.  Once a logo is delivered to the client, students send a survey in order to test customer satisfaction. In class we address the logo’s level of craftsmanship, and determine what types of data can help to measure success of this logo design, down the road.  We also review symbols, typestyles, and colors that are most likely to attract each target audience.  Establishing a logo that harnesses a brand persona (also known as “Archetype Personality”) can help designers to connect a brand’s products or service to the needs of the audience, and ultimately achieve brand loyalty.

Packaging your brand is about seeing the manifestations of your hard work coming together in a way that is visible. Students figure out how are they going to actually take this brand they’ve created, package it up so that the target audience can consume it. The following is an excerpt from a 2016 article in Greenwich Time, covering Whitby's 6th grade unit on Physical Packaging:

"As an art teacher, Lohmeyer had taught branding and packaging units several times. But this year, his first teaching design, he wanted to see how his approximately 30 students would respond when challenged to develop ideas that would have a realistic chance of making it to the market.  Such a mission would ask students to create brands with mission statements, logos and strong identities. Then they would have to create packaging that would attract consumers in clearly defined audiences." -Paul Schott, Greenwich Time

The article continues:

"Chatter among students and their teacher fills the lab; product development relies on constant conversations and feedback... Although the students are not about to incorporate companies and start selling their products — at least not yet — Lohmeyer said they have gained valuable experience... 'I think it was really fun for the students to invent taglines, slogans, in actual physical real-world ways to package it up and sell it to the public,' Lohmeyer said." -Paul Schott, Greenwich Time

WHO is this video for? WHY is this being filmed?  WHAT is needed to edit?  HOW is it going to be viewed by the audience?  Once students have the answers to these four questions, they can start to create a script and storyboard for a 30-second Brand "commercial."  I usually ask each group to come with 4 ideas for a commercial, thinking about how the video will LOOK and how these visuals will WORK to serve the brand.  Before filming, make sure that students can answer: How will each scene look?  How will this same scene work (function) in the commercial?

In Thomas Smith's 1885 article "Successful Advertising," we learn that successful advertisers devise ways for people to see a brand at least 20 times.  Students are challenge to find 20 ways to represent their brand in video content.  In class we go over how to distill brand purpose, process, and product into a 30-second memorized speech called an "elevator pitch."  We film the pitch, and add B-Roll support footage, enabling the video to act as another video ambassador for the brand.  The last video challenge is a "press conference," in which an invented crisis scenario is addresses by the brand in front of their peers, playing the roles of interested reporters.

A Brand Identity Display can combine many of your previous packaging solutions.  In our case, we use the display as a set of Brand Guidelines that can direct other designers and partner organizations.  A Mission Statement and Brand Story, the same content used to inspire physical packaging, can be included on a printed display.  Some students choose to include typestyle guidelines, different logo versions, and sample print ads.  In addition, the "commercial" script or "elevator pitch" created for video packaging can be printed and included in the display.

When creating signs and banners, the strength of your logo lies in the amount of contrast that is created by your design.   Yes, your banner design should have visual beauty, but should be functionally strong as well- something that is legible.  Some designs are easy to read from a distance, while others are swallowed up by the background due to the sheer lack of contrast.  To preview how a logo might look at a far distance, shrink it down to a very small size on your computer, down to the size of an icon.  The more functional the logo, the more visible it should be at a small size.  So- how can the visual aspects of your design become functional as well?  By making the symbols and typestyles included in your logo simple and easy to read.

You did it! Using your Brand Identity Design plan, you designed a logo, created physical packaging, video packaging, and a brand identity display that includes signs and banners.  Now we’re going to use this ready-made content to help us create a web presence, with what we have so far. Try to combine at least three things, such as your brand logo, mission, and physical or video packaging.  Using these elements together will help to make your brand more clear to the potential consumer.

It helps to include a few additional options for the audience to get to know your brand: try adding some brand guidelines or a brand survey, to get authentic feedback.   Simplification is key to helping the audience understand your web presence intentions.  If your presentation is too long-winded, people could lose interest.  Recruit your audience as allies, by creating engaging web content that the user will want to interact with!