Brainstorming the Brand

It’s time to brainstorm and unleash your creativity! (Image credit: Logo Design Guru)

In Exercise One, you selected a brand to work with and decided whether you want to focus on a mock-up of a Web site redesign or a print identity promotional collection with the new branding in mind.
You got feedback from your instructor, who played the role of your client, and the creative brief you submitted should now be full of more information and notes. With a clear idea of where to go and a lot of research under your belt, it’s time to grab a cup of coffee and a sketchbook and start brainstorming!
In this exercise, you’ll use the brainstorming techniques discussed in Lecture Two to generate a whirlwind of ideas for your rebranding project. Let’s get started!

Before we dive into the brainstorming stage, let’s take a minute to look at an example of a successful rebranding campaign. You can never look at too many examples of success! Case studies can serve to inspire you and break down the process of rebranding from what can seem like a large and daunting mess into concrete steps.

Case Study: PowerOn
New Design Group was hired by industrial automation company PowerOn to develop a new Web site, but the project unexpectedly (and fruitfully) turned into a wholesale rebranding. Read the case study and learn how New Design Group rose to the challenge with remarkable results.

https://www.newdesigngroup.ca/portfolio/rebranding…

(Image credit: New Design Group)

Project Parameters
Now it’s time to get cracking on your own creativity! First, carefully review your creative brief, including the input from your instructor.

Next, we’ll take the brainstorming and creative idea generation techniques explored in Lecture Two and apply them to 1) the whole concept of a brand redesign, and then 2) specifically to your chosen media.
Step One: General Brainstorming

For the first brainstorm, use the techniques from Lecture Two to come up with between three and five concepts for the total brand redesign. Select one of these concepts and then use it as the springboard for the format specific brainstorming stage.
Ideally, you will do this brainstorming by hand, so scan or photograph your results and save them as a PDF.
Step Two: Detailed Brainstorming
Now you are going to brainstorm between 10 and 15 viable concepts for your mock up or print identity collection, and then narrow things down to 5-7 of the strongest ideas to mock up.

Organize your 10-15 concepts into a single presentation. For each, include a clear and detailed written description, along with any visual aids, such as sketches, notes, color swatches, similar media examples, and so on. Save this brainstorming presentation as a PDF.

You will make a separate presentation for your 5-7 strongest ideas. Here you want to be more visual and detailed. These are more fully fleshed out than the first set. In addition to the written descriptions, notes, and related media, also include the best quick mock up of the idea that you can. A very simple sketch is suitable along with notes to identify unique characteristics.Save this presentation as a PDF.
Step Three: Reflection
Finally, after you are done brainstorming, you are going to reflect on the process. Write 250 words of reflection that answers these questions:

	What challenges and surprises occurred in the brainstorming process? Which techniques worked best for this project and why? What types of environmental and experiential changes (workspace, music, and so on) did you find helpful in the brainstorming process?

Save this reflection as a PDF.
Submitting Your Work
Read carefully! I would like you to combine all four of the PDFs listed above into one single PDF with titles and headings for each. After you are done with the brainstorming and reflection, I would also like you to update your creative brief with your new ideas.