Hello,SXSW!

Brands as Patterns

Brands as PatternsBrands were once singular. Denitive. Complete.Brands today exist in multiple mediums, dened by multiple voices.The media a brand inhabits is iterative, with no beginning, no end, and littlepermanency. In that context, adherence to a big idea and endless repetition ofcentralized, denitive rules can make a brand seem unresponsive and out ofstep with its audience. But without repetition, how does a brand createconsistency? And without consistency, what is the value of a brand? SXSW Brands as Patterns 4

Brands were once:SingularDenitive&Complete

PanelistsWe represent practitioners,thinkers, and commissionersof brand design.

Walter WerzowaScientist, composer,and branding legendThe development of mnemonics in sonic branding has become one ofWalters strongest fortes. He developed the 4-note mnemonics for Intel,and has been providing original music and sound design for lm,television, and brands for nearly 10 years.

Greg JohnsonGlobal Creative Director,Hewlett PackardGreg has one of the most progressive minds in brand building today.His blog, Branding By Being, is insightful and articulate about Brandexperiences in the digital world. Greg has lead a series of programs that unifythe HP brand across every touchpoint, creating coherence between brand,communication, global brand advertising, product UI, and web interface.

Robin LanahanDirector of Design & Brand Strategy,Startup Business Group, MicrosoftRobin currently works in UX design strategy and marketing for newproduct incubations at Microsoft, looking 3-5 years out. She has anextremely broad cross media background, having held leadershippositions at companies like Nike, Wieden + Kennedy and Crispin,and Porter + Bogusky. Two decades ago, she found her passion fornew products when she led a team at W+K to invent a new soda forCoca-Cola. She has since worked on bourbon, jeans, motorcycles,TV networks, mobile phones, and NFC.

Marc ShillumPrincipal, MethodMarc works across discipline to manage brand coherence, unitingbehaviors, words, symbols, and signiers into brands capable ofexisting in todays agile and iterative environment.

Structure

A, A, B, A.

So why patterns?

I like paradoxes.

Interface is In the past few years, Ive designed mostly digital experiences.iterative That means crafting iterative, successively released, behavior-based design that is systematically built for change. The power of the interface is in its usefulness and relevance, which is reinforced through consistent iteration. The user denes my world.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.Phasellus tempus dui sed neque euismod eget malesuadaaugue cursus. Nulla vitae risus elit, eu sodales lorem. Cras ipsumarcu, volutpat ut egestas a, sollicitudin sit amet tortor. Morbifacilisis lorem eu libero aliquam tincidunt. Etiam in consequatpurus. Sed vulputate gravida arcu in cursus. Morbi et purusnibh. Nulla lorem urna, blandit et pharetra at, iaculis non enim.Suspendisse sed felis nibh. Fusce faucibus congue dui aegestas. Nunc nec odio vel justo mattis vestibulum non noneros. Sed fermentum augue id risus laoreet nec elementummetus fringilla. Duis pretium tincidunt tincidunt. Praesent egetporttitor dui. Duis interdum justo quis neque rutrum molestie.Nunc id odio a mauris elementum imperdiet ut vitae dui. Nullamcursus elementum erat, cursus adipiscing orci molestie non.Nullam nec elit a urna aliquet mollis nec in felis. Praesent rutrum,ligula et adipiscing eleifend, magna purus consequat mi, inimperdiet nibh risus eu ligula.

But Im also addicted to Paul Rand, Bass, Chermayeff, and Sutnar. Im a great believer inBrands are the reductive power of brands. These are usuallydenitive articulated as artifacts that are consistently applied and rigorously policed through denitive documentation, books, or bibles. The power of the brand is in its truth, its legibility. Its xed in time and is reinforced through consistent repetition. The corporation denes my world.

I said I liked paradoxes.

I said I liked paradoxes.However, we all know that brandstoday arent owned by corporations.They are shared experiences.

A brand is arelationship Interface Interaction

The brand is the interface.

The This requires that a brands identity should not only be dened denitively in a book orbrand becomes bible, but also iteratively through successiveiterative. release and behaviorally through interactions. The value of a brand isnt just consistency of repetition. Brand value is also dened by its relevance and continued usefulness. It needs to be responsive.

So...

If the brand is the interface,its identity is temporal.

If the brand is the interface,we have a chance to put thebrand in the interfaces we work on,rather than just on them.

And, if the brand is the interface,It should have a theme and a variation.A frequency, it becomes a sequence.

BRAND SXSW Brands as Patterns 34

BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES SXSW Brands as Patterns 35

BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR SXSW Brands as Patterns 36

BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT SXSW Brands as Patterns 37

BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE DYNAMIC SXSW Brands as Patterns 38

BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE DYNAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA SXSW Brands as Patterns 39

BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE DYNAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA USER RESPONSE SXSW Brands as Patterns 40

BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE DYNAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA USER RESPONSE SXSW Brands as Patterns 41

BRAND ADVERTISING PRODUCTS/SERVICES PR WEB CONTENT PURCHASE DYNAMIC SOCIAL MEDIA USER RESPONSE

Back to the paradox.Denitive and Iterative.

Consistent and different.How do we do that?

Patterns

Patterns Patterns are unique in the fact that they create consistency around difference and variation.

Patterns Patterns are unique in the fact that they create consistency around difference and variation. I believe creating a consistent brand capable of existing in todays agile and iterative environment begins with the formulation of coherent patterns.

We want art to be familiar yetat the same time to be unique and unexpectedToo much familiarity is retread or kitsch, too muchuniqueness is jarring and difcult to appreciate.- Jeff Hawkins, On Intelligence

A pattern readingmachine The Neocortex

Rseaerch icntidaes taht theoerdr of the ltteers in a wroddnsoet relaly mettar. Wahtrelaly mtteras is the frist andlsat leettr in the wrod. If tehyare in the rhgit palce, you canraed the wdors.

A variation processor The Hippocampus

It detectsdifferences inpatterns

It detectsdifferences inpatterns

But, its not just aboutwhat I believe.

Greg JohnsonGlobal Creative Director,Hewlett Packard

Experiences are liquid,and our brand must follow.

Rules are rigid,so we resort to tools instead.

Digital isnt a medium,its the age were in.

We must be digital rst.

What denes a digital-rstbrand?

Digital-rst brands aredesigned to be distinctive,relevant, & active.

Digital-rst brands aredesigned to be distinctive,relevant, & active.Ownable, signatureexpressions.

Digital-rst brands aredesigned to be distinctive,relevant, & active.Personal, meaningful.

Digital-rst brands aredesigned to be distinctive,relevant, & active.Delivering, doing, moving.

Robin LanahanDirector of Design & Brand Strategy,Startup Business Group, Microsoft

Pattern language in brandsis about the story.

Story endures as thecontext changes.

StoryA description of a seriesof events that conveysmeaning.

When you strip away the surface ofall great stories, at heart they sharean identical form. As in allcategories of art, there is anunderlying structure. Form is whatmakes a painting a work of artinstead of doodling. Its what makessomething music instead of noise.So it is with story.- Robert McKee

Static vs.Dynamic Story Telling Story Framework

Framework questions todevelop a story for your brand:What was the inciting incident for the creating this brand?What world does the brand live in?What is the nature of the brands relationship with its consumers/customers?What does the brand desire that motivates the brand beyond money? (Values)What are the sources of conict that make the brands story interesting andengaging?What are we challenging?Where is there a human truth the brand can build on?

Pulp Fiction Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 3 diner 1 crash 4 date 5 gold watch 2 bonnie 3 diner Positive Negative crash execute high friendly OD saved dead revenge Marv. Wolf help up kept suitcase near miss hold up no kill told to fall watch shoot Mar. caught Saves Mar. hold up hold up Jules getaway friendly disco friendsPlot Points: inciting incident turning point climax Plots: Vince Mission Jules Quit Butch Escape Honey Bunny Rob Vince-Mia Love

Great brands combineopposites:Its in Apples DNA that technology alone is not enough. Its technologymarried with liberal arts, married with the humanities that yields theresults that makes our hearts sing. And nowhere is that more true inthese post PC devices.- Steve Jobs, iPad 2 Keynote, 03/02/11

Walter WerzowaScientist, composer,and branding legend

The act of composingmusic is similar todeveloping a brand.

Using music to Time is an essential element to music. There is horizontal and vertical development. Ultimately, the listener interactscommunicate with the creator/composer/performer. Music is valuable as a communicative tool because it isnt inhibited by language barriers. The message depends on the particulars of music theory and the associations we, as a global culture, have developed over time.

Using brand to Time is an essential element to brand. There is horizontal and vertical development. Ultimately, the listener interacts with thecommunicate creator/composer/performer. Brand is valuable as a communicative tool because it isnt inhibited by language barriers. The message depends on the particulars of the brand and the associations we, as a global culture, have developed over time.

Repeat this pattern 45times for one minute.

Repeat this pattern 45times for one minute.Repetitive and boring.

56 bars45 repeats of the same motive4 exact repeats14 similar notes with the exact rhythm27 exact rhythm

Successful music is builtthrough the right combinationof what is expected andsomething new.

Successful brands are builtthrough the right combinationof what is expected andsomething new.

We lose audiences with eitherthe lack of expected (chaos)or variation (repetition).

Apply Beethovens methodologyto the Intel 4 mnemonic. INTEL 1 walter werzowa/musikvergnuegen 1 2 Grand Piano Grand Piano

Patterns in Patterns are driving force in our brains. Thoughts and memories are created through electrical impulses. Thisthe brain process has variance: a computer will give the same answer 10 times in a row, but a humans answer will vary each time. In processing, our brain might come up with many different answers, but the brain determines which answer has the highest probability to be true. This model stands for businesses and forward-thinking, innovation, and creativity. It is a exible system.

The power Though it is possible to trace this memorable four-note motive through most of the measures of the movement,of motif esteemed English musicologist, Sir Donald Tovey pointed out that the power of the music is not contained in this fragment, but rather in the long sentences that Beethoven built from it.

Successful branding:the reward is dopamine.

The reward Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brains reward and pleasure centers.is dopamine Neuroscientic studies have shown that dopamine is released not at the emotional peak of a composition, but approximately 12 seconds beforehand.

Ourchallenge to you

We believe that the type of designerwe need to steward brands in thefuture should be:

Experience Able to understand the needs of all of the constituents of the brand. They are as conversant with user behavior anddesigners ethnography, as they are with organizational behavior, operations, and corporate communication.

Time-based Able to create iterative, relevant brand elements that create engagement across all the necessary interfaces.thinkers Both physical and digital.

Systematic As adept at organizing a complex system that provides utility as they are in telling simple narrative that createsand narrative emotion.thinkers

Comprehensivists Dont make everyone an expert. People who can formulate patterns between seemingly unconnected things. They are empathetic, collaborative thinker-makers with strong craft skills and interests in many disciplines.

And Comprehend the ABCof brand patterns.ArtifactsAny consistent expression of the brand - a logo, a name, a tagline, a product, a sound,that is uniquely recognizable and intentionally managed.BehaviorsA discrete set of states, traits, actions or responses that demonstrate and personify thebrand through the relationship with its employees, customer or audience.ConceptsThe plural thoughts and visions that strategically bind an organization to its investors,employees or customers.

Learn more:@threepress @method_inc#patterns10x10.method.comBrands as Patterns10x10.method.com/brands-as-patternsBrand as Context in Interaction Design10x10.method.com/brand-as-context-in-interaction-design

Thank you!