Week 04

This week we focused on brand personalities and what makes up a brand personality; brand language, tone of voice, archetypes, and brand name. What is brand personality? It is “the chosen character that best communicates the brand proposition to the target audience,” Iain Ellwood (2000, p134). There are 5 dimensions of brand personality; sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. A good brand has a unique brand personality and the designers and workers involved in the brand stick to it and believe in it. I think a great example of this is experiencing DisneyLand. Every single person employed by disneyland embodies the brand personality which I believe can be described as genuine, playful, and caring.

The homework this week is to visit a branded place / space / experience and conduct your own personality audit in the style of Johanna Drucker’s “Dynamic Writing.” I went to the Glossier store in Covent Garden. Glossier is a makeup brand that has been around since 2014. They are well known for their unique and playful packaging; their liquid blushes being in the shape of a paint tube, and their recognizable baby pink that, if you are a glossier fan, you can recognize it immediately. People also love their merch, which I believe is important to further the brand personality and their brand language. It makes the desingers ask themselves, “What would this brand wear? How would he/she/ they express themselves through clothing?” And I think Glossier has nailed it.

I have been a glossier fan for years, but I have never been into one of their stores, so it was exciting to experience purchasing the makeup in person.

Also, here is Glossier’s brand identity from LDS.

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is known for having luxury stores, great food, and high traffic. It is the perfect place for a glossier store to be located.

Inside Glossier

As a self proclaimed “girly girl” this store is my dream. I absolutely love the classic victorian-esk interior architecture and how it lives with the modern Glossier displays. This store is set up like an Apple store. There are tables with the products displayed, but only one of each product. You are given some time to explore on your own and then an employee comes over and asks to help you and if you have any questions. Once you decide to buy something they get you a fresh version of that product and check you out.

I love the first picture of this slide. It is a great representation of their brand personality In just one photo. It shows the interior design I love so much, the merch I mentioned earlier that is just as important to Glossier as their fregrance products, the woman looking in the mirror as she applies product and the employee in the red t-shirt helping her. This is an Apple store for makeup lovers. I also appreciate the seating in the entryway of the store. This is perfect for groups of 2 or more who are exploring covent garden but not everyone in the group is interested in purchasing from Glossier. Those who are not interested can simply take a seat and relax.

Glossier’s tone of voice can be seen through out the store. On many of the mirrors there are stickers that say “you look good”, has emoticons, or the logo. This is a great way for customers to interact with the brand and great advertizing for Glossier as mirror selfies are a popular item to post on social media.

Dynamic Writing