Postgraduate Degree in Brand Design

The Postgraduate Course in Brand Design provides theoretical and practical training so that brand designers of the future can acquire a holistic vision of branding and specialise in the conceptualisation, creation and design of online and offline brands. Branding deals with more than just the visual, it also requires thinking, research, and the capacity to synthesise and conceptualise.

The programme combines strategy and research, creative thinking, presentation techniques, visual experimentation, and graphic design. This is complemented by five practical workshops in which all the knowledge acquired during the course will be applied while the use of typography, lettering, colour, images, movement, UX and UI is covered in depth.

Students will learn to apply the creative tools and techniques that will facilitate optimal integration into multidisciplinary work teams. In the concluding part of the postgraduate course, students will prepare a Final Project which will require them to create a new global brand that connects with the needs and desires of a new generation.

This course is oriented towards graduates and those with advanced vocational training in plastic arts, graphic design, industrial design, marketing and advertising, as well as sector professionals who do not possess specific qualifications but can demonstrate professional experience and intend to become key players in the creation of the brands of the future.

Module 1 - Branding immersion

During this introductory module, students will acquire a holistic view of the true significance of brand design, the areas it covers, and the key aspects for its creation and management from a design and strategy perspective. Before embarking on their own design projects, students will gain an understanding of the significance of branding and how to observe the user and context.

• Brands, companies and the business of brand design.
• Understanding the company and the brand: types of companies, map of stakeholders, strategy and objectives, types of brands, positioning, brand history, brand auditing.  
• Observing the user and the context: empathy map and user persona, journey map and insights, consumer trends, skills and references benchmark, market and cross-category trends. 
• The creative process of brand design.

Module 2 - Brand strategy

Branding is concerned with more than just the visual, it also requires thinking, research, and the capacity to synthesise and conceptualise. In a theoretical and practical manner, this module will show students how to understand the purpose of a brand, develop the DNA and the brand idea, and expand them to a brand manifesto. Additionally, the various typologies of brand architecture will also be covered.

• Brand DNA: mission, vision, values, brand purpose, attributes and personality, brand archetypes.
• Brand idea: methodology for the creation of the brand idea, creativity workshop for devising creative territories, conceptualisation tools and brand manifesto. 
• Brand architecture: types of brand architecture, creation of scenarios.

Module 3 - Creative tools for brand design

Through theoretical and practical sessions covering the key range of creative tools used to construct branding, students will learn to visualise the brand DNA, conceptualise a brand based on a briefing, and understand the methodology and process behind the creation of a brand name. In addition, students will be exposed to lettering conceived specifically for brand design.

• Brand DNA visualisation: tools for visualising the intangibles of a brand.
• Conceptualisation and visual creativity: how to create impactful visual concepts. Narrative Strategies. Synthesis of the Image. Expressive Resources. 
• Lettering: how to develop lettering when designing a brand. Forms, construction and composition.
• Naming: the name and verbal identity of the brand. Naming briefing. Creative strategy, process and techniques of name creation. Selecting a name.

Module 4 - Tools and techniques for effective presentation

During theoretical and practical sessions, students will explore specific aspects of public presentations while bearing in mind the objectives, script, storytelling and staging. They will also pragmatically address how to prepare the materials for a presentation and a branding budget while taking all the stages of the design process into consideration.

• Branding project presentations: objectives, script, storytelling and staging.
• Budgeting a branding project.
• Personal branding: credentials of a brand designer.

Module 5 - Visual brand identity and art direction system

In this module, students will conduct an in-depth examination of each of the visual elements – brand, typography, colour, images, illustration, icons, movement, UX and UI – that are involved in the creation of a brand system. Creative and effective art direction must be able to visualise the brand idea and DNA in impactful and unique way.

• Brand: logotype, imagotype, isotype (symbol), isologo. Variants. 
• Art Direction. 
• Visual style. 
• Typography.
• Colour. 
• Images. 
• Illustration.  
• Icons. 
• Movement.
• UX, UI.

Module 6 - Brand experience

In this training block, students will learn to plan, expand and standardise the design of a visual brand system across the various points of contact with the public: brand communication in media and digital media, websites, apps, events, spaces, staff, products, services, packaging, etc. 

• Points of contact with the brand. 
• Planning of the brand expansion. 
• Design of the brand expansion in all contact points. 
• Brand manual. 

Module 7 - Practical workshops

This module includes five specific workshops, covering everything from the briefing to the creative solution across five distinct areas. Each workshop takes a different sector as a starting point in which the project can be developed. During the sessions, students will develop an understanding of the various competitive environments, enabling them to apply the methodologies, tools and knowledge acquired during the postgraduate course to establish themselves in a practical and experimental manner.

• Brand redesign for a big company.
• Small company brand. 
• Innovation brand.  
• Branding with lettering.
• Moving brand, social brand – TFP.

Postgraduate Degree Final Project

To conclude the course, each student will develop a final postgraduate project that represents an in-depth exploration of the strategy, conceptualisation and design of an innovative brand that aims to have a positive impact on society. The methodology and creative process that have been imparted throughout the Postgraduate Degree in Brand Design will provide a framework and students will be required to present the results of their efforts before a panel. With assistance from their tutors, students will choose the starting point for their projects for the work that will subsequently be produced. 

• Final Project structure. 
• Individual and group follow-up tutorials.