Dynamic Identities

We’re increasingly being asked by our clients to get under the skin of their business, to highlight the culture they’ve built, and bring the thoughts of their staff to life. Within a recent pitch our response was to propose a dynamic, evolving identity. We asked ourselves and the potential client the question: What makes a typical brand identity? A well designed logo? A coherent colour scheme? A sympathetic typeface printed onto the usual business stationery and adapted for the web (and mobile)? This question and the resulting conclusion led us to the realisation that static branding of days gone by just doesn’t seem to cut the mustard anymore.

At a time of exponential growth in technology and business, a brand must be alive to change and embrace new avenues of opportunity when they become available. Responsiveness should be built in not only visually, but fundamentally integrated into the structure of a business.

Creating a dynamic identity requires an investigative mindset that highlights and pulls together the best qualities of the brand. The brand shouldn’t be afraid to put these findings out into the world, as consumers are willing to engage when given the opportunity. Just like the people they work with, brands should change and adapt according to where they are, what they’re doing and what others are doing around them.

As with all relationships - whether it is person to person, or brand to person - the heart of a dynamic identity should be a narrative. This narrative story is the starting point from which people can grow their own stories around the brand. Given the rise of social media in the last couple of years, it is essential that the brand has the belief and flexibility to thrive uncontrolled outside of the controlled collateral of business stationery.

You might also be interested in a little further reading: Dynamic Identities: How to Create a Living Brand, by Irene Van Nes