brand — mark of ownership used to identify a company’s goods and services and to distinguish them from those offered by competitors.
brandmark — formed by a name (frequently set in unique type), a combination of words (the name and sometimes a descriptor), a symbol or a combination of a word or words and a symbol.
brander — a person who creates and maintains a distinct brand for a product or service.
brand identity — a visual system, (traditionally called corporate identity) which specifies a brand’s unique identity in terms of colour, typestyles, symbols and layout. It also ensures the consistent reproduction of the brand’s identity, as it was intended, across a broad spectrum of possible applications.
copyright © — the right of a person who creates an original work to protect that work by controlling how and where it may be reproduced.
descriptor — a concise description of what your brand offers in terms of services or products.
design — the skilful arrangement of elements by a talented specialist, resulting in a novel solution.
FMCG — fast-moving consumer good.
golden section, mean, rule or principle — this is based upon a mathematical construction using the ancient Greek ratio known as the golden mean (the mathematical ratio of 1:1,618, otherwise known as phi or the symbol ol or the golden ratio, the Fibonacci ratio, the divine ratio, the golden mean and the golden section).
This proportion has for centuries helped artists, architects and others create eye-pleasing forms and works of art. This formula for dividing an area into theoretically harmonious proportions results in a rectangle of a most elegant and pleasing shape, roughly 2:3 in proportion. The ratio of 1:1,618 (the golden ratio) is also referred to by other names.
graphic designer — a professional born with lots of talent (cannot be added as an optional extra after birth) and dedication who has studied at a tertiary learning institution for at least three years of full-time study in graphic design and associated disciplines, followed by many years of practice in the industry, aided by extremely expensive specialist computer hardware and software. Please note that the possession of, or ability to operate, such specialist computer hardware and software does not automatically qualify people as graphic designers.
graphical user interface (GUI – pronounced “gooey”) — the concept that some computer operating systems such as Mac OS and Windows offer, allowing you to interact with the computer by means of pointing at graphic symbols (icons) with a mouse instead of typing coded commands on the monitor.
icon — from the Greek, eik_n, “image”, is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Orthodox Christianity. More broadly, the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, icon is also used, particularly in modern culture, in the general sense of a symbol, i.e. a name, face, picture, edifice or even a person readily recognised as having some well-known significance or embodying certain qualities: one thing, an image or depiction, that represents something else of greater significance through literal or figurative meaning, usually associated with religious, cultural, political or economic standing.
In terms of branding, a brandmark is often erroneously called an icon. In a modern context, an icon is used in a computer’s graphical user interface as a graphic representation of an object, such as a disc, file, folder, tool or of a concept or message or application/software program.
intellectual property (IP) — the legal description of copyright ownership, including trademarks, patents and, under the laws of certain countries, domain names, service marks, designs and database rights.
logo — see brandmark.
logotype — a brandmark made up of type or text only (generally a unique type design or custom-designed type) with no symbol or emblem associated with the brand.
misoneism — the unreasoning fear and hatred of the new (ideas) and the unknown.
no-name brands — generic brands which claim not to have a name, although paradoxically they are propped up by the house brand.
noun — is the name of a proper brand, person, place, thing or idea. Whatever exists, we assume, can be named, and that is a noun. A proper noun names a specific person, place or thing (God, Peter, Zulu, Johannesburg) and almost always has an initial capital.
pay-off line — see slogan.
Pantone® — a universal, proprietary colour system used in formulating and specifying spot colours (usually one or two colours for reasons of economy) for printing inexpensive items, such as business cards and company stationery.
positioning statement — one sentence (preferable in no more than seven words) on what your brand is about and why your product or service offering is unique and therefore better than that of your competitor. Your positioning statement should include the generic description of your business if your brandname does not appear with a descriptor.
proper noun — names a specific person, place or thing (God, Peter, Zulu, Johannesburg) and almost always has initial capitals.
serif — the short counterstroke or finishing stroke at the end of the main stroke of a type character.
sans serif — type that lack the short counterstroke or finishing stroke at the end of the main stroke of a type character.
slogan (also called tagline or pay-off line) — the word comes from the 16th-century Scottish Gaelic for “war cry”, sluagh-gairm, literally meaning “army shout”. This should be your positioning statement that has been refined and condensed into a short catchphrase that is both creative and elegant.
tagline — see slogan.
trademark ™ — a name or brandmark identifying a product or service and linking it to its maker or supplier. The ™ symbol can be used adjacent to the trademark, even if the mark is not officially registered.
typography — the art of arranging type so that it is pleasing to the eye.
USP — your brand’s unique special value, property or proposition that your competitors do not or cannot offer.
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