With the change of time and technology come new challenges for companies in running their businesses.

Design gurus said companies should adapt to fast-changing business environments by building their own identity through design.

“We have now arrived in the digital age, which poses a challenge against building a brand,” said Bob van der Lee, president of Amsterdam-headquartered branding agency Total Identity, in a speech at the fifth Herald Design Forum in Seoul on Tuesday.
 

Technology, such as millions of mobile applications and YouTube videos available on mobile devices, can be beneficial for companies to promote their services and products, but they can also be distractions from building corporate identity, according to the branding expert.

He added that people have to reset their thinking and come up with creative, simple and agile design to successfully build a brand in a world with infinite choices where a slew of new companies come and go every year.

“It is not corporates that are in control, but you (consumers) are in control in branding,” said the corporate identity and brand strategist, emphasizing the importance of creative minds.

Van der Lee has joined hands with global firms, including ING, KLM, Hyundai Card and LG, to help the firms create their brand identities.

Explaining that branding, which can be even found in artifacts from the old days for authentication, has long existed, he said Asia and the Western world can learn a lot from each other when it comes to branding.

Speaking of his collaborations with Asian companies to help brand corporate identities, Hong Kong-based brand designer Tommy Li described his experience in infiltrating China with his own branding strategies appealing to local customers in his speech.

“If you don’t build trust with Chinese (partners), they won’t believe you no matter how good your ideas are,” he said.

By having in-depth knowledge in the three aspects of the nation ― history, politics and finance ― one can be accepted as a member of a business circle and better cater to the needs of Chinese consumers, according to the Hong Kong-based brand designer.

When asked to offer his take on the recent issue of the new Seoul City slogan, I.Seoul.U, Tommy Li, head of branding firm Tommy Li Design Workshop, said nations and cities should come up with something that can truly represent the places and reverberate for a long time. 

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)