TYPO Talks » Blog Archiv » Simon Manchipp (Someone): Branding, not Blanding

Simon Manchipp (Someone): Branding, not Blanding

Simon runs a company called ‘someone’ in London which is specialised in launches and relaunches. Within the last couple of years he has observed that the traditional understanding of branding does not work nowadays. Branding does not only need to be liked and stand out, today it also needs to be useful.

Simon Manchipp, photo @ Gerhard Kassner

Successful design is connected to society. People don’t just buy, they own a brand. On social networks a conversation starts and suddenly a brand is public. If you don’t work with the community, it can happen that people start hating it, and in the worst case even kill it.

In order not to get slapped from the Internet, Simon recommends to stand for something and have principles.

Watch the video

Simon ManchippBranding, not Blanding

Don’t ‘DO’ social, ‘BE’ social! Create tools to get people involved. In branding you need to give more than you take. Invite people to participate. Most brand values are anti social, this doesn’t work any more. It’s not about being consistent, but coherent. Create coherent conversation. According to Simon, contemporary logo branding is dying.

Showing some of his projects (such as the Maritime Museum or the Olympic character system), he proved, that you don’t need a logo as such, but a good coherent idea, that also involves society to develop it even further.

Simon Manchipp

Simon‘s SomeOne has been behind the recent Royal Opera House rebrand, the re-grouping of the National Maritime Museum (the largest in the world), the Royal Observatory (The Home of Time) and the Queen’s House (The birthplace of British architectural classicism) as Royal Museums Greenwich, the rebrand of the progressive high speed european train company Eurostar, and the launch of Telefónica Digital’s ‘Tu | Me’ brand. Most recently SomeOne has been behind the launch of Africa’s newest and most exciting low-cost airline, FastJet. Simon has been in the business of design for over 20 years. He is a member of the D&AD Executive Committee, an external assessor at Central St. Martins School of Art & Design, London, has written a short course on Typography and is a widely awarded and published voice on design and progressive branding. He is also called Al Pacino, ‘Cappucino’ to his face, but thats another story. Being the Executive Creative Director and Co-Founder of SomeOne, the progressive London based and internationally operating design practice, Simon launches and relaunches brands worldwide. SomeOne is working on some of the biggest and most high profile design projects in the sector. From telecoms to hotels, management consultants to airlines.

Speaker page

We need more magic not logic.
What else can be added to that.

Text — Julia and Sandra — Graphic Birdwatching