Dalarna University – six new brand portals for six fictive companies
Earlier this year, deBroome and Dalarna University joined together in a collaboration that resulted in six new brand portals. During the course Graphic Profiling, for students enrolled in the program Information Design, the assignment was to create a graphic profile for a fictive company.
Åsa Svensson, lecturer at Dalarna University, initiated a new way of delivering the assignment. Instead of letting the students present their work in a printed out leaflet, they got the chance to create a digital brand portal.
Background
Divided into six groups, with three to four students in each group, the assignment was to name a fictive clothing brand, decide its target group and its visual identity including logo, color palette, typography and patterns. Once the foundation was set, it was time for the students to start implementing content to the brand portal.
Working with deBroome’s tool, the students got to set the structure of the portal, work with the different modules and upload downloadable files.
A digital solution for the course
Using a digital tool is a way for students to broaden their practical experience and try out new ways of working. Lecturer Åsa Svensson let us in on the reasoning behind the collaboration.
– I wanted the students to be introduced to a modern way of managing a company’s visual identity. Previously, the end-product has been a printed folder or pdf, but static documents have a tendency to get lost and it can be difficult to keep track of the updated version. I have always advocated that companies should gather brand elements and guidelines on their websites, making it easy to find for the users of the brand. Especially, having one place to refer to for people with less knowledge of branding.
Experiences from the students' perspective
Working on finalizing the brand portal, the students got a chance to get familiar with deBroome’s tool. In terms of the tool itself, the students emphasized the usability. They highlighted the drag-and-drop functionality, the simplicity of adding content, and to quickly be able to see the final result.
When asking the students about centralizing guidelines and assets digitally, there was one common response – clever. One student expressed that:
– It really feels like this will be the new standard.
Result
The project lasted for three weeks and resulted in six unique brand portals, all with a design representative for each brand. Åsa Svensson summarize the project as follows:
– I believe the course turned out really well. The students were pleased and excited to use deBroome’s tool. Overall, they have done a great job.
A big thank you to Åsa Svensson and the students at Information Design, at Dalarna University, for participating.
The students' brand portals were made in deBroome's smallest version of Brand Portal, Leaf, which is suitable for small organizations looking for a simple one page solution.
