peklo: art direction with a focus on the human

Creative Director Alexey Molchanov spoke at the PEKLO conference on reputation management, presenting the idea that a brand is a personality, explored in the topic: «Art Direction with a Focus on the Human».

Brands are shaped by people: business owners and founders, art directors, and the audience. They project what they know onto the company, creating its personality by assigning it traits and characteristics:

1. Specificity – what the brand does;

2. Place – where the brand was born;

3. Appearance – how the brand looks;

4. Voice – how the brand speaks;

5. Meaning – what the brand thinks about;

4. Environment – who the brand's friends are.

Alexey shared an insight about how cognitive biases shape a brand’s archetype, delving into this topic as described in Daniel Kahneman's book «Thinking, Fast and Slow». As we grow, our personality is defined by a unique set of cognitive biases. Understanding them leads to recognizing one’s archetype. This is important because founders and marketers project their own archetypes onto the company, resulting in the brand archetype. This is a practical method to use in advertising campaigns to ensure your brand is heard and seen.

Our creative director thoroughly explored Carl Jung's archetype theory and showed how the psychoanalyst’s work has influenced the development of modern branding. One of the key steps in creating a brand is defining its archetype. This means the company is imbued with the characteristics of a specific personality.

Alexey also examined two archetypes: the Hero and the Ruler. He discussed how global brands like Rolex, Snickers, Hugo Boss, and Microsoft build communication with their audiences through archetypes. The creative director emphasized the importance of the key message – the pinnacle of the brand pyramid, which the company transmits to the consumer, creating associations in their mind. For example, Nike is known for its slogan «JUST DO IT», which the brand uses in all its campaigns, conveying the idea of overcoming obstacles on the path to victory, motivation, and inspiration.

Alexey shared case studies from our branding agency and demonstrated the connection between brand archetypes and their audience, reflected in the identity. For example, when developing the brand for the Psychoanalysis Institute, the archetype of the "Sage" was applied. This image symbolizes the company's uniqueness, its high level of expertise, and an individualized approach to its work.

The key visual in the development of the Grant Jewelry Factory’s promotion was landscape imagery, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, where one can be alone with their desires and thoughts.

Alexey discussed two important steps in creating a successful brand: working with archetypes and applying cognitive biases. You can access the lecture materials here.