What is it that turns a product into a brand-name product and why can some products be clearly associated with a certain company, even without obvious features such as a logo? And on the other hand, why are products of the same brand while similar still distinguishable at first sight? This apparent contradiction can be resolved through the creation and consistent application of a brand-specific design language and a professional portfolio management.
A design language is a language whose rules determine the appearance of all products of a brand. These rules can be categorized into three areas:
1. Branding: Under this heading shall be determined at what point and in what version, the corporate design elements of a brand, eg logo, text style, image/text style or font style and color, are used on the product.
2. DNA details: The DNA details and its configuration which is characteristic for a particular brand can be found at each product in the portfolio in a similar way.
Particularly striking are DNA-details in the automotive industry. The grille of every vehicle can distinctly be associated with the corresponding brand. This is also called physiognomy.
3. Formal rules: In addition, the design language implicates which underlying rules have to be taken into account while designing a product for a particular brand. On the basis of examples it is demonstrated which appearances are possible and which creative solutions should be avoided. This may relate to individual details as well as the total volume or the silhouette of a product.
It is just as important to be able to distinguish the products from each other in their functions as is the combination of several products with the help of a design language. In the differentiation of the portfolio we distinguish between rational and emotional functions. Rational functions are the main purpose of the product, its usability, ergonomic factors, but also the acquisition and maintenance costs. The emotional functions are more complex and give ample scope for interpretation. In this context products can, for example, be analyzed regarding their perception by people of different gender, background or conditioning. In addition, people acquire and use products also because the product contains a symbolic function; it stands for something the user himself wants to stand for. These aspects only touched briefly represent a wide range of possibilities to differentiate similar products of a family from each other in the required dimensions.
