Your Business Image Counts

Our world is full of images, on television, in advertising and magazines. Images that blur the boundaries between what’s real and what’s false. Today, images are often more important than the things they describe; reality comes a poor second to illusion and fantasy. The image-making industries are flourishing and ‘image makers’, the people and organisations who create them, are worshipped as celebrities: fashion designers, photographers, ad men, models, actors, actresses, movie directors and media producers. Even Bill Gates, Greg Dyke, Rupert Murdoch and Alastair Campbell are familiar household names.

We consume images as readily as we breathe. We’re all susceptible to things that look good and to the values represented by a premium brand: Gucci, Prada, Gap, Ferrari, Rolex … Coke is it—or is it? What is it? Does the world’s biggest brand—this chemical-tasting brown drink, actually taste good? Do you feel able to judge?

We try to ignore the media that increasing crowds our space and we try to grow immune to the messages, because they’re stressful, or even hurtful. They’re usually selling us something, whether it’s soap powder, cigarettes, a new lifestyle or an old religion. But no matter how hard we try we never quite manage to avert our eyes because at a subconscious level we’re endlessly searching for more information, for more clues to help us understand the world and our relationship with it and with each other. As humans, we’re pre-programmed to try and make sense of it all, to find order amongst the chaos of information and to try and salvage some feeling of control over our lives. Visual language, ‘image’, is one of the many ways we communicate. We may listen to each other, to what we say and how we say it, but we also read each other: What’s she driving? What does it mean? What’s she wearing? What’s that perfume? What’s her accent? Where does she come from? Is she superior, inferior? What’s her hair like? What’s she into? Is she my kind of person?

We don’t just communicate through spoken and written language. We use all of our senses. We often say more through the objects we choose to surround ourselves with that we do with our words. In David Fincher’s film Fight Club, Edward Norton’s character searches for his personality amongst the furnishings of his luxury apartment, asking, “What kind of dining-set defines me as a person?”

Objects and buildings are the props and backdrops against which we play out the drama of our everyday lives. In fact, the theatre is a good analogy when it comes to explaining what architects and designers do, because we all wear costumes, we all buy props; furniture, cars and household goods and we usually spend most of our resources creating our central backdrop, our homes. When we’re away from home we’re often just as selective when it comes to choosing the ‘right’ place in which to be seen; the right club or bar or restaurant. The truth is we’re all unconscious experts when it comes to rearranging our furniture to produce a particular effect or to elicit a desired response from our friends and colleagues.

Just consider for a moment the questions you ask yourself when you’re buying—a new kettle, for instance:

How much is it? Is it made of plastic? Does this mean it’s cheap or chic? Does it feel cheerful, or modern, or recyclable? Will it leak? What colour is it? Should it match my kitchen? Will plastic discolour? Will it scratch? How does it feel to hold? Does it feel light? Does this make it feel cheap? Does it feel nice? Is it textured? Does it feel stable? Is it functional and easy to use? Is it pleasurable to use? How well does it pour? Will the kids be able to use it? The metal one looks hi-tech but will it be too heavy? Does this mean it’s more expensive? Better quality? Will it make my kitchen look low-tech and old fashioned? How do I know when the water’s boiled? What sound does it make? Will it whistle like a bird or toot like a train? Will it be a talking point? Is it silly? Will people laugh at me? What sound should it make? Is it fashionable? Do I like it? Can I afford it? Can I afford not to have it? And so it goes on—just listen to yourself next time your about to buy something, anything!

We learn so much more about our motivation for liking or disliking images and objects when we slow down and question how we respond to them. But only once we’ve learned to unpick our thoughts can we really climb into the driving seat.

Most of us feel out of our depth when it comes to understanding and controlling our image. Sometimes I wonder how we ever get dressed in the morning when we have to agonise over what to wear and what people will think of our choices. We all dread miscommunicating and being misunderstood and we all dread being out of control.

Few of us are taught to understand and manipulate our image in order to make people react in controlled and predictable ways. But that’s just what designers do, because design is isn’t really about decorating or styling or making things pretty and fashionable, it’s about being in control.

Designers are only the most recent addition to a long list of ‘ancient controllers’ including scribes, architects, artists, kings, queens, priests and magicians who have helped to shape environments and influence how the people who live in them think and act. All have controlled the creation of cities and civilisations from a confusion of dust and rituals, responding to our ancient fear of chaos and disorder. The pyramids, sports cars, suits and household goods all help us to form a tangible image of who we are, where we come from and what we believe in. Together they form an eloquent world without words.

Image really does matter. But the most important thing is to be in control of it, not controlled by it. And in order to control your business image you must first define what you are, what you do, what you believe in and what your customers want. Then you can begin to assemble the appropriate stage set, props and costumes to ensure you communicate clearly with your employees, clients or customers.

Graven Images

Creativity has been around since the beginning of civilisation, it is the civilising force and the thing that separates us all of us from animals. But the practice of ‘Design’, as we know it only appeared in the 1830s. ‘Design’ was created by industry in order to meet the needs of the first industrial revolution. The Glasgow School of Art is the second oldest undergraduate school of art and design in the world, founded in 1844, seven years after The Royal College of Art in London which is now a postgraduate institution. This is one of the reasons I’ve chosen to remain in Scotland—because I believe we have always valued the importance of creativity in our culture and economy. Graven Images is a ‘creative industry’, part of the new ‘knowledge economy’. If you doubt me it’s worth remembering that 40% of all patents granted in the last 50 years are British and most of these were granted to Scots. Scotland was, and remains, at the centre of the new creative economy. We like being in Scotland.

Explain what Graven Images does: JK graphic designer and Creative Director of GI. Founded in Glasgow in 1985. Interdisciplinary, international. We’ve got 19 people working in 3 broad areas: graphic design, interior design and exhibition design. We keep the core of our company small and extent our capability by working in partnership with other specialists; musicians, film-makers, technicians and artists.

Graven Images’ identity exists only through our work, and our networks (and writing).

The identity of a company exists firstly through the people who work there. The personality of a company is communicated by their vision, their values, words and actions. As designers, what we do is understand the vision and values of a company and then crystallise these in objects and architecture, usually in print, or as an environment. We provide the props and the backdrops that allow people to perform, to play out the rituals of their daily business—every business is different but it might be hard to distinguish one from the other without the help of graphic identities.

The best way to understand graphic design; typefaces and symbols, is by thinking of typefaces as ‘faces’, or ‘containers for language’, that change its value and meaning. We all look different, and each typeface is different. We use type to say something about ourselves when there’s no one there to say it for us—business cards and letterheads act as an extension of ourselves and our companies. Before we had invented the technology to create books, we carried information and stories around within ourselves, but when books were created they, like us, were visceral; bound in skin, with a spine and containing typefaces.

Objects and architecture also act as extensions of ourselves and our beliefs and we can use them to help others understand what we stand for. Buildings also communicate, think about what happens when you enter a church …

Design isn’t just about style or taste or fashion. It’s a new word for a very old practice, that of controlling the evolution of ideas and of creating the world around us. Every human being is creative, designers are just taught to be professionally creative and we underpin our intuition with all sorts of methodologies that help us predict and control our work. At Graven Images we often work with universities who help us understand more about how we work and help us to control, minimise and manage the risk associate with innovation.

We’re currently developing a research centre in Ayrshire because; connections, quality of environment/benefits international clients and contrast with city. Creative industries/knowledge economy and digital communications mean you can work where ever there are connections. This is the future for Scotland.

If I leave you with one thought, please just remember that every discerning shopper is a designer in the making.

Thank you.