UN MUNDO SIN BRANDING

“Un Mundo Sin Branding” (“A World Without Branding") was the thesis project of Francesca Saggio, Paola Gómez and myself, Carolina Rochín, to complete the degree in Graphic Design at University of Monterrey (UDEM). The fundamental intention of this work was to seek an exploratory understanding of what a world without branding would be like and how it would impact our daily lives. In order to understand the problem a little more, we carried out a survey from an exploratory perspective, which served as a preliminary approach to know what perception there was of branding and, in some way, to be able to validate the importance of this study.

We opted for branding since it is one of the areas of design with which more people interact daily and, therefore, we believed that through it we could communicate the value of graphic design. Our hypothesis was that through the implementation of an interactive exhibition that sought to raise awareness about the importance of branding, it would be possible to change the paradigm and perception of the graphic design profession among those who interacted with it. The objective was to demonstrate the relevance of branding through an interactive exhibition, so that everyone, designers and non-designers could appreciate and value the work of a designer specialized in this area.

A world without branding refers to a hypothetical scenario in which there are no brands or branding strategies as we know them in today's society. As mentioned previously, branding refers to the set of elements and strategies that a brand uses to create a distinctive identity and, therefore, differentiate itself from the competition, generate recognition and loyalty from consumers.

This exhibition presented a series of intriguing and challenging scenarios that influenced individual, social and economic levels. It showed how the absence of branding would impact people's perception, identity and decisions. All of these interactions were based on the pillars of branding, so that people could indirectly and interactively understand its elements.

The exhibition took shape with a tour where 10 interactions were presented, each one representing a different theme of branding but together fulfilling the same objective: raising awareness about the importance of branding. We decided to end the supermarket interaction, an interactive space with which we managed to open a space for dialogue and reflection where we could demonstrate the difficulties that society would face in a hypothetical world where branding did not exist.

We managed to create a space where 100% of the people who attended finally understood the value and importance of branding, but above all, they managed to learn and value the profession of a graphic designer. We are happy with the results of our exhibition, since our vision and ideas bore excellent results. People gained knowledge about the value, responsibility, time and dedication involved in being a graphic designer.