Hey there!
Welcome to The Creative Box! This newsletter is your go-to source for all things related to creating and refining your brand image.
Here’s what we’ll explore in today’s edition:
Why do you buy an iPhone?
How you can find your tribe in 3 easy steps
Nokia’s controversial re brand
Deep Dive Of The Week
Why do you buy an iPhone?
You might say:
“I really love the camera”
“It’s a great phone”
“Ain’t no way I’m switching to an Android 🤮”
“I just like iPhones 🤷♂️”
Whatever the reasons may be, deep down inside there’s a sub-conscious motivator.
Let me explain.
You see, everyone knows there are better, powerful, and cheaper phones out there.
Despite that, people still buy iPhones.
In fact, 76% of iPhone users will only replace their current iPhone with another iPhone.
That speaks volumes.
But why? Why are Apple customers so loyal?
Because tribalism is the key to Apple’s success.
You see, Apple has done a good job branding themselves.
Every time you see an Apple ad, it always positions itself as the “cool guy”.
It’s the brand that’s techy and innovative…
And if you also want to be the same….well just join them 🤷♀️
That’s the perception they sell.
If you buy an Apple product, you’re a part of a group with the same shared beliefs.
Some of the best brands in world don’t have customers, they have fans.
These are loyal customers that have earned themselves a label of a “fan”
Now you might be asking yourself “Okay, that’s great but how can I build a loyal fanbase for myself?”
From my research and observations, here’s what Apple did to get there.
I present you the P-T-S framework:
Step 1: Purpose
People are driven by purpose.
Be the same.
Have a goal that drives you. Something that makes you want to get out of bed every morning.
You NEED to be obsessed with this purpose.
Apple does this by stating clearly that it wants to create products that enrich people's daily lives.
That’s their obsession and goal.
Step 2: Tribe
To find your tribe you need to understand your tribe.
You NEED to know them inside out.
Who are they?
What motivates them?
What goals do they have?
What scares them?
Where can you find them?
When you understand your tribe, you know exactly how to talk and market to them.
In Apple’s case they know their customers want something that’s easy and simple to use so they can be at their best.
Which is why their marketing mainly talks about how easy and useful their products are, while hitting at their deepest pain points.
Step 3: Share
You NEED to share your goals, purpose, and desires with the world.
Sharing your purpose and goal will attract other like-minded folks.
It’s like throwing a stone into a lake.
The stone creates ripples that extend outward, reaching more and more people as they spread.
Like the ripple, sharing your purpose attracts like-minded individuals who share your passion and can help spread the word to a wider audience.
If you don’t share it, then there’s no point of the last 2 steps.
Design Dissection
In each edition of The Creative Box, I share my thoughts on the latest developments in the design and branding Industry.
This week I’m reviewing the controversial re brand of Nokia.
Yep, you read that right, Nokia.
The company that used to make phones we used on the daily 2 decades ago.
And that’s exactly why they re branded.
Because WE still think they make mobile phones.
You see, they USED to make mobile phones until they sold that division off.
They’re now a “B2B technology innovation leader” - I still don’t know what that means.
In short, Nokia wants you to know they don’t make phones anymore.
Changing a public perception with a new logo and brand identity is a great solution in my opinion.
However, when it comes to Nokia there are goods and bads. Let’s discuss
The goods
When it comes to the goods of Nokia's re branding, the use of gradients in the new logo is a notable improvement from their previous colours.
The gradients give the brand a fresh and modern look that aligns well with their new B2B focus.
The improvements
However, there are a couple of downsides.
Firstly, the legibility of the new logo sucks.
It's difficult to read and that’s not good.
Secondly, more applications are needed to showcase the full extent of their new branding.
While researching more about this topic, I came across Fattah.me’s work who redesigned the Nokia logo keeping legibility in mind.
In my opinion this is still a far better and easier to read option than the current one. Not to mention it bears some similarity to the original Nokia logo, and that’s not a bad thing.
All in all, Nokia's re branding is a bold move, but it still has room for improvement.
Designer's Toolkit
Fontshare - My favorite site to find free commercial fonts. Great UI too!
Tabler Icons - Great website for finding icons. One click copy and paste.
Mesh Gradients - Create mesh gradients right from your browser.
Admire The Web - A curation of some of the best websites on the internet.
Friends of type - A great list of original typographic design and lettering
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Until next week 👋
Cheers,
Ashar