Last night CSCA presented branding superstar Steff Geissbuhler to speak on "branding" - I quotation that since he seemed to have an issue with the word, saying it's over used and over done (or something to that effect).

Well here are a couple interesting concepts I carried away from the speech on branding, some are pretty obvious but worth mentioning anyways.

• Logos are the visual representation of the reduction of ideas encompassing the said brand
• The convetional is the familiar and will usually be the (safe) choice; average people (& CEOs) will gravitate toward the conventional/familiar/boring when making logo/branding choices - designers should challenge that
• "You cannot be innovative and new while staying conventional"
• When presenting initial logo designs to clients, don't show them as polished computer renderings - show the process with sketches, then move to the computer once the client OKs
• Be aware of the cultural bias when creating brand imagery - make sure it's appropriate to the subject matter and/or culture

He seemed very methodical and took a long time to develop concepts on branding; this seems the antithesis of Paula Scher's take on branding, watch this, she seems very whatever-comes-off-of-the-top-of-her-head about it, and is very sharp on her discussion of the citi bank logo.