I was wondering what the personal opinion was of professionals when they see that a student has named their school project? I assume if it is done poorly, it can ruin a project and come across as cocky or cheesy.
Is it better to stay away from graphics, branding, naming in general for student projects in portfolios? Is this something an employer would notice or not? I assume the concept is more important than the name we make up in our heads for it.
Thanks!
CJS
If branding is part of your skill set and passion, and if it is done as a rational extension of the project, then yes.
If it is not something you are good at, don’t like doing, and detracts from the project, then no.
There are times when I see it really enhance people’s work. An understanding of brand is important for an industrial designer. I often see it done poorly, where the graphics look dated, forced, and compete with the work.
Hi Michael,
I felt compelled at one point to try to come up with names for my projects (seeing as many students do), but at this point, it seems a bit forced and I wouldn’t want to unless it was convincing. Maybe later on, as I continue to tweak my work, I can decide if it is necessary. I have seen it done well and other times, it seems ill conceived and seems like they are trying to hard. Other times, the branding is more interesting than the project itself.
I think I remember someone mentioning on the forum while back that they thought giving your product a brand name can be confusing to an employer who might think this product actually exists. Is that a concern too?
Thanks Michael.
The only thing I’d be careful of is when you co-brand your project with a famous brand name.
Confusion or mis-representation are never good and it should be clear if the project was client work you did for them, a co-op or or something else.
Otherwise, I think it can really enhance a project. It is about presentation.
You spend a lot of time photoshopping your product into a realistic environment to sell it in you presentation to make seem realistic. To come up with a light branding idea, I would put into the same category. It makes the product more approachable, plausible and gives it a sense of realism that will make it seem more finished.
If your employer thinks a project by you really exists, congratulations. You did a great job of selling it!
I see nothing wrong with that.
As Yo mentioned, a good understanding of brands and marketing is always a plus but not essential.
I think naming a concept strengthens the likeability - its more descriptive & easier to remember than “concept # blah”, and sometimes comes around organically when your working. A bad name would be distracting though
Industrial Design and brand are very connected in general - product is a major touchpoint for a company and the styling generally targets at the same consumer a brand is targeting… so you’re going to be developing brand in a way anyway. Fully creating a brand is a project in itself though, and brand consultancies do a lot of development before a pencil ever touches a sketchpad which could take away from design time.
I was reading this (Straight from the mouth of a master – Dieter Rams' 1976 speech released) this morning and thought his quote was relevant…
“The ideas behind my work as a designer have to match with a company’s objectives.” - Dieter Rams
Travisimo,
Thanks for that article. I LOVE Dieter. His words are just poetry to a designer’s ear!
Just to be clear, Travisimo, when we are talking branding or naming a product, are you referring to creating a new brand or logo, etc, not co-opting one already existing? I see students doing that a lot; Philips is a popular company for student electronics projects I noticed.
They photoshop the logo onto the side of the product and some call it a day. Most of the time, the project looks nothing like what Philips would produce.
Other times, I see student work where they have a new name, logo, even some go as far as packaging, which is nice.
For example, my kitchen hand tool project; if I had dared to put the Oxo logo on it and go to an interview with Smart Design (just an example 
), I am sure they would notice it immediately and either they might be flattered or turned off that I have no clue what the Oxo brand is. Some other students do it well, where you see their Toaster and then see the Bodum logo on it and immediately you notice they did their homework.
If I do decide to go in the direction of naming my projects, I might just create some names that reflect my product well. I don’t excel at 2d work in terms of graphic design/logos, so I might have to reconsider. Unless I get a GD person to help.
But the good thing is that I don’t have “concept 1” as my titles. I have descriptions of the products, which works for now, I guess.
The point of applying, say an OXO logo onto design concept is not to show that you can warp a .png onto a rounded surface in perspective correctly.
It is much more about that, in brief and process, you considered a real client instead of designing it for a fictitious client.
Done well, it shows that you can pick up on and successfully identified clues, features and a design language associated specifically with that client.
Come interview, you might very well be asked why it looks, feels and handles the way it does in respects to the brands previous products and their design statements.
So taking an OXO concept to Smart might be a risky move, unless you have actually worked on this in collaboration with OXO and have had the same corporate insights that Smart has.
I don’t think it is so much about flattery but rather that for example Smart can see that you would be able to jump right in with a bigger client and that you are able to take those clues and have them guide your design decisions. It is a really good ability to have and to demonstrate.
All that being said, I don’t think it’s a bad move to associate your design with a famous brand, but you have to be able to explain why this makes sense. Not meaning that it has to be 100% in line with what has come before. Maybe it is a new direction for the company, tied to a revolutionary vision for the future of the product line.
In any case, you need to have reasons and arguments, explaining your decisions.
In terms of creating your own brand. Well, I would say that a job done badly will outweigh the benefits of a job done well. If you don’t feel comfortable, stay clear and let your ID design work do the talking.
Otherwise, give it a go. I personally have always loved it and still do.
EDIT: On second look at your comment, I realized, you had already written what I wrote in regards to brand application. Sorry for re-hashing your point 
Bepster,
All that being said, I don’t think it’s a bad move to associate your design with a famous brand, but you have to be able to explain why this makes sense. Not meaning that it has to be 100% in line with what has come before. Maybe it is a new direction for the company, tied to a revolutionary vision for the future of the product line.
In any case, you need to have reasons and arguments, explaining your decisions.
Your comment really hit it on the nail.
I will consider it later down the road. I can always then ask for feedback on the forum to see if my branding attempt is a win or a no-no. Thanks, Bepster!