DBA CAPITAL NORTH.
GROUP MEET UPS.
At the group meet up we spoke about the previous Porto branding I had found. Unfortunately the group didn't want to put forward with such an idea as they thought that the iconography was too specific. We decided that the design needs to be transferable, use of iconography would mean that the design would only apply to the four cities used. Instead of picking specific things only in certain cities such as the salford keys in manchester, or Albert dock in Liverpool, we decided it would be best to not try and inject the four cities directly into the brand. But pick something positive to base the brand upon that lives within the four cities but also across every city in the North.
Sarah and Danielle mentioned that one option they had been looking at, and a positive theme that they found was different in the North as it is in the South and would be relevant to all Northern cities is people. They felt that, and it is always said that people are different in the North.
Going away from the group meeting I started to brainstorm and list what personality traits differentiate Northern people to Southern.
List:
I feel that how personable a place is affects the social quality of the place, the North is always known to be warm in spirit due to the people that live there.
I also for the next meeting, so that we have more options, want to look at other themes which link all Northern cities together. I started to look at my own area (Bradford and Halifax) to try and understand the positives of visiting and creating new business.
One of the first things I thought of was new development in Bradford, there has been a drastic change in the Bradford landscape in the past 5 years. Bradford usually thought of as a massive city, tired and let down but with huge potential, has began the process to inject excitement back into the once upon a time world's most prevalent city (idustrial wool mills) and bring it to life again.
The city park has done its job of bringing Bradford people back into the city, but it has also attracted tourism from other local towns and cities. Due to the improvement of the city centre I now go to Bradford, more regularly instead of only going to other local places such as Halifax and Leeds.
Another new development that is already making itself a home on the Bradford landscape is a Westfield mall due to open at the end of 2015. With the opening of Westfield Bradford will hope to rival neighbouring major cities such as Leeds, Manchester, and Wakefield whom also have similar leisure facilities. I think the excitement of new developments will draw people towards Bradford and encourage business' to open offices
After analysing such ideas I found that when looking at Northern cities, including those listed (Manchester, Hull, Leeds and Liverpool) development and regeneration was a dominant and positive theme across them all. Although the North is not perfect, and does not have a romanticised m=image that leads people to believe it is such, much like London. It does perceive and radiate an exciting image of development, change, new age regeneration and evolvement. Something that is clearly working to attract new business and tourism, and therefore this is something that should be capitalised on and communicated as a Northern Identity.
LEEDS:
Leeds has also seen great improvement in recent years including refurbishment to the corn exchange, development of the centres shopping and dining facilities with the rise of Trinity and, more long term the expansion of universities offering a great amount of education to tomorrows business men and women.
It seems therefore that a theme of development, that could also be connected to other themes such as people, is going to be a great, exciting attractive and truthful way to represent the North. With this being said I typed up the concept much more clearly so that my group could better understand the idea and so that I have something to physically represent the idea at the all day Workshop.
The Concept:
The North is home to a calibre of different cities, seasides and suburbs, and so It is impossible, in personality to brand these settings as one place as they are all so different. Inside we must draw upon something positive that not only all 4 cities listed in the brief encompass, but the places surrounding these.
It has always been considered that people flock to the south, more so the capital, over the North as everything is already there, and readily availible. Although teh North may not be as well established, it is easy to see that with a focus on redeveloping and imagination, the North is becoming a force to be reckoned with. It is this attitude and the changes being made in landscape, business and the transition from industrial to service based. The changes are excited and inviting.
The Installation of HS2 especially running across the North will further boost developement and attraction both through business and tourism. Regeneration of cities and towns and development of tired surroundings from old industrial mills to hotels, restaurants and social places has increased both business and social places.
As the North is constantly evolving, it makes sense at first, in the primary stages, to market the North as something that is becoming something great, and therefore will urge possible business' and tourists to travel to the North to be part of this exciting transition. The Image of the North becoming something greater than it already is will not only invite people in from outer areas, but also keep people who are from the North in the North.
I think that the idea of development intertwined with other positive aspects we defined within the North such as the emphasis on people will create a strong, true and honest brand identity for the North.
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