VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
Visual Strategy Guide
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Table of Contents
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The Current Brand
The Current Brand
Views and Values
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Brand History
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Brand Timeline
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The Future Brand
The Future Brand
Mission Statement
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Three Keywords
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Audience Profile
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Competition
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Old and New Look
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Moving Forward
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The Current Brand
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Views and Values
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Brand History
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Brand Timeline
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Views and Values
The Declaration of Borders Group mission is in two parts “our views” and shared “our values.”
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The Vision of Borders: “To rich, to create more successful through knowledge and entertainment life.”
The Values of Borders: “Individuality” Borders, the books, music and movies includes shape and define us, so that people are original and unique. Read what others and heard is an integral part of what we are and want to be. “Community” Borders embraces its role as an important contribution member of the community, which provide the connection with human knowledge and entertainment, but also an obligation, as a neighbor and a responsible partner in the cities where we live, work and act we come operate. “Discovery” To explore famous borders of the universal desire and find personal enrichment and knowledge linked to the act of exploration in the moment of discovery in a way that feels haphazard, like a godsend. “Knowledge” will recognize that the boundaries warm in the comfort of the familiar, everyone is relaxed and open to new possibilities. A casual meeting place makes life more colorful, maintaining relationships and promote the link.
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Brand History
The first “Borders Book Store” was opened in 1971 by Tom and Louis Borders.
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Our Brand Story: The Borders Group, Inc. was a publicly held bookstore chain that closed its doors in September 2011. After Barnes & Noble, it was the second-largest bricks-and-mortar US bookstore chain, known for the innovation of creating the first superstore. The group included Borders superstores, Waldenbooks, Borders Express and Borders airport stores. Where many booksellers — even other publicly-held bookstore chains — are closely identified with one owner, the Borders Group came together through corporate acquisitions. Brentano’s, Walden, and Borders The Borders Group owes its history to several separate chains — Borders, Waldenbooks, and Brentano’s. Brentano’s was the longest-lived of the three bookstore chains that eventually made up the Borders Group. The original Brentano’s store was founded in 1853 in New York City, by August Brentano, a newspaperman. The second oldest of the three, Waldenbooks, was founded by Lawrence Hoyt, a rental library entrepreneur. Hoyt opened the first Walden Book Store in 1962 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; he named the bookstore for Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. Over the years they were in business, Brentano’s and Waldenbooks expanded their establishments into multiple bookstore chains. In 1984, Kmart purchased Waldenbooks; Waldenbooks then purchased Brentano’s. Brothers Tom and Louis Borders opened their first bookstore in Ann Arbor in 1971, while they were students at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor continued to be Borders Group’s headquarters). The Borders brothers opened additional stores in Michigan, Atlanta, and Indianapolis,
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and developed a sophisticated system that enabled them to track bookstore sales and inventory. In addition to using it in their bookstores, they sold their Book Inventory Systems (BIS) to other booksellers, as well. In 1985, they opened their first “superstore,” a large-scale bookstore (with a coffee bar) that was to become the prototype of many that came afterward. In 1988, they hired Robert DiRomualdo, a Harvard MBA with retail experience, to help expand the business. Under his leadership, the Borders bookstore chain grew rapidly in the next four years. Kmart, then Borders IPO In 1992, with the bookstore business booming, Kmart purchased Borders and created the Borders-Walden Group. But book profits proved not to be as robust as anticipated and Kmart was having its retail troubles so, in 1995, they divested themselves of the chain of bookstores, spinning off the Borders Group with an initial public offering. The Borders Group expanded internationally beginning with a store in Singapore 1997, then opening more than 40 stores in Europe, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand and buying a 35-store chain called, appropriately, Books. Online Bookselling Threatens Borders Business Model As it became clear that online book retailing, begun by Amazon. com, was rapidly and dramatically changing the bookselling business, Borders created their online presence. But after their initial e-retail efforts resulted in short-term losses for investors, in what was in retrospect a short-sighted move, Borders scrapped its website. Due to less-than-expected profits overall, some of the bookseller’s private equity investors agitated about poor decisions and poor management and in 2001 DiRomualdo was replaced as CEO.
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“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” — Socrates
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Brand Timeline
To move forward and fix a stagnant organization, we need to take a look at the history of the Borders.
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1971 It was founded in 1971by brothers Tom and Louis Borders during their undergraduate and graduate years at the University of Michigan.
1976 A sister company, Book Inventory Systems (BIS) was founded and served as a wholesaler.
1992 Borders was acquired in 1992 by Kmart.
1997 In 1997, the company established its first international store in Singapore.
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1971 Borders launches an online retail presence for the first time at Borders.com, but analysts fault it for being late to embrace e-commerce.
2001 Through an alliance with Amazon.com, Borders Group begins offering online shopping.
2004 Borders signs deal with Starbucks Corp. to run Seattle’s Best Coffee cafe operations in its stores.
2009 CEO George Jones is fired and replaced with Ron Marshall as global financial crisis raises questions about Borders’ viability.
2010 Borders lays off more Ann Arbor workers. About 600 workers left. Borders launches e-book store, starts selling e-readers.
2011 Borders announces plans to liquidate. Some 10,700 people will lose their jobs, including 400 in Ann Arbor.
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“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” — Aristotle
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The Future Brand
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Mission Statement
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Three Keywords
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Audience Profile
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Competition
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Old and New Look
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Moving Forward
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Mission Statement
The mission of Borders is to help people to create a community that connects them to knowledge sharing. 28
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Three Keywords
Connection Community Sharing
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The New Objective: What is the future value of traditional bookstores? Where are they going? This is a problem not only for the whole book industry but also for many industries. Influenced by Internet finance, many traditional enterprises have to face the problem of how to transform. The trend of the Internet is the inevitable result of the progress of science and technology, so the retail mode of the traditional bookstore is doomed to be gradually eliminated. We need to develop online services by taking advantage of our customer resources and book inventory. Meanwhile, we need to transform traditional stores, like cooperate with other brands, to fully tap the needs of target users. More targeted services can also be launched in various types of communities, such as universities or businesses. In a word, we will explore the value of traditional bookstores through a series of different business models and transform the single retail model into a more in-depth and more diversified cultural experience.
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Audience Profile
Our persona is the collective of traits that define some typical audience members.
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Brand Reach: Our strength as an organization comes from our ability to demonstrate the commitment to our people, enabling individuals to connect our community and help them get benefits with knowledge sharing. Our people are a million reasons why we deliver better services. With skills and experience spanning all different background, we bring them together to challenge themselves and help grow their knowledge and expertise. Our approach is to exceed the requirements of traditional learning, and we work in partnership with our customers and tailor our plan to meet the needs of experience a connection to knowledge. Persona is a vital aspect in helping us to figure out who we’re trying to reach and why we’re trying to reach them. A company isn’t for everyone, and knowing who you are or aren’t trying to connect with is an essential way to developing a comprehensive brand strategy.
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Sheila Downs Age: 28 Occupation: Marketing Coordinator Location: Long Island City, New York Sheila loves being single and living in New York, because she can have more energy to do what she likes. She recently moved into an apartment with her best friend because it makes her feel more positive when she spends time with positive people. She is now a part-time health coach looking into ways to develop a healthier lifestyle without breaking the bank for herself and her clients. In her spare time, she enjoys doing yoga and doing her nails. She likes to listen to live renditions of songs because it makes she feel like she is at a concert. Often visits museums and art galleries to experience the rich history and culture around her. Sheila’s main goal in life is to make her family be proud of her.
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Darryl Jenkins Age: 32 Occupation: Freelance Photographer Location: San Diego, California Darryl lives in a modest one bedroom apartment in the Gaslight District of San Diego. As a photographer, he has very high aesthetic requirements for all kinds of things. He has recently become closer to his family since his fathers’ Parkinson’s diagnosis back in 2018. When he’s not working or helping his parents, he is very active on social media posting pictures of his commute, recent vinyl record purchases, or the different books that he frequents. Loves to spend time reading books he has already read, because he feels he can find something new each time he reads them. He had a horrible experience with his last girlfriend, so he is reluctant to date another woman. Does not like to play sports anymore because he always seems to get hurt or injured, and wants to prevent any future injuries. He prefers to go to the beach in the evening to take photos because of the view there will be different colors every time.
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Thomas Davila Age: 62 Occupation: Retired Strategy Manager Location: St. Louis, Missouri Since he retired, Thomas spends more time with his family and starts to write murder mysteries. He watches the news every morning and night to stay up to date with the things happening around the world. He prefers to listen to radio rather than listening to CD’s because he wants to hear some new stuff to keep up with fresh ideas. He no longer feels the need to drink coffee every day since he’s not working and wants to take up running as a healthier alternative. He always visits the different parks just to watch people because it helps him to create new characters for his books. He always drives down a street he never drove before so he can discover new things around him. He like traveling and visiting new countries in order to experience different cultures because he thinks being curious is the right thing to do.
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Ali Yao Age: 28 Occupation: Assistant HR Admin Location: Spokane, Washington Ali works in a corporate as an Assistant HR Admin and a local firm because she likes to communicate with people to learn about different cultures. She likes to participate in her work’s weekly pot-luck and makes her specialty–meaty lasagna. She believes that food is the key to opening the gap between people. To relieve the pressure of daily work, Ali enjoys playing video games and having a couple of drinks. She goes to concerts to view her favorite artists perform when they are in town because they generally only have one performance per city. She feels that gives her different perspective on life and culture. Since she has lived in Washington for about 5 years, Ali tries to be more conscious of her health and the environment. Sometimes she reads e-books of her favorite novels as she travels because she feels it provides a different experience rather than reading. She often goes to BBS to read other people’s comments of the books whenever she finishes reading a book, because she thinks different reviews can bring her a deeper understanding.
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Luis Gonzålez Age: 36 Occupation: Electrician Location: San Francisco, California Born and raised in Mexico City, Luis enjoys family time and having fun with friends. The community means a lot to them, he says this is the culture that runs in the blood of Mexicans. He met his wife Shannah in San Francisco and they have been married for 8 years. When Luis was a boy, he learned how BBQ from his parents and wanted to keep the tradition alive with his wife because it includes a lot of old stories and old traditions. On weekends, he takes his children to volunteer at the local animal shelter, and teaches them to respect life and fill them with love. He is a strong pacifist and joins rallies against human violence and inequality because he believes that all the problem can be solved through communication. He’s a big fan of national geographic, and his collection has filled up an entire bookcase, and his kids also love it. He thinks national geographic is a good way to know the world we live. Luis is planning a vacation next year with his family to experience the true nature of Africa, and he wants to see the great migration of animals there.
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Amara Harmon Age: 35 Occupation: Doctor Location: Spokane, Washington Amara was born in Guwahati India and moved to the United States with her family when she was ten. This gave her a different view of the cultural environment than others. She met her husband Adam at Sanford School of Medicine and they moved to Spokane, Washington after they wed because she wanted her children to grow up in a more traditional background. Two growing kids later, she has a full house and wants to be more mindful of how to raise a family in a better learning environment. She loves making scrapbooks to collect memories from different events and times with her family. She always has her cell phone ready to takes selfies with her friends, so that she can have photos to remember her friends and family. Amara and her husband decide to teach their children to read by themselves because she thinks parents are the most important teachers for children. She likes to explore some new places with her husband and children, this can have a more positive educational impact on her children.
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Nia Murphy Age: 33 Occupation: Program Manager Location: West Seattle, Washington Nia grew up in Seattle and as such, knows the area well. There are so many artists in Seattle that she loves. She cooks very simple foods such as microwave dinners because she is busy with work. She met her husband at the University of Washington at a coed run club in their sophomore year. During the winter, she enjoys hitting the slopes with her friends and their spouses because she is new to snowboarding, she feels there has a lot of interesting things and people. They recently just went to Whistler and unfortunately got into an argument over her being distracted by email and not “leaving work at work�. When work was stressful, she would like to go back to school and lie on the lawn reading her favorite book to relieve the stress because the campus environment makes her feel at ease. Nia likes to go to some lectures, she feels it can help her think when she feels lost.
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Jun Han Age: 28 Occupation: Chemical PhD Location: Davis, California Jun is a typical scientific research type boy who has many outdoor hobbies. He feels that outdoor activities are the best way to relax after working long hours in the laboratory. He loves Davis because it is so unique which he would not be able to experience anywhere else. He lives in an apartment with two wine major roommates. They spend most of their weekends tasting wine at Napa Valley. The wine culture made him like to slow down and appreciate more things in life. He uses Yelp frequently to discover restaurants in the area with a 4.5 rating or above, and often returns to them because he had a wonderful dining experience there the first time. Enjoys watching various video documentaries because he gets to see history unfold with his own eyes. Since moved to the Pacific Northwest, he has started dating a girl who has a passion for drawing, reading, packing and climbing. He really likes this girl and thinks that she can be “the one�, so he wants to spend time doing what she enjoys. He starts going to galleries and exhibitions to learn about the lives of the people behind these.
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Competition
To reimagine the future of the brand, we must imagine the space that the brand will exist in by looking at it’s aspirational competitors. 42
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The Competitors Overview: As a traditional bookstore, Borders’ original competitors were other stores of the same kind and other cultural products service providers. With the development of Internet and digital commerce, customers who rely on traditional bookstores are gradually shifting to online services. Borders missed its first transformation because it entered the online market much later than its competitors. With the new direction, Borders will move forward to the goal of building an aesthetic life, so its competitors will become more diverse from traditional book retailers.
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Current Competitors As a book store based company, Borders Group has competitors on both of paper book and ebook industries. What differentiates us from our competitors is that our mission is to focus more on market segments and bring people carefully selected cultural products from experts in the cultural industry.
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Amazon, which focuses on its online
Tattered Cover is open seven days a
business and e-books, has the advan-
week at all branches, hosts prominent
tage of large Numbers of customers
book signings, and is known for its
and low prices.
customer service.
Barnes & Noble’s business model
The company has the industry’s larg-
is very similar to Boards, but it has
est active book inventory with access
retained a large number of custom-
to 7.5 million titles. The markets they
ers because of its keen sense of the
serve include booksellers, librarians,
Internet market.
educators and specialty retailers.
Books-A-Million is also a traditional
Christianbook, formerly known as
book retail company, it operates and
Christian Book Distributors, is a
owns the second-largest bookstore
Christian catalog and internet retailer.
chain in the United States.
It has a very strong market segment target for christians.
Book Inc. is more focused on local
Gardners is one of the leading interna-
businesses. It owned bookseller with
tional wholesalers of books, eBooks,
11 locations in California and also have
music and film. Gardners’ stock range
many local events.
represents one of the largest ranges of physical English language media products in Europe.
Powell’s Books is very focused on the
Chapter Indigo knew as Indigo, is
segments of the book industry, claims
Canada’s largest book, gift, and spe-
to be the largest independent new
cialty toy retailer.
and used bookstore in the world.
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Adjacent Competitors As a book store based company, Borders Group its main adjacent competitors are other types of cultural products service providers.
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Wikipedia is a multilingual online
Marvel Entertainment is an American
encyclopedia created, it is the largest
entertainment company, and is mainly
and most popular general reference
known for its Marvel Comics. Its comic
work on the World Wide Web.
book movie has attracted a large number of fans.
Google is the most mainstream search
Spotify Technology SA is a media-ser-
engine service provider, and the
vices provider, known for its digital
world’s most visited website, it pro-
music service, it has a large number
vides a huge amount of information.
of customers worldwide.
YouTube is the largest video sharing
Airbnb, Inc. is an online marketplace
website in the United States. It allows
for arranging or offering lodging ,
users to upload video and a series
primarily home-stays , or tourism
of other functions, resulting in a very
experiences. Its unique model has
wide coverage of its content.
become a popular choice for people in their spare time.
AMC Theatres is the largest movie
Netflix, Inc. is an American media-ser-
theatre chain in the world. A large
vices provider and production
number of movies are released
company. The company’s primary
through AMC theatres. It is also a
business is its streaming service which
very important part of People’s Daily
offers films and television programs.
leisure life.
Quora is an American ques-
The Walt Disney Studios is an
tion-and-answer website where
American film studio and best known
questions are asked, answered, and
for its multi-faceted film divisions.
edited by Internet users, either factually, or in the form of opinions which makes it became a very large knowledge-sharing platform.
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Aspirational Competitors As a traditional book industry, we need something really different to get through the crisis, not just working with coffee brands, our mission is to create an aesthetic life.
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MoMA is an art museum, it plays a
Michelin is a French tyre manufac-
major role in developing and collecting
turer. Michelin is also notable for its
modern art, and is often identified as
the Michelin stars that the Red Guide
one of the largest and most influential
awards to restaurants for their cooking.
museums of modern art in the world.
SFMOMA is a modern art museum,
Urban Outfitters is a lifestyle related
it is one of the largest in the United
retailer which specializes in selling
States overall, and one of the largest
apparel, clothing accessories and
in the world for modern and contem-
apartment products. It makes a suc-
porary art.
cessful combination of different types of products and derived its brand culture.
Muji is a Japanese retail company
Adobe Inc. is an American multinational
which sells a wide variety of house-
computer software company, It has
hold and consumer goods. It has
focused upon the creation of multimedia
done a great job in creating a brand
and creativity software products. It is
community and collecting great
of vital importance to the ecology and
designer products.
evolution of design.
The American Institute of Graphic
Amazon plays an important role in the
Arts is a professional organization for
book industry and is a leader in the
design. It has the meaning of leader
digitization and virtualization of books,
and forerunner in the design industry.
which largely determines the future development of books.
Pinterest, Inc. is a social media web
Coca Cola’s exploration of its brand
and mobile application company. It
value is very enlightening, and it tries
collects great aesthetic resources
hard to make itself to be a super cul-
from a vast amount of information and
tural symbol in every attempt.
builds communities of enthusiasts.
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Old and New Look
The old look of the Borders is stagnant, aged, and undefined.
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BORDERS GROUP
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Old and New Look
The new look of the Borders will be friendly, multicultural, and inspirational.
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Borders Group
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Moving forward
In book 2, the Visual Development Guide, We will show the process of new identity developed. 58
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In book 3, the Visual Standards Guide, We will introduced the new identity. For more information, get online and visit: sharingknowledge.club
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Credit: unspash.com graphicpear.com elements.envato.com wikipedia.org stock.adobe.com
Copyright @ 2019 Jiahua Han All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission. Student project at Academy of Art University 62
THE NATURE OF IDENTITY JIAHUA HAN