PART FIVE:

The key touchpoints for visual communication.

Brand touchpoints are the different methods of communication between a brand and its customers. The touchpoint wheel breaks this down into three main categories: pre purchase experience, purchase experience and post purchase experience. Visually, these aspects rely on the experience and interaction that the customer has when shopping with a brand and whether these match up to the pre existing knowledge that the consumer has about the company (Lee. Et al, 2013).

This pre-existing assumption consumers have about a brand relates to Aaker’s (1977) personality framework, that is used to relate human characteristics to a certain brand. This includes its values and how it chooses to represent this visually.

For example, on the touchpoint wheel, logo, channel sign, and carrier bags all fall into ‘identity design’ for each step of the customers experience. A great example of effective identity design is sportswear brand Adidas, that feature a ‘mountain design’ as its logo with its brand name heavily featured on products and branding. The logo design reminds customers they are an active brand, but is also simplistic enough to be recognisable and unique. The use of black has connotations of power and strength, the perfect colour to remind customers of fitness. Adidas falls into Aakar’s personality ‘excitement’, as it is current and uses its platform to spread positivity around sport, highlighted with its slogan ‘Impossible is Nothing’. These features successfully integrate its personality into its visual communications, making it easily recognisable and memorable to customers throughout the purchase process.