At the 2025 Postgraduate Showcase, Hannah, a master’s student in the School of Design and Creative Arts, will unveil a final year project that is already making waves globally in how designers use flexibility in their branding.
When I started my Master's, I certainly didn't anticipate becoming an author!
What was the core topic that first drew you into your Master's research and what was the 'missing piece' that your project aimed to solve?
I planned to focus on branding, something that's fascinated me since I was an undergraduate. I love experimenting with ways to enhance a brand's visual identity but have always found it to be very much trial and error.
There isn't a great deal of research out there that offers guidance about 'flexibility' - a brand's ability to evolve and adapt to different platforms and markets while keeping its core identity. My Master's project looked to fill this significant gap.
How did you begin the journey of mapping out this new area of research and get global brand agencies involved?
The early stages of my project drew on everything I've learned over the years about qualitative and quantitative research techniques. First, I conducted secondary research and a critical review to map existing information and literature around brand flexibility.
Then, I started participant recruitment and primary research. I drew up a list of brand agencies and got in touch with them. I had planned to work with agencies across the Midlands to get a general feel for how practitioners understand and use flexibility. However, two agencies in New York and three in London agreed to work with me as well!
How did you deal with the wealth of new information and decide that the best way to share the complex data was to write a book?
Once I'd confirmed my participants, I started collecting data. The agencies shared a lot of information. I ended up with far more than I had originally planned - an intricate dataset about the use of flexibility and the processes adopted by some of the world's biggest brand agencies.
I was faced with the challenge of refining this abundance and translating it into a digestible format. It became clear that I needed to write an educational resource. In other words, the book I wish had been around to help me learn about flexibility!
As a designer, how did you ensure your book was visually engaging and what unexpected professional experience did you gain during the publishing process?
Publishing was a whole new area of design. Being a designer through and through, I was really keen that the book be visually appealing. So, I used plenty of graphics and process diagrams to complement and enhance the reading experience, ensuring that the complex data and concepts are easy to grasp.
Engaging with a printing house to create physical copies of my book was a novel experience too and proved to be invaluable knowledge that I'll take forward into my career.
What was the most important skill your project taught you outside of research and design?
As well as expanding and honing my research and design skills, my project has taught me a lot about networking. I’ve learnt that it’s essential to plan in plenty of time, particularly when reaching out to new contacts.
The overwhelmingly positive response I received from the brand agencies I contacted meant that the week I’d scheduled for interviewing and data collection just wasn’t enough.
What's next for your book and how do you hope it will make an impact?
I'm now busily reaching out to publishers. I'd love for my work to support future generations of designers inspiring them to use flexibility in branding to its full potential. Look out for copies of 'Flexibility in Branding' in all good bookshops!
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