Level 5- Report Structure

Report- Successful Branding

Introduction- explain what I'm going to research, how, and why;

-what a brand is, if it’s important and what makes it successful;

-primary research in the form of a survey, secondary from artist websites and/or books

-because as an illustrator myself i have interests in furthering the possibility of my own success; therefore it’s a good topic to research to determine if i will need branding myself

Main body- present the information, analyse it and determine any correlating factors 

Conclusion- round up the research and information and draw a conclusion from it- i.e., wether i really will need a brand for myself and what would help make this successful as shown from the data. 

Level 5- Report Statement

In my report I will be focusing on branding within the creative industry. More specifically, I will be concentrating on finding out what is considered a 'good' brand, and what qualities may affect this.

Branding is especially important for unestablished artists because YOU are your own brand; you represent yourself and your work and so you need a consistent platform on which to do this. As I also have some interests in Graphic Design, and will soon be developing a brand for myself, I thought this would be a really useful topic to write a report on as I will be able to use the findings and conclusion to help me further my own personal branding.

First I will collect primary research in the form of a survey to determine what people recognise, like and dislike about brands, focusing mainly on artist branding rather than brands in other industries. This is because the survey will be shared through social media sites such as Facebook and Linkedin where the people who will be accessing the survey are likely to be in the same profession I am; my friends lists consist mainly of other students and artists and so these opinions are the ones I will be collecting.

Secondary research will be performed using books and websites, and the findings will be used to conclude what exactly does make a brand good.

Level 5- Master of Trade- Chiara Bautista

During the course of our studies we were required to research and hold a presentation about an artist we regarded as a Master of their Trade. This could mean a couple of things, such as:

• Do they have a postgraduate (Master) degree? (This would make them a 'qualified' Master)
• Are they a Master of their trade through commercial and market success?
• Is it the masterful technique in each of their illustrations that makes them a Master of that particular Trade? (This could be in reference to working in a certain style or media consistently, honing that particular skill until a 'Masterful' level of proficiency is acquired) 

I think to be able to judge an artist as being in just one of these categories would be limiting; not every successful artist has a Bachelors degree, and some don't even have basic secondary school qualifications. However this doesn't mean that their hands are any less skilled than those who do have the opportunity to study formally within the arts- at the end of the day an image will always speak volumes about an artist's skills and credentials in their own right. 

Just because an artist is good at what they do isn't the only factor for success though. A good rapport with their fans is essential, as the fans are the ones who buy merchandise such as prints and stickers, helping expand the artists reach through their admiration and loyalty. Often this can help encourage exhibition opportunities and other commissioned work through the increased social media presence large fanbases bring to a page. Social media sites such as Facebook are particularly good for this as artists can interact with their fans through their pages, via comment and message. 

The artist I have selected as a Master of Trade is the illustrator Chiara Bautista. Chiara is a Mexican artist and is known for her editorial illustrations and personal work, consisting of comics, portraits and storyboards. 

She is popular on Facebook, with her page garnering over 300,000 'likes'.

She updates her page regularly with sketches and works-in-progress, sharing her updates with her fans and answering questions they ask through the comments.

A lot of her fans pay homage to her designs, mainly through cosplay (dressing and roleplaying as a character for an event or photoshoot) or by getting their favourite illustration tattooed upon them.

Chiara almost encourages this and often features the fan's photos on her page. Fans whose photos were uploaded would be excited about this and be happy that their idol had taken notice of what they had done, and others who would see this would feel good that their artist had taken the time to respond and communicate with them, as an equal.