Branding. Usually it’s thought of as a marketing scheme, something you see on TV or in a magazine. But branding goes beyond advertising. Good branding will extend into all facets of a company or group to establish consistency in expectation or experience of their customers
Architecture can be influenced a company’s branding or product, sometimes to an extreme. You’ve probably seen the Longaberger Basket office building in Newark, Ohio. The hot dog shaped Coney Island building on US-285 in Conifer, Colorado is a landmark in the state.
Architecture can certainly influence a company’s brand as well. Take the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. If you visit their website, you will see a short animation load that shows the building’s 14th Street facade, complete with the big blue bear. They are proud of their building, and should be.
What caught my attention on the website was the branding that the Colorado Convention Center has created, all based on the design of the facility. Fentress Architects designed the structure after voters approved funding for the project in 1999. The striking roof lines are bold and immediately recognizable from numerous vantage points throughout the city.
The Colorado Convention Center has incorporated the sweeping roof lines into their logo. The result is a simple form that suggests a modern, forward thinking group. The website plays on the design as well. The fresh colors and angled graphics, again, emphasize the roof lines and reinforce the logo.
Architecture is often completed in a vacuum, without much relation to an established corporate identity. But, there are those times when a building creates the identity.
