AVATAR - A SEARCH FOR IDENTITY

In my search for identity I have come across a number of people with views on the subject. There is a young designer by the name of Jacob Cass who has set up a website called JUST^TMCREATIVE. He refers to himself as a multi-disciplinary graphic designer. He is very big on designing corporate identities. On his blog/website he states:

The identity or ‘image’ of a company is made up of many visual devices:

Jacob Cass

•    A Logo (The symbol of the entire identity & brand)

•    Stationery (Letterhead + business card + envelopes, etc.)

•    Marketing Collateral (Flyers, brochures, books, websites, etc.)

•    Products & Packaging (Products sold and the packaging in which they come in)

•    Apparel Design (Tangible clothing items that are worn by employees)

•    Signage (Interior & exterior design)

•    Messages & Actions (Messages conveyed via indirect or direct modes of communication)

•    Other Communication (Audio, smell, touch, etc.)

•    Anything visual that represents the business.

All of these things make up an identity and should support the brand as a whole. The logo however, is the corporate identity and brand all wrapped up into one identifiable mark. This mark is the avatar and symbol of the business as a whole.

He immediately identifies ‘image’ and visual devices as signifying identity. What else would a multi-disciplinary graphic designer do? Visualisation is his business; however, he does include elements of textual display e.g. stationary, signage, messages and other communications. He also makes great claims for the logo:

“This mark is the avatar…”

Avatar has developed from its Hindu origins into quite a word. The idea that a logo equates to the descent of a deity to earth, an incarnation of a god, is a bit too dramatic. It has come to signify the embodiment or personification of a principle or perspective or view of life, and now, in digital technology, a graphic image representing a person on the Internet. So perhaps it is not too fanciful for him to identify avatar with logo. In any event he clearly has a grasp on the business of understanding the corporate identity and what elements go into its design. His pitch is very performative writing. He spends a lot of time on his website and has created an extraordinary number of links. A very busy young man.