Is it the brand that creates the design or the design that creates a brand ???

Its a tough one!
My thoughts are that the brand creates the design. Its the source and inspiration for a design project that creates the final piece BUT….

What if the final piece is no good! Does that mean that the brand is no good?

Sometimes its the final design piece alone that creates the premise of a future brand.

Many say that the brand doesn’t matter, its the design that sells it! Did you buy an MP3 player because of its brand, use and features or an ipod because the way it looks?

I myself have had jobs were the design really formed the brand. Others where the brand just spoiled the design.

Design is a communication of the brand. No matter how credible or great your business really is, a poor misguided visual representation can lead to doom. We all have to sell ourselves and thats what design does best, it sells.

Selling based purely on good looks though can also lead to doom. Its important to follow up your attractive presentation with real hard and honest truth. The visual brand must come alive into the real world and become a real brand, a trusted one and an excellent one.

When done properly its the brand that creates the design but like most pairings in life the brand is nothing without the design. Why? Because no one will ever know it existed?