Мультсериал как бренд
Category:
General theoretical part
Brand presentation for a wide audience
Presentation for a professional audience
How we came to this strategy
Sources
Фото
The author’s reasoning about how communication theory works in the field of design;
Communication theory is an important tool for a designer. It provides a framework for understanding and managing the process of creating meaning. In this context, design is not pure art, but a purposeful communicative activity. It is goal is to solve problems and convey meanings through visual and functional objects.
First of all, communication is the process of creating and interpreting meanings. In design, this can be seen in the process (researching user needs, setting tasks, testing, interacting with the final product, etc.), visual symbols (color, shape, typography, composition) and creating meaning. Communication in design takes place at the level of visual, meaning, and interaction with the audience, and continues throughout the creation and use of the design product by users.
An important feature of communication is that it requires a sender and a recipient. This is also the case in design: the designer, guided by the brief, the brand’s goals and his professional knowledge, puts a certain idea into the message, expecting a certain reaction. At this time, the recipient of the message (or the user of the design product) decodes the message based on personal experience, cultural background, and usage context.
Communication theory in design is a framework through which the world can be interpreted. Therefore, there are theoretical traditions (semiotic, sociocultural, critical, cybernetic) that helps in analytics.
Design, in essence, aims to convince. So models of persuasion from communication theory, such as ELM, are directly applicable to design. There are two ways in which the user evaluates the design product. The first, the central path, focuses on content (technical characteristics, functionality) and is well applicable to informative, logical and structured design. On the second, peripheral path, the user reacts to external emotional cues (aesthetics, brand credibility, reviews). This design works with the user’s trust, emotions, and associations.
An important design tool, storytelling, is also described in detail in communication theory. People love stories, so a good design always creates a narrative of interaction where the user becomes the main character.
Communication theory provides the designer with the tools to create meaning. It allows you to perceive design as a complex communicative act that solves the tasks of a particular user. Understanding the principles of communication theory allows you to create a design consciously and effectively.
Presentation for a general audience;
What is this project?
«Ghouls on Sick Leave» is more than just an animated series; it’s a full-fledged brand built on a powerful and relevant story. Grounded in the Narrative Paradigm, the brand offers the audience not only a logical plot (narrative coherence) but also deeply personal and relatable themes (narrative fidelity). It speaks to teenagers in their own language about the issues that matter most to them: the fear of being different, the search for love and friendship, the struggle against hypocrisy, and the idea that true strength comes only from accepting one’s true nature.
Core Brand Message and Values (Narrative Paradigm)
Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm theory states that humans are storytelling animals. We perceive the world and make decisions not through dry logic, but through compelling stories that possess «narrative rationality.» This rationality is assessed by two criteria:
Coherence (Probability): How logical and consistent the story is.
Fidelity: How well the story resonates with our personal experiences and values.
Coherence (Probability): - The series' world is logically constructed: vampires hide among humans, and a sanatorium is the perfect cover for their secrets.
- The characters' motivations are clear and consistent: Svetlana wants to be «cured» of herself, Grigory adores vampires, while the Doctor and Vasily are driven by greed and fear. Their actions stem directly from their personalities.
- The series' horizontal structure (10 episodic stories) allows each plot twist to be developed in detail and with logical consistency.
Fidelity (Fidelity):
The story resonates with the target audience’s personal experiences:
- Identity and Self-Acceptance: Svetlana’s fear of her vampiric nature is a direct metaphor for teenage insecurities, the fear of being different, and the struggle of self-acceptance.
- Friendship and First Love: The relationship between Svetlana and Grigory, and her friendship with Venera, are stories about support, acceptance, and finding like-minded people.
- Fighting the System and Manipulation: The antagonists (the Doctor, Vasily) personify the hypocritical adult system that exploits the young and vulnerable. Teenagers can easily project their own experiences of facing injustice onto this.
- The Theme of «Fandoms» and Passions: Grigory as a «hardcore fan of vampires» who dreams of writing his own «Twilight» is a recognizable and honest portrayal of a modern teenager living through their interests.
Who is this project for? (Target Audience)
Primary Target Audience: Girls aged 12-16.
Psychographic Profile: They are in an active phase of self-discovery and identity formation, often experiencing self-doubt and acutely feeling the challenges of socialization. They are drawn to supernatural themes, romantic storylines, comedic situations, and strong yet imperfect characters they can relate to. The «REFERENCES» aesthetic (bold look, an atmosphere of mystery, a hint of «maturity» — the 18+ marker) perfectly creates an appealing «forbidden fruit» for this audience.
What are the brand’s objectives?
1. To Entertain: To provide high-quality, humorous, and dynamic content with elements of thriller and mystery.
2. To Provide Support: To become a narrative guide for the audience, using the story to help them navigate the complexities of their own teenage years.
3. To Build a Community: To unite the audience around a shared story, creating a space for fan creativity, discussion, and mutual support.
4. To Develop Commercially: To lay the groundwork for potential merchandise (comics, sticker packs, clothing with brand symbols) and subsequent seasons.
Presentation for a professional audience
Our main strategy was showing our brand directly to professional audience. We chose this way of communication because this helped us to establish the certain level of quality of our product. We used media theory ecology in practice, as we set different personal and social environments to apply our project to some professional people.
Interaction with a group of professionals was achieved through the distribution of the presentation and submission to various competitions. (For example, the project was included in the long list of the Riki studio in the animation application competition).
The presentation to professionals took place by designating key professional terms: logline, tagline, series, pilot of the first series.
It is worth noting that technologies applicable in media facilitated communication in this way. Foe example, the project involves creating jobs for professionals from the animation industry through group and interpersonal communication.
The professional presentation of the project was formed through interaction with representatives of the animation industry: Producers, CEOs, actors, musicians, animators, and artists.
Thus, the professional audience of the project entered the communication process by contact in messengers and in online communication, which led to a symbolic exchange of messages within one context. We based our practical work on the global village theory by McLuchan 1960. Project was able to introduce to professionals because of the global interconnections and instant communication.
A detailed explanation of how the communication theory presented in the online course served as the basis for creating these presentations;
A list of literature and sources of images.
Communication Theory Course
Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication.
Norman, D. A. (1988). The Psychology of Everyday Things.
Forlizzi, J., & Ford, S. (2000). The Building Blocks of Experience: An Early Framework for Interaction Designers.
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