Branded environments

Environmental branding is the process of marketing that communicates a brand in three-dimensions to create a customer experience. It uses space as a physical embodiment of the brand to create a ‘brand space’ . This is achieved through ‘architecture, interiors, lighting, graphics, landscape’ in spaces such as retail stores, showrooms, trade-fair booths and office environments.

The main aspects of branded environments in retail include merchandising, signage, and interior design. Merchandising involves arranging products in a way that makes customers most want to buy them. Signage in retail gives the customer orientation, information and an understanding of the brand identity and values. Interior design creates a physical and sensory relationship with the customer that can communicate the brand message. The brand message needs to be considered in the environmental design, otherwise the message will not be clear.

Components of a branded environment can include finish materials, environmental graphics

Environmental graphic design

Environmental graphic design is a design profession embracing many design disciplines including graphic design, architecture, industrial design and landscape architecture...

, way-finding devices and signage and identity systems. Creators of branded environments leverage the effect of the physical structure and organization of space to help deliver their clients' identity attributes, personality and key messages.

The creation of branded environments grew out of a movement within the practice of interior design

Interior design

Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...

 in the 1990s that recognized that brand equity

Brand equity

Brand equity is the marketing effects and outcomes that accrue to a product with its brand name compared with those that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. Fact of the well-known brand name is that, the company can sometimes charge premium prices from the consumer . And,...

, or the perceived value in the identifying brand characteristics of an organization, could be applied to three-dimensional environments.

The practice of designing branded environments is often a research-driven effort led by an interior designer or architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, and may include a multi-disciplinary team of strategic consultant

Consultant

A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...

s, brand development experts, marketing and communications consultants, and graphic design

Graphic design

Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...

ers. Particularly effective for retail, museum and exhibit design, branded environments can support the success of many organizational types, from corporate to institutional and educational. The designed environment can reflect or express the attributes of a community or the competitive advantages of a company’s product or service.

Benefits of a branded environment can include improved brand position and communication, better customer recognition, differentiation from competitors and higher perceived value from investor

Investor

An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...

s. Internally, benefits may include higher employee satisfaction and retention, increased productivity, and better understanding of an organization's mission, vision and values.