For my branding class it was important to me that the students engage in a non-linear design process and my approach to this was for them to create a new character and then create a brand around that character. The project started by selecting an image of their choice and then writing a story around that image. The next step was for the student’s to create a physical mask of their character. The goal was for the students to have fully imagined this new entity to the point that it almost felt real. The early process of writing, storytelling and physical making was a huge help when they moved into the branding phase of the project. It allowed the students to work more intuitively because they had already internalized what made their character unique. It also served as a excellent neutral point for classroom design discussions and allowed for us to talk about how the graphic language of the brand fit with the narrative and the physical mask. The final deliverable was a book documenting the brand and the character’s story. Click on the covers to see the full brand guide.