Generative identity between non-durability and resistance : identity, identity design and redesign and the role of generative grammar

Abstract

Durability is a term that has widely affected the design industry in general and the graphic design industry in particular over the last decade. It has given the design profession in general a problem-solving aspect and a fundamental role in creating and promoting more responsible design solutions. In the graphic field, a logo design plays a partial but important role in the communication of an identity: A logo is for “identification” of a business or product in its simplest form. Case studies show that logo design is not durable. It is periodically re-designed, as an attempt to update the identity’s form. While a re-design could be beneficial to the brand in many cases, it could be problematic in order cases to the end user, to the designer and to the brand itself, especially as it is to expire in its turn. However, in our current age of immediacy, a recent approach in identity design is manifested using generative methods consisting of a set of an infinity of real-time logo; they all emerge from a few rules set by the designer and they all have many interdependent parts interacting according to those rules. The generative method thus externally embraces the dynamic aspect of identity, allowing an expression of growth in time. This thesis aims at examining the concept of durability in identity and consequently the appropriate design of an identity. It navigates between branding and the social science field. Complexity theory will serve as the main theoretical framework. It consists of studying the behavior of complex and dynamic systems that change when initial conditions change. This triangulation thus questions the opportunities and alternatives which the generative grammar has to offer to an identity design beyond expiry. An analytical and comparative reading of case studies of identities being designed and redesigned, and of other identities that have been initially designed using the generative method, will be conducted.The results of the study will serve as a guide for the identity design process to create brandmarks that embrace time and overcome durability constraints.