This is the last part of the 3 part of the “Tips On Growing Your Brand” Mind Sharing session at Tempatan Fest 3.0 last weekend. For this part, we highlight what was said by Zul of PK Apparel, a brand which has been around for just about 1 year, but has garnered some serious following over the months because of what the brand itself stands for and also how their designs portray what the brand stands for.
In this part, Zul being a freelance designer himself, highlights the importance of the designing aspect of things when having your own brand.
Have A Good Message
When you have a brand, it is vital that you spread positivity to your customers. In a way, because you are a brand owner, regardless whether your brand is just starting out or already established, you are in a position of influence, so it is very important that you influence people with positivity. Do not abuse that position you are in to spread hate, disunity or just plain bad things.
Be Inspired, Don’t Imitate
I am a big fan of the brand Quiksilver. Before I started PK Apparel, I use to spend a lot of money on buying Quiksilver stuff and one day I thought to myself, why don’t I just make my own brand. So when it comes down to designing stuff for PK Apparel, it would only be natural that I would want to have the brand look and feel like Quiksilver, but also at the same time I want it to have its own identity. I used Quiksilver as an inspiration, and it is only natural that each and every brand owner has their own inspiration, but it is very crucial that we do not imitate it fully. If not your brand will be identified as a copy cat.
A Brand Name Is Very Important In Designing
Don’t name a brand because of convenience, or because you think it is trendy. A brand name has to be well thought of because it will be something long term. If your brand sounds cheap, customers will perceive your brand as something cheap. And I am also gonna stress this point, DON’T BE CINCAI. The name of your brand will determine how you design your clothes, because your designs have to match the brand name.
Have A Direction And Stick To It
Trends come and go, and designing based on trends may make you popular for awhile, but after the trend is gone, customers will look elsewhere. So it is best to come up with a concept and a direction that your brand wants to go in, and stick to it. If you see another brand doing something else and is getting attention for it, don’t just follow them. Because that way you are a follower. Be original.
Have Depth
A good element to have when you are designing is the element of mystery. Basically have depth in the designs you do. Having obvious designs is okay once in awhile, but it is also good to make the customers think and wonder what is the meaning behind the designs. Even your brand name can have depth too. My brand name is PK Apparel, which a lot of my customers keep asking me what is the meaning behind “PK”, which actually stands for “Pecah Kepala”. Why I name it that way is so that people will ‘pecah’ their ‘kepala’ thinking about it. It may sound very normal, but it definitely makes the customer think and talk about it.
Bottom line, when designing, I hope that you will ‘Pecah’ your ‘Kepala’ to come up with designs that are worthwhile so that your customers will ‘pecah kepala’ thinking about it.
