Television branding in Argentina

Around the World in 10 Interviews: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Interview by Carmen Pease

Ever wonder what it's like to be a designer in Barcelona or Buenos
Aires, Kenya or Croatia, Australia or Indonesia? We interviewed
creatives in ten countries to see what the state of design is like in their
backyards.
To coincide with How´s April International Design Annual, we
decided to pull back the grid of latitude and longitude even further and
hear, firsthand, what designers in these different countries have to say
about design—how their location impacts their work, how clients
embrace their creativity, what's inspiring them and what kinds of
projects keep them busy.

Here, Guillermo Stein from Steinbranding talks about what design's like in the city that's been called The Paris of the Americas.

Steinbranding
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Where are you located, and why do you enjoy being there?
We started in Buenos Aires, but today we are also in New York and Miami, and we are heading to India and Armenia.

What kinds of design does your firm specialize in?
After specializing in television branding and branding for passengers,
we turned to multidisciplinary design.

What's a favorite project you've worked on?
One of our favorite projects, which we have been working on for the last two years, is rebranding for Discovery Kids. The channel requested to develop its new regional image. As part of that creative process we conceived a mascot named Doki, who was born to accompany children in their growth and discovery as he went through that discovery
himself.

Is there any recurring element that usually ends up in your designs?
The only fad we have not been able to avoid is the cross-shoulder bags
that designers use.

What things influence your work? Where do you get your inspiration?
There is a popular saying among the staff at the studio, one that pokes
fun at the search for inspiration. It says, "I got an idea out of a book."
Inspiration is multi-causal. It comes from the city and its contrasts;
from the trash pickers and the executives using Blackberrys; from the
more than eighty channels on basic cable; from the many cyber cafés;
from Sunday's soccer game, which is always the topic on Monday; from a good fire for a barbeque; from movies, books, talking about women.
It is not a coincidence that in Argentina caricature, is often a form of
artistic expression.

How do you think your community and clients view design?
Today design makes it possible to think differently. The world has
accepted design as something natural that must exist beyond artificial
posturing. To be a designer, there's more need to be a thinking being
than an artist.

Do you think there's anything that sets your location's design
aesthetic apart from other places?
There is a very Latin way of communicating whose point of departure is craft, not professionalism. This might mean that it is not necessary to hire a designer to put up a sign at a beauty parlor. This results in a
broad range of styles that evidence enormous creativity as well as a
widespread lack of design standards. On the one hand, this is "wild" (if
we mean, by that, something not worked over) and, on the other, it is
extremely rich, visually and expressively. This is the best example of
democratization in design. So, if you want to get new ideas, you must
come to Latin America.

Is there any cultural proverb or saying that influences the way you
approach your work?
"Face it or run away," has been a recurring phrase given the ups-and-
downs that Argentina has experienced. We are used to a turbulent
market and to design not being valued. Given this situation, we have
always chosen to face whatever came up rather than to run away.
If you were a color, what color would you be?
At this moment, we are Pantone 1495. Orange is a powerful color; it
has light and it's easy to combine with other colors. (Any likeness to
reality is not coincidental).

Discovery Kids has a new character: Mundi

Laboratoon, Steinbranding´s company devoted to animated contents, created a new character under the channel’s initiative.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Miami USA– After the creation and development of Doki, Discovery Kids´ friendly dog, Steinbranding´s Laboratoon was entrusted to work out a new character.

Mundi was born to interact with kids together with Doki during the programming breaks.
She was conceived as a referent for children, so they can learn, have fun and make her their own, generating a bond of trust.

Mundi´s existence is focussed in learning how things work, what they are made of and for. She shows a strong desire to grow learning.

Doki`s success in Latin America and the American domestic market plus Discovery Kids commitment to contribute to the practice of healthy habits at an early age, encouraged the arrival of Mundi with her contagious energy and curiosity.

This initiative of the channel, materialized though the creativity of Laboratoon/Steinbranding, is what the most demanding audience was expecting to enjoy on a daily basis.

Keep watching!

An educational project for the entire continent

The new Argentine Channel Encuentro was created as an initiative of the Ministry of Education of the country.
Lead and directed by Tristan Bauer and Fernanda Rotondaro they requested Steinbranding to take charge of developing the channel’s overall image.

Conceived under the umbrella of diversity and equality, the aesthetics started from photographic images shot throughout the country. The main goal achieved was having everyone see themselves represented in their everyday lives.
The idea was to make the things that depict the country as a whole, like cardinal points, textures, dialects and colours, converge.

Regarding the graphics and in operative terms, the color palette unfolds in different shades of green, blue, red and orange. All the pieces, particularly the opening and closing of promos, are linked to the morphology of the brand.
The readability aims at establishing a clear communication and makes it easy to reach.
The use of miscellaneous and over abundant aesthetic resources was avoided.

More daring than the usual in tone, the daily promos break the classic moulds that are traditional in this type of communication.
The overall message is addressed to an audience who understands that learning can be entertaining.
Both in graphic and edition terms the highlight is placed on the visual rhythm.

As a result, this Argentine channel disregards stereotypes and has no need of looking outside to find resources.

The voice of a popular actor was chosen to be the voice over of the promos, a compulsory must, to provide the signal with the character, accessible identity and degree of closeness the audiences value so much.

Encuentro is a channel to watch, enjoy and learn with like few other.

branding for channel

Qué pasa que todos los canales lucen parecido?