The Hero
A Jungian Archetype, applied to Brand Identity
Mastery • Self Sacrifice • Courage • Redemption • Strength
Just who we needed! The Hero!
The Hero brand is perhaps one of the most televised archetypes of all time. The Hero's Journey, we call it in the writing world. The Hero is someone who must overcome great odds to achieve something seemingly impossible, and they do. If they didn't, it would be a Tragedy - and that's something different.
You know exactly who this brand is. It's Simba from Lion King, Fievel, Barbie, Hercules, Odysseus, Harry Potter, Bilbo Baggins, Lance Armstrong, Simone Biles, Robin Hood, Joan of Arc, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Viola Davis, and of course, Spiderman, and every hero we love in the MCU and the other red one which I will not name to save time.
The Hero is all about the betterment of humanity, the people around them, their journey is often about someone else. But self-sacrifice is just as common a theme. They are brave, strong (even if they don't start out that way), and undergoing or have undergone a dramatic transformation. Hero brands, hold great faith, and determination in all that they do. They don't support things they don't agree with - they stand firm when others waffle or cave.
Brand Examples:
Nike, Doctors Without Borders, Michael Jordan
Hero brands are high contrast - search "high key photography" and thank me later. You'll want a minimal brand - economy is key. Economy is the practice of taking a form/element/graphic and removing pieces one by one, like a game of ? , to remove as much as you can while still retaining understanding of the original form. It's abstraction at times too, minimalism, and a focused approach to design. When in doubt - less is more.
Use bold fonts, a bold color, maybe two bold colors. Black and white is elegant af, and totally on par for you. Throw in icons, images, videos, experiences - you are a visceral brand.
