The Magician

A Jungian Archetype, applied to Brand Identity

‍

Power • Intuition • Cleverness • Charisma • Highly Evolved

Ah, the Gandalf in our lives. Magician brands are charismatic, enigmatic, and simply magnetic. These are the brands that can solve our problem with the mystical "easy button", but they can actually do it! They've studied their mysterious and elusive field of interest, and now, they've ready to help others by sharing their knowledge.

While magicians are playful and charming, and yes, sometimes silly, it's important to note that they take their work seriously. They are PhD Scholars, Engineers, Scientists, and they are knowledgeable. That knowledge comes from intense study AND exploration. Magician brands are those that have already done the hard work that no one else was willing to do. By the time we meet a magician brand, our problem is usually so great, that their solution seems like most obvious thing in the world to say yes too.

Brand Examples:

Disney, iPod, Dyson, Polaroid

Magician brands are usually blue, the trustworthy color. In order to gather an audience for your magic show, you gotta look trustworthy. Look at every illustrated wizard hat ever - blue, stars. It's such an ingrained association (thanks, disney) we can use that to our advantage. It's a connection that took a very long time to build, but it's one of the most significant and obvious signs of brand identity & brand strategy at play - use it. Fuck it, you and all your competitors are blue lol ah ba dee ah buh die, ah ba dee ah buh die

Highlight your charisma and stay evolved (stay informed). Try leaning into whatever it is people find *magical* about you. Otherwise, keep it blue - that's your baseline theme, and everything else should be a reflection of you. You write messy? add a messy font. You use a particular type of machine? Add it's thumbprint or aftermath to your design. Add whatever it is that makes you special, somehow.

Find ways to show a peek behind the curtain, a look into what you do.