Brand Identity

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

With the arrival of MTV in 1981, music artists had the real opportunity to present themselves to the public. The new visual element of the music video allowed artists to go beyond the music and portray an image for themselves. Music videos could either make or break an artist's single, or even a new artist's career. For example, Lady Gaga uses her visuals to attract an audience as opposed to relying purely on her music- many of these music videos are controversial. "Bad Romance" is possibly suggestive of sexual exploitation yet is glamourised to suit her brand identity. She dances in underwear or skin-tight, revealing dresses with outrageous platform heels so we are easily distracted from the harsher subliminal message. Or PSY, with the single, "Gangnam Style", who performs a dance routine which is recognised worldwide. Although he lacks musical talent when compared with artists such as Emeli Sande or Adele, his image is what is recognised when we hear his name.

PSY - Gangnam Style



There has been a decline in the popularity of the music video on mainstream television yet it still remains one of the most powerful promotional tools for artists. Online platforming is now key; improvements in web technology has enabled artists to link their image in places other than music videos. With social networking, they can now reach up to millions in just minutes with a single tweet on Twitter or a shared video from YouTube onto Facebook. However it is not a simple process, they must carefully consider that they maintain their brand identity on all of these platforms. The small details like colours, images, text and font are maintained to ensure that the artist is successfully promoted with this one image across all media platforms.

Brand Identity - Jessie J

Jessie J maintains her brand identity through a variety of platforms including album and single images and tour date posters. The striking appearance is maintained: her neat black bob hairstyle, bold makeup, similar facial expression with the mouth open. Together, they are all relatively masculine yet the open mouth is seductive and sexual. Her positioning is very central which is reflected in her personality and performances as she comes across very bold and confident. The sleek font is gold, sometimes black or silver, which is glamorous and typical of a pop/RnB artist. As it is repeated on a variety of platforms, we immediately recognise the font as Jessie J's font. The gold, silver and black theme is Despite the dark, masculine style which reflects videos to songs like "Do It Like a Dude"- the softer, pastel coloured image matches, "Price Tag".

"Do It Like A Dude" (very clearly reflects the masculine yet seductive image)




"Price Tag" (matches the more playful, pastel coloured poster and album cover)