Kaylee's Portfolio

Category: Lecture

  • Brand Experience: Glocalising Tusker in the UK

    Workshop Summary: Understanding Brand Experience and Glocalisation

    This week’s Brand Experience workshop explored how global brands adapt and translate their identity into new cultural contexts through brand activations experiences that invite direct interaction between brands and audiences. The key takeaway was that brands are not static symbols but dynamic cultural resources that co-create meaning within specific social and geographic contexts.

    We learned that glocalisation (global and local) is the process where global brand strategies are reinterpreted and reshaped by local cultures. Rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all identity, successful brands adapt their visual language, storytelling, and experiences to resonate with local audiences while maintaining core values.

    Glocal marketing was described as blending global consistency with local relevance keeping brand DNA intact while responding to local consumer preferences, trends, and cultural touchpoints. Examples like Coca-Cola’s “Tasty Fun” localisation in China and The Old Irish Pub chain in Scandinavia showed how cultural translation builds authenticity and connection.

    We also discussed cultural identity in branding how brands reflect and shape cultural values. As Holt (2006) and Schroeder (2009) note, brands act as carriers of meaning, embedding themselves in cultural narratives. For this workshop, we were challenged to explore this through the design of a brand experience that imports one culture into another, using creative localisation to bridge the two worlds.

    Task 1: Brand Activation — “Rhythm & Roll by Tusker”

    Allocated Brand: Tusker Lager, Kenya’s most iconic beer brand (founded 1922).
    Core Values: Togetherness · Adventure · Authenticity · Cultural Pride

    Tusker embodies East African heritage a celebration of community, music, and the joy of shared experiences. Our challenge was to bring that spirit to the UK in a way that feels both authentically Kenyan and locally engaging.

    Concept Overview

    Title: Rhythm & Roll by Tusker
    Meaning: A creative nod to “Rhythm & Blues” and the roller-skating rhythm culture popular in both Kenya and the UK. It blends African rhythm, urban nightlife, and the social energy of skating connecting people through movement, music, and togetherness.

    The activation reimagines Tusker’s East African warmth within London’s dynamic social scene through a roller-skating pop-up event, partnering with Roller Nation (Tottenham), one of the UK’s leading retro roller disco venues.

    Task 2: Brand Experience Design

    Brand Positioning in the UK Market

    The UK beer market is dominated by global giants such as Heineken, Guinness, and Carlsberg, yet consumers aged 25–40 are increasingly drawn to story-driven, experiential, and culturally diverse brands. With rising demand for global flavours and event-based drinking, Tusker has the opportunity to position itself as a taste of Kenya through shared rhythm and energy.

    The Activation Experience

    Event Name: Rhythm & Roll by Tusker
    Tagline: Refresh Your Rhythm

    Experience Design:

    • Venue: Roller Nation, Tottenham transformed into an immersive space combining Afrobeat and EDM, neon lights, and African pattern graphics inspired by Tusker’s iconic elephant and Kenyan textiles.
    • Visual Identity: Elephant-skin and tribal patterns merge with neon roller-rink aesthetics, creating a vibrant fusion of Kenyan tradition and London nightlife.
    • Activities:
      • Roller skating sessions to live DJ sets
      • “Skate with Tusker” photo zone
      • Pop-up bar serving Tusker Lager and mocktail variants
      • Interactive wall featuring the Kenya–UK connection map (Nairobi ↔ London)
    • Cultural Touchpoints:
      • Afrobeat rhythms symbolising Kenyan vitality
      • Pattern and colour palette (yellow, pink, blue neon) merging African motifs with London’s retro disco vibes
      • Inclusion of the growing Black roller-skating community in the UK, highlighting cultural continuity and inclusivity

    Launch Campaign Strategy

    Campaign Objective

    Introduce Tusker as a cultural bridge “Kenya’s beer meets London’s rhythm” celebrating diversity, togetherness, and global-local fusion.

    Key Campaign Elements

    1. Social Media Launch
      • Hashtag: #RhythmAndRoll #TuskerUK #TasteOfKenya
      • Teaser clips featuring roller skaters, Afrobeats soundtracks, and Tusker bottles under neon lights.
      • Countdown posts and influencer collaborations from both Kenyan diaspora and UK roller-skating communities.
    2. Collaborations
      • Partner with Roller Nation London, Afrobeats DJs, and diaspora community groups for cultural authenticity.
      • Pop-up tastings at universities (targeting international students).
    3. Visual Campaign Assets
      • Posters: “We Bring Tusker Lager to the UK” featuring London icons (Big Ben, red buses) blended with Kenyan flag colours.
      • Ambient branding: Elephant-inspired floor projections and LED signage.
      • Merchandise: “Refresh Your Rhythm” T-shirts and limited-edition Tusker cans with UK–Kenya dual flag design.
    4. Event Launch
      • Soft launch during Black History Month in October.
      • Press and influencer night featuring live music, skating demos, and interviews with Kenyan creatives in the UK.

    Reflection

    Through this project, I learned how glocalisation allows a brand to evolve not by abandoning its origins, but by translating cultural essence into local relevance. Tusker’s Kenyan identity is not diluted in the UK context; instead, it becomes a connector of communities, uniting Londoners through shared rhythm, joy, and inclusivity.

    This exercise reinforced how brand experience design goes beyond marketing it’s about creating spaces of cultural exchange where products, people, and place intersect meaningfully.

  • Signs, Symbols & Belonging: Civic Identity in Design

    This week’s session explored how identity is not a fixed essence but a positioning a way of becoming through signs, symbols, and representations. Drawing on Stuart Hall’s idea of representation and Chantal Mouffe’s notion that “every symbol of unity also marks a boundary,” the lecture questioned how design both connects and divides communities.

    We discussed national identity as a designed invention a semiotic fiction made visible through flags, rituals, and myths of unity (Benedict Anderson, 1983). Examples such as Cool Britannia or the London 2012 Olympics show how branding can temporarily reimagine what “Britishness” means. Yet, these representations often simplify complex realities and raise questions about who gets to define belonging.

    By contrast, civic identity is more local, lived, and negotiated. It is performed through everyday spaces and visual systems from street art and uniforms to architecture and signage. These material cultures shape how people see themselves within the city and how inclusion or exclusion operates visually.

    The lecture also introduced ideas of City Branding and Symbolic Repair, showing how campaigns like London is Open use design to project inclusivity, while revealing the political tension behind such claims. Design activism was presented as a form of reclaiming the civic: using flags, logos, and public graphics not as static emblems but as open systems that invite participation and diversity.

    Workshop Activity 1: Civic Mapping

    In the morning, we conducted a semiotic mapping of London’s civic identity. Using an X-axis (Individual ↔ Collective) and a Y-axis (Unofficial ↔ Official), we plotted images that represent different aspects of belonging — from the London Eye and Buckingham Palace (official/collective) to street murals, Pret A Manger, and bike-sharing schemes (grassroots or everyday collective systems).

    Each item was annotated as:

    • Icon – direct representation (e.g. skyline, monuments)
    • Index – presence or activity (e.g. signage, bikes, uniforms)
    • Symbol – abstract meaning (e.g. flags, crests, mottos)

    This mapping revealed how London’s civic identity emerges from both institutional symbols and everyday gestures a mix of pride, commerce, and multicultural expression.

    Workshop Activity 2: Re-Flag

    In the afternoon, we reimagined flags as living semiotic systems that express the plural, hybrid, and everyday nature of civic identity today. Each group designed a new “flag of belonging” inspired by their morning map.

    Our group created three proposals:

    • United Potatoes – my concept, celebrating the warmth, humour, and everyday diversity of life in the UK. The potato, a staple of British food culture, becomes a playful symbol of inclusivity: “Everyone can find their own, colourful answer here.”
    • Coordination Nation – highlighting values of sportsmanship, order, and competitiveness.
    • Brat Nation – referencing a youthful, self-expressive energy.

    Through this exercise, we learned that every flag is a proposal for community, not a statement of fact. The project turned national symbols into tools of dialogue ways of questioning how belonging is designed and how humour, care, and plurality can reshape civic identity.

    Reflection

    This workshop helped me see design as a social language every colour, form, and word carries ideological weight. Civic symbols are not just decorative. They are performative gestures that shape how people feel seen. My United Potatoes flag uses humour and food as a common ground, turning an everyday object into a message of shared belonging.

  • Week 4: Brand Audience & The Fashion Wheel Workshop

    Lecture Summary: Community Principles & Brand Strategy

    This week’s session with Precious introduced us to the principles of community-led branding and how it connects to values, narrative, and strategy.

    We learned three key principles of community branding:

    1. Empower dialogue – Everyone deserves to be seen and heard.
    2. Understand nuances – No community is a single story due to intersectionality.
    3. Create with care – Safe and inclusive spaces are essential when designing for marginalised groups.

    Precious also highlighted that community-led branding is not just a design trend, but a response to changes in technology, culture, and human needs. Successful brands, such as Vaseline South Africa and Bayo, build trust and belonging by co-creating with their audiences and speaking in culturally authentic voices.

    Key takeaways:

    • Co-create with the community throughout the process.
    • Create from an authentic and inclusive space.
    • Use language and visuals that resonate.
    • Think about narrative and lived experience.

    Workshop: The Fashion Wheel (Brand Audience Exercise)

    In the afternoon, we applied these ideas to understand Gen Z subcultures and their consumption habits through a hands-on activity called the Fashion Wheel.

    Task 01 – Identify Subcultures / Tribes
    As a group (Wheel 07), we discussed our individual habits and interests to find six distinct subcultures:

    1. Plant Lover / Green Thumb
    2. Badminton Enthusiast
    3. Camping Fanatic
    4. Retro Core
    5. Otaku
    6. Theatre Kid

    These categories reflected our hobbies and shopping preferences, from eco-friendly lifestyles to sports gear and fandom culture.

    Task 02 – Create the Fashion Wheel
    Each group member’s chosen subculture was visualised through a collage-style outfit, arranged around a rotating circular wheel.
    For example:

    • Badminton – Sporty outfit with racquet and sneakers.
    • Camping Fanatic – Outdoor gear, boots, thermos, and beanie.
    • Otaku – Anime-inspired T-shirt and accessories.
    • Green Thumb – Costume with watering can.
    • Theatre Kid – Musical T-shirt and tote bag.
    • Retro Core – Vintage Clothes.

    This visual mapping helped us understand how fashion, personality, and consumption form identity markers within Gen Z culture.
    (See image: our group’s Fashion Wheel design.)

    Task 03 – What’s in the Tote Bag?
    We then selected one tribe Camping Fanatic to create a “tote bag” filled with items that represent this lifestyle.
    Our selections included a tent, hiking boots, reusable water bottle, beanie, map, camera, first aid kit, and healthy snacks.
    These objects reflect Gen Z’s adventurous, eco-conscious, and experience-driven values.
    (See image: our group’s Camping Fanatic bag moodboard.)

    Reflection

    Through this workshop, I learned how visual culture and fashion can communicate identity, belonging, and value systems. The “Fashion Wheel” made me realise that brand audiences are not just consumers they are communities with shared mindsets and lifestyles.

    From Precious’s lecture, I also understood that successful branding must be co-created with the audience, not imposed from above. Whether designing for a badminton community or a camping tribe, authenticity, dialogue, and inclusivity are key.