greendrop brand communication
1.Critical reflection on the course content and development of a narrative-driven visual strategy
The effective deployment of design or contemporary art in the public sphere relies inherently on the application of communication theory, viewing the creative output not merely as an aesthetic object but as a carefully constructed symbolic message within a systemic process. Throughout the first four weeks of the «Communication Theory: Bridging Academia and Practice» course, we explored several essential frameworks crucial for translating abstract concepts into concrete design strategies.
At its core, communication is defined as a relational process of creating and interpreting messages to elicit a response, always occurring within multiple contexts. For design practice, this immediately pushes us to adopt an interpretive perspective, focusing on understanding the deep meanings people apply to communication processes and their relationship to them. While objective theory seeks universal, generalized laws, design must embrace the unique context and subjective understanding inherent in the interpretive lens. We recognize that communication theory serves not only to describe and explain phenomena but also possesses a powerful transformative capacity to change values and reality.
The foundational principles of Rhetoric and Persuasion (Week 4) provide the practical blueprint for brand communication. Rhetoric is defined by Aristotle as the power of finding the available arguments suited to a given situation. To ensure our brand message is received and adopted by our target audiences (general and professional), we utilize the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). This model is critical for determining message structure, differentiating between the Central Route (high cognitive effort, facts, relevant information) and the Peripheral Route (mental shortcuts based on irrelevant cues like authority or liking). The professional audience presentation, for instance, must successfully activate the Central Route with strong arguments and complex information, while the general audience approach must leverage powerful Peripheral Cues.
Furthermore, understanding design as an act of persuasion requires implementing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). When designing for behavioral change — such as encouraging brand adoption — we must address not only positive attitudes but also the subjective norms (social pressure) and the perceived behavioral control (the audience’s belief in their ability to perform the action). This ensures that our design strategy leads beyond mere attitude change toward actionable behavior.
Perhaps the most influential lesson for our team in the context of design communication is the Narrative Paradigm. Walter Fisher posits that humans are fundamentally storytelling animals. Effective design, therefore, must function as a compelling narrative. For a brand story to be persuasive, it must exhibit narrative rationality, consisting of internal consistency (coherence) and congruence with the audience’s existing values and experiences (fidelity). A brand that tells a believable and morally resonant story will be more influential than one relying on dry facts alone.
The theories addressed in Weeks 2 and 3 — particularly Politeness Theory (managing face) and Functional Theory of Group Decision Making (ensuring rigorous problem analysis and goal setting) — were vital for structuring our internal group collaboration (a required element of the project) and for understanding the audience’s perception of «face» (desired public image) when interacting with the brand.
Ultimately, the confluence of Narrative Paradigm and Elaboration Likelihood Model most heavily influenced our team’s approach to brand communication in design. We realized that successful design demands a duality: a powerful, consistent, and emotionally resonant story (Narrative Paradigm) that is strategically packaged to engage both rational (Central Route) and heuristic (Peripheral Route) processing modes depending on the intended audience (ELM).
This approach transforms the brand from a passive identity into an active, persuasive communicator.
2.Brand presentation of greendrop milk for a general audience
Who are we?
Greendrop considers communication to be both emotional and rational. Greendrop is an organization exchanging messages of value based upon clearly substantiated evidence to support the quality of the product it promotes. The relationship between greendrop, nature, health, and trust can be represented as a common-sense product design through transparent information throughout the entire experience of dealing with greendrop.
brand logo with sign
Who is brand the for?
Greendrop is a community of people who care about how they consume, what they consume and why they consume it. Our brand communicates with families, consumers who care about health, sustainability, and trust as well as logical thinkers who want evidence of quality and have high expectations for facts, transparency, and proof.
portrait of audience
Brand message (main slogan)
Greendrop — Appealling to Both Your Heart and Mind
Greendrop’s value proposition, the Greendrop brand «speaks to your heart and to your mind», is the result of a conscious effort to create messages that make it easy for consumers to choose Greendrop based on emotional as well as rational factors.
We understand that the way consumers make decisions isn’t strictly by applying purely logical reasoning or just acting on emotion. That is why Greendrop has a dual strategy to combine the two — not just to tell a beautiful story or provide proven quality — but to use both together to provide a holistic approach to brand messaging.
glass packaging
Brand values
• Pure and natural — we respect the cycles of nature and to keep everything clean from beginning to end.
• Transparency — transparent and verifiable information about production and quality.
• Fitness and wellness — easy benefits for every day living.
• Trust — established with evidence, experience and predictability.
• Community — values, belonging and responsible choices.
• Emotional and Rational Blend — with a foundation in the rationality of storytelling.
3. Brand presentation tailored to a professional (design-focused) audience
Greendrop Milk: The Dual Power of Persuasion
Brand design, in our opinion, needs to consist of two components: an inspiring emotional narrative and factual based information. This combination provides greendrop the ability to go from being an inactive brand to an engaging brand that is able to communicate clearly.
Brand Platform and Positioning
Category — Dairy products (FMCG).
GreenDrop logotype
The greendrop logo emphasizes the brand’s main idea of two different ways to communicate. The logo has a simple, common shape of a «drop.» The «drop» has two characteristics: emotional and rational. The shape of the drop represents nature, life, growth, and care. Thus, it has an emotional quality to it that builds trust and connection. The logo also represents the logical aspects of greendrop’s philosophy, providing structure, reliability, and factual information through time-tested graphic design techniques and simple, bold typography.
With this combination of elements, greendrop’s visual identity becomes more than just a passive representation of the brand; it is an active vehicle for communication.
Brand Identity Colors
Brand Identity Colors
The use of a monochrome color scheme for the Greendrop brand identity is based on a strategic decision to communicate using only black and white, as opposed to using color to create a more visually appealing design. The use of this color palette will increase the clarity of the message, build trust, and highlight the core values of the Greendrop brand.
In the greendrop brand system, white is symbolic of purity, transparency, and the natural goodness of the milk product; in the context of milk, white represents what is contained in the bottle and provides a visual connection between the product and the packaging. Additionally, the association of white with honesty and the absence of hidden meanings supports an image of a simple, high-quality product, and therefore a perception of quality and openness.
Black, on the other hand, is used to create structure and meaning. It is used to create visual discipline, contrast, and focus; all of which improve legibility of the information and the hierarchy of elements. In terms of communication, black conveys confidence, rationality, and authority; thus, supporting the central route of persuasion based upon facts and logic.
Positioning Strategy
Greendrop approaches its positioning through the Sociocultural Tradition, which holds that communication is a «symbolic process through which we reproduce and create social order». This is reflected in their communications strategy and product development, which focus on establishing a cultural connection with the customer and demonstrating their connection to common societal practice. By working together to create meaning, both Greendrop and its customers establish a true connection.
eco cardboard box packaging
Brand Identity Concept
The greendrop visual identity is built on the principle of radical simplicity, where every graphic decision servesda communicative purpose. Minimalism within the identity functions as a visual manifestation of the brand’s openness toward its audience.
The absence of decorative excess and visual complexity signals transparency and honesty. By reducing the graphic language to essential elements, greendrop avoids distraction and allows the product and its message to speak directly. This simplicity reinforces trust, as the brand does not rely on visual persuasion through ornamentation, but instead communicates with clarity and restraint.
Minimalist design choices also reflect the brand’s ethical stance. Greendrop presents itself without exaggeration or embellishment, mirroring the product’s natural and uncompromised quality. In this way, the visual identity aligns with the brand’s broader communication strategy, where persuasion is achieved not through manipulation, but through openness, consistency, and meaningful content.
merch
Strategic Relationships
For effective long-term engagement the brand platform commits to building and maintaining effective relationships with key public campaigns focusing on mutual understanding and benefit.
The ideal approach is the «Two-Way Symmetrical Model» of Public Relations which prioritizes negotiation and conflict resolution leading to balanced effects where both the organization and the public change for the better.
The brand strives for «Communal Relationships» prioritizing the welfare of the public even without expecting immediate return, fostering trust and mutual commitment.
delivery truck
Verbal Strategy and Rhetoric
The verbal strategy dictates how greendrop crafts and delivers its persuasive messages ensuring the communication resonates with the target audience.
Persuasion Routes ELM
The strategy acknowledges that audience engagement occurs via two routes.
Central Route
For designers highly motivated and able to process detailed information greendrop provides strong elaborated arguments such as facts, figures and logic regarding quality and sustainability. This path requires cognitive effort and leads to strong long lasting attitude change.
Peripheral Route
Recognizing that attention is limited communication also utilizes emotional or non-issue-relevant cues such as authority liking or social proof to trigger attitude change when deep elaboration is not possible.
Narrative Approach
Since humans are fundamentally «storytelling animals», the brand narrative frames the product experience as an engaging story rather than merely a logical argument.
The story exhibits narrative coherence through internal consistency and reliable actions and narrative fidelity through congruence between the brand embedded values and the designer audience worldview. A solid story appealing to the logic of good reason is a powerful means of persuasion.
Digital Rhetoric
Given that design discourse heavily utilizes digital channels, the verbal strategy is integrated with digital rhetoric principles.
Messages maximize convergence through the use of multiple mediums and interactivity to increase persuasion.
The brand carefully selects the appropriate channel recognizing that the medium is the message and directly shapes meaning style and perspective.
digital resources
Sociocultural and Critical Layer
Sociocultural Context
Communication and social practices are intrinsically linked to context and culture. Greendrop messages reflect and contribute positively to shared meanings within the design community professional and ethical standards.
Critical Reflection
Adopting a Critical Tradition lens, the brand engages in discursive reflection, actively examining how its language and messages may perpetuate or challenge existing hierarchies or ideologies.
The brand avoids contributing to «one-dimensional thinking» by ensuring its messages do not oversimplify reality or serve only dominant interests.
If greendrop aims to function as a positive social force, it adheres to the Fully Functioning Society perspective advocating legitimacy and corporate social responsibility.
Communication fosters communities where the organization and the public are symbolically and instrumentally bound together by shared interests rather than corporations based on partisan exploitation.
4. Rationale behind the chosen strategy: connecting theoretical frameworks with practical decisions
Choice of approach
The fundamental goal of this project was to provide a detailed explanation on how communication theory served as the basis for creating the brand presentation. To achieve this, the project adopted a theoretical framework rooted in the concept of communication as the creation and interpretation of symbolic meaning. Given that design and branding inherently involve generating shared understanding and values, we chose an approach grounded in the interpretive perspective. This framework focuses on clarifying audience values and achieving community agreement, rather than seeking generalized, deterministic laws (as objective theory does). Interpretive theories prioritize the understanding of people and the deep meanings applied to communicative processes. This choice allowed the rationale to focus on the aesthetic appeal and internal logic essential to developing a coherent and impactful brand narrative.
From the definition of communication to the brand
The greendrop brand strategy utilized the core definition of communication as a relational process of creating interpretive messages that elicit a response. Fundamentally, communication is a systemic process of meaning creation through interaction and symbolic exchange. The brand itself is seen as a sender that must encode a message, which is then interpreted by the receiver. This requires careful development of symbols and signs (Semiotic tradition). Given that people process messages differently (decoding/encoding problem), the brand needed to utilize a persuasive approach focused on the purposeful exchange of ideas, keeping the context of communication constantly in mind.
ad city banner
Theory in the design process
Communication theory served as the lens and framework guiding every practical decision within the design process. Specific theoretical models were employed to connect the abstract concepts of the course to concrete branding choices:
Narrative Paradigm:
This theory was crucial, recognizing that people are essentially «storytelling animals» who comprehend life through narratives. A brand’s story, or «narration,» had to possess narrative coherence (internal consistency) and narrative fidelity (congruence with audience values) to be perceived as persuasive and truthful. This ensured the brand’s messaging resonated deeply with the audience’s worldview, acting as a strong means of persuasion.
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM):
To guarantee message reception across varied audience segments, the strategy prepared for both the central route (scrutiny of factual content by engaged consumers) and the peripheral route (mental shortcuts based on irrelevant cues). Design elements were strategically chosen to utilize «peripheral cues» — such as high visual appeal (liking) or aligning the brand with relatable aspirations (personal dream). This strategy aimed to modify audience attitudes effectively, knowing that peripheral cues result in a weak, but often instant, attitude change, while the central route yields a stronger, more lasting one.
Rhetorical Tradition:
The entire design process was viewed as an exercise in «rhetoric» — the art of crafting and delivering persuasive messages. This involved focusing on the three essential components of the persuasion process defined by Aristotle: «the speaker» (the brand), the speech (the messaging and visual identity), and the listener (the target audience).
By mapping the theoretical foundations (like the process of creating meaning and audience perception) to practical elements (like narrative structure and visual cues), the project ensured the brand was built on a systematic, intentional, and thoroughly reasoned foundation.
5. List of sourses
Course «Communication Theory: Bridging Academia and Practice»: lectures 1.1–4.5; module on critical theory, Marxism and the Frankfurt School (ideology, culture, culture industry, public sphere) [Electronic resource]. — Electronic text data. — 2025. Accessed 03.12.2025.
Dainton, M., Zelley, E. Applying Communication Theory for Professional Life / M. Dainton, E. Zelley. — Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2015. Accessed 03.12.2025.
Griffin, E. A First Look at Communication Theory / E. Griffin. — New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Accessed 03.12.2025.
Personal archive of Dolgov Grisha, Utegenov Isaac, Progatskaya Nastya
Pinterest [Electronic resource]. URL: https://ru.pinterest.com (accessed 03.12.2025).
Chat GPT generations [Electronic resource]. URL: https://chatgpt.com (accessed 03.12.2025)
