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Day 5: Creative Entrepreneurs Branding Project

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Rebrand a struggling creative business using the H&L Creative Entrepreneurs project; create a brand mood board in Canva; favorite Arts/AV careers in H&L
TEKS d(1)(C), d(7)(A)
Deliverable Brand mood board (Canva or paper) + brand pitch outline + finalized Xello resume
Materials Chromebooks, H&L Workbook (Ch 4, pp. 64-66 Creative Entrepreneurs), Canva accounts, Xello accounts, projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Name a brand whose logo you would recognize anywhere, even without the name on it. What makes the brand stick in your memory?

Take 4-5 student responses. Apple, Nike, McDonald's, Target, students name brands instantly. Bridge to today: branding is INVISIBLE work that designers do, and great designers can make a struggling business profitable just by changing how it looks and sounds.

Activity 1: H&L "Creative Entrepreneurs" Project (30 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 4, pp. 64-66, "Creative Entrepreneurs" (Career Lab)

Introduce the activity using the workbook framing: "Branding is how a company shows who they are through logos, colors, and messages to make people remember them. Rebranding is changing how people see your brand or business."

Each student picks ONE struggling business from the workbook (Ch 4, p. 65):

  • Fashion Design Business: Logo is a generic shirt on a hanger in blues. Slogan: "Inspired by style. Driven by passion." Audience confused, many think it's a fashion blog or retail store, not a design firm.
  • Event Videography Business: Logo is a gray "replay" button. Slogan: "Capture the Moment. Rewind the Magic." Clients aren't sure what services are offered. Branding feels muted and corporate.
  • Freelance Photography Business: Logo is half a camera with "Photography Studio" text. Slogans are too broad. The fact that the photographer travels to locations is missing from the brand.

Students read the "Brand Snapshot" for their chosen business in the workbook (Ch 4, p. 65) and identify what is broken.

Step 1: Look at Current Branding (3 min)

Students read the Brand Snapshot for their chosen business and underline the THREE biggest problems. (Examples: vague slogan, generic logo, audience confusion, missing key info.)

Step 2: Research and Plan (5 min)

Students search for 2-3 real examples of strong brands in their chosen industry. Look at how those businesses present themselves, colors, fonts, photo style, slogans. They write 3 things they could borrow.

Step 3: Create the Rebranding Vision. Mood Board (15 min)

Students open Canva (or use paper) and create a mood board for their rebrand. The workbook (Ch 4, p. 65) defines a mood board: "A variety of images and words to help bring your ideas to life."

The mood board must include (from the workbook):

  • A new business name
  • A new logo concept (sketch or symbol)
  • A color palette (3-5 colors)
  • A new slogan
  • 4-6 reference images that capture the visual style
  • The emotions the brand should make people feel (cozy, exciting, professional, fun, edgy, calm, etc.)

Step 4: Write a Brand Pitch (7 min)

Students draft a 5-7 sentence (NOT minute) pitch to a potential customer that explains:

  • What major changes were made
  • How the rebrand excites customers
  • One key message customers should take away

Students keep the pitch. They will reference this kind of work in Wk 4 (Sales / Presentations) when they pitch in front of the class.

Facilitation Tip

Project an example mood board on the board for 30 seconds before students start. Show them what "mood board" actually looks like. Most middle schoolers have never seen one. Once they see the format, they can build one quickly.

DOK 4: What is the difference between a logo CHANGE and a true REBRAND? Use specific examples from your chosen business to explain.

DELIVERABLE: Brand mood board (Canva or paper) + brand pitch outline (5-7 sentences).

Activity 2: Finalize Xello Resume + H&L Favorites (10 min)

Source: Xello Resume Builder + H&L Hat Finder (Ch 4, p. 64)

Direct students to open Xello and make ANY final changes to their resume based on the week's work. The resume is the official deliverable for d(7)(A) and should be in good shape by the end of today.

Then direct students to open H&L and complete two tasks:

  1. Favorite at least 2-3 Arts/AV careers using the Hat Finder (Graphic Designer, Animator, UX Designer, Video Editor, Photographer, Sound Engineer, Social Media Manager, Art Director).
  2. Update Building Blocks with any design experiences from this week, using Canva, designing a podcast outline, building a GDD, creating a mood board.

[H&L PLATFORM] Students use the Hat Finder in the H&L app and click the heart icon on Arts/AV Hats to favorite them. Favorites save to the Climber Profile and feed into the Career Plan.

Exit Ticket (5 min)

EXIT TICKET (Concept Map / Connection Diagram) · Printable PDF:

MY rebrand in ONE sentence: _____________

Connect this rebrand to THREE things:

1. The Arts/AV career that WOULD do this work professionally (Graphic Designer / Art Director / UX Designer / Social Media Manager / etc.)

My career: _____. Would I WANT this career? Circle: YES / NO / MAYBE. One sentence why:

2. The Digital Communications and Graphic Design pathway at Irving High / MacArthur / Nimitz (Adobe Certified Professional cert)

Does this pathway lead DIRECTLY to my career or is it a STEPPING STONE? Circle: DIRECT / STEPPING STONE. One sentence why:

3. ONE specific Building Block I added this week (Canva / mood boards / GDDs / podcast outlines / Xello resume)

My Building Block: _____. In one sentence, how will this BB show up on my resume AND in a real design job?

(d(1)(C), d(7)(A))

Differentiation

  • Support: Provide pre-made Canva mood board templates students can customize. Allow students to choose only ONE element to redesign (just the logo, OR just the slogan, OR just the colors) instead of a full rebrand.
  • Extension: Students complete a second mood board for a DIFFERENT business from the workbook list. They compare which industry was harder to rebrand and why.
  • ELL: Pre-teach: Brand = Marca, Logo = Logotipo, Slogan = Eslogan, Mood Board = Tablero de inspiración, Color Palette = Paleta de colores. The mood board is HIGHLY visual and accessible across language levels. Allow brand pitch to be written in Spanish or bilingual format.