PROBLEM: How can Knauf Insulation's YouTube channel be redesigned to create a cohesive style, whilst also implementing new branding?

Video

Context

The project was brought to life as part of the implementation of Knauf's rebrand, brought in by Knauf Central team. As part of an ongoing effort to apply the rebrand to Knauf Insulation UK's assets.

A brief was delivered from the marketing team to rebrand
all the videos on their YouTube channel. I was tasked
with reviewing the channels assets and implementing the
new identity.

This project gave me the opportunity to develop my current video skills, working with various stakeholders and overall create a new design identity for the videos, to maintain
brand consistency.

I was able to use this as a chance to reinforce the identity of the channel, that would align with the businesses mission, values and connect with customers.

Process

To kick off the project all assets were reviewed
on YouTube. This included:

Identifying all outdated videos.
Assets that currently don't meet branding including, fonts, logos, colour, layout, graphics and images.
Pinpointing where external agency support is needed and costs alongside this.

I mapped out this in a detailed spreadsheet,
which helped the marketing team to understand
the scope of the project and make informed
decisions on priorities and external support.

As part of this process
I also conducted a brand audit, marking out timestamps where each video, currently does,
or does not meet the new guidelines and vision of the rebrand.

From doing this it
became apparent to me there was a gap in the current structure, of the video creation process,
showing inconsistency
in the overall visual identity, which gave me the opportunity to develop a consistent design system for all video production in the future.

I presented the findings of the research back to the marketing team, including research on the channels views and current performance, showing the need for a new design identity to be implemented, to help attract new customers and retain existing customers. This was approved by the team and work commenced.

To create the new visual identity, I designed a set of branded templates, which gave a uniformed look for customers viewing videos, which is recognisable that this is a video from Knauf Insulation. Alongside, creating thumbnails
for each, so the channel as a whole has a visually
coherent style.

Challenges

The biggest challenge to this project was the restricted layout of YouTube and variation in assets within the videos already. Many videos contained elements which
could not be updated without significant input from an external agency, with re-filming or re-editing, which exceeded the budget.

This meant a lot of the templates, which had been adapted to various topics relating to each of the videos, did not fit the content and therefore could not be used. I then adapted the scope to create a more flexible visual design system that would still meet brand guidelines, use the existing content, whilst also creating consistency across the channel, without the need for additional budget.

Solution

Through working with Knauf Insulation's design team for support on adapting templates to the new scope, a set of templates were created for the intro, outro and thumbnail in new branding.

I then briefed the third-party agency in the use of new branding and templated designs, which gave structure to
their video editing process. I also implemented this
process internally, to our design team for the videos
being edited in house.

As my skill level in video editing was limited, I took advantage of the design teams skill level and had training with them on Premiere Pro, learning the basics of the software, editing audio, video and adding graphic elements, so that I could contribute to rebranding the existing videos.

Outcome

Therefore, the templates for the intro, outro and thumbnails were implemented successfully, meeting the marketing team's needs, creating rebranded video content and a new visual identity across the channel, and thus adding consistency. It also gave the marketing team templates that could be used and adapted to any future video production.

Reflection

The project expanded my video editing skills, being able to contribute towards the rebranding process.
I now understand the complexity of a rebrand project and the constraints due to varying content and YouTube's restrictions in meeting the new visual identity. However, due to these constraints, this
would be something I would like to explore further
in the future to create more cohesion.

This project has also motivated me to continue
my development in video design as I explore
motion further, using other software, such as
Adobe After Effects, to create more advanced
visual effects and graphics.

Overall, the project helped to push me in looking beyond the final output and helping to adapt
processes to support future video production.