Dr Jamie Marsden
- Position: Associate Professor of Brand Communications
- Areas of expertise: Corporate Branding; Brand Identity; Brand Communications; Brand Experience; Packaging Design; Place Branding
- Email: J.L.Marsden@leeds.ac.uk
- Phone: +44(0)113 343 3759
- Location: Clothworkers South
- Website: ORCID
Profile
I’m an Associate Professor of Brand Communications, specialising in the connections between design expression, brand strategy and corporate communications. I joined the University of Leeds in 2004 as a part-time Teaching Fellow in the School of Design. In 2013, after completing my PhD at the University of Leeds Business School, I was appointed as a Lecturer in Brand Communications. Since then, I have taught across the schools of Design and Business, developing and leading modules around the subjects of branding, communications and design. I regularly publish and participate in the leading international journals and conferences connected to the area of branding and design. I’m frequently invited to review for leading journals and publishers, including Routledge, Sage, Bloomsbury and Edward Elgar. I’ve also held several leadership roles in the School of Design, most recently as the School’s Director of Postgraduate Research, and earlier as the Academic Lead for Examinations and Assessment.
Prior to academia I gained extensive experience in the fields of brand identity, signage design and design management. Throughout this time, I consulted for a mix of corporate and SME organisations, some of whom were: Cadbury Schweppes, Department for Education, General Electric, Inland Revenue, Lockheed Martin, NHS, Nike, Northern Foods, and Royal Mail.
Responsibilities
- Director of Postgraduate Research Studies (2019 – 2022)
- Academic Lead for Examinations and Assessment (2010 – 2013)
Research interests
My research explores the interdisciplinary field of brand communications, an area concerned with the strategic framing of expressions and interactions between a brand and its audiences across different channels. My interest in this area draws heavily from my background in environmental graphic design and branding, alongside my knowledge of corporate communications. One particular interest of mine is how organisations attempt to define and articulate their identity through visual and verbal devices. Much of my work is concerned with the use of design as a mechanism for expression, which can be seen in my ongoing projects that explore the following themes: strategies of copycat packaging, the aesthetics of luxury brand packaging, the articulation and expression of corporate brand identity, examining stakeholder involvement in place branding cases, understanding the role of brand avatars in online platforms, the evolution of retail brand experience, and the use of language in leadership branding.
Given the nature of these topics, I typically involve external industry partners, which ensures that my research is firmly rooted in current practice. I particularly enjoy working with leading brand agencies to explore research themes that help to address the most pressing social and commercial issues. Recently my research has involved the input of experts from the following consultancies: Bloom, Brand Union, Design Bridge, Elmwood, FutureBrand, IDEO, Jones Knowles Ritchie, Landor Associates, Landor & Fitch, Lippincott, Pearlfisher, Pentagram, and Wolf Olins. I’m especially keen to collaborate with industry colleagues on research ideas, so if any of the above topics are of interest to you and your organisation, please get in touch.
I have been supervising PhD students since 2012. I’ve supervised six PhD students to completion and have been involved in 11 final PhD vivas, four times as an examiner and seven times as the examination chair. I’m currently supervising nine PhD students in subjects ranging from luxury brand packaging, place branding, brand avatars, virtual influencers, and the evolution of cultural heritage.
If you are considering a PhD in a brand-related topic and have a research interest in any of the above areas, send me an email. In addition to the aforementioned topics, I am keen to supervise projects that seek to explore (1) the role of copywriting in brand expression, (2) tactics of leadership branding, (3) misleading visual brand identities, and (4) the typography of brand logos.
Qualifications
- PhD Corporate Communications
- MA Graphic Design
- PGCLTHE Learning and Teaching in Higher Education
- HND Design Communications
- FHEA Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Professional memberships
- Academy of Marketing
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Student education
I am passionate about providing high quality education that is based on the latest research and industry experience. This integration of theory and practice equips students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in design, marketing, and brand consultancy. Since 2009, my research has formed the basis of my teaching materials, which I’ve delivered extensively across the School of Design and the Business School. My teaching primarily focuses on the specialisms connected to brand strategy, brand design and brand management.