Michel de Boer is the starter of his own independent design consultancy MdB Associates. Having rich experience in Branding, Corporate- and Graphic Design for more than 30 years, Michel de Boer worked for many clients around the world on projects that require international implementation in the commercial sector and the public sector. He has won many international awards. Amongst them two prestigious D&AD Golden Awards and six Silver Awards. These annual awards are highly respected, and regarded as a major event in the world of design and advertising. Recently he has being voted by D&AD as one of the ten most awarded designers ever. His portfolio includes prestigious projects such as for Apple, Allianz, AmorePacific, Buick, Danish Post, Nike, Shell, TNT, City of Hong Kong and the national government in the Netherlands and South Korea. He has taken part in many international design conferences and is frequently asked to take part as a jury member in international design competitions. Michel is a member of the professional organisations, Designers and Art Directors Association United Kingdom (D&AD) and Alliance Graphique International (AGI). In December 2012, Michel de Boer joined DeTao Masters Academy as a DeTao Master of Design.

Brand is not just a logo, it is also an intangible asset, and it takes abstract, unique and identifiable thinking concepts to demonstrate its uniqueness. How to build up loyalty toward the brand ASAP is the major challenge facing to designers of today. To tackle this problem the crucial part lies on whether designers can apply appropriate strategy and grasp the essence of the product. Prof. Boer quoted two words to introduce the theme: first, the stupid consumer only exists in the imagination of stupid producer; second, the exact meaning of the brand is the meaning you have believed. Then, he presented many successful trademark design cases include Denmark Post, and he also used the evolution of Nike trade mark as the case to elaborate specifically and transited to the main idea of this lecture “the value of design lies on how you design the value”. He recommended two selected books on design and value for the further reference of the students.