Branding: Influences of the hierarchy and architecture in the perception of consumers Lucas Jusé Garcia 1 , Julio MonteiroTeixeira 2 , Eugenio Andres Diaz Merino 1,2 , 1 Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) – Pós DESIGN - Programa de Pós- Graduação em Design e Expressão Gráfica, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Departamento de Expressão Gráfica, CCE, Bloco A, 1º Andar, Sala 108, Campus Universitário, Trindade, Florianópolis, SC, CEP 88040-900 – Brasil – lucasjose@gmail.com 2 Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) - – PPGEP - Programa de Pós- Graduação em Engenharia de Produção, Centro Tecnológico, Campus Universitário, Trindade, Florianópolis, SC, Caixa Postal 476, CEP 88040-900 – Brasil – juliomontex@gmail.com Abstract. In business, the extent and importance of the brand have been increasingly expanded, as it is considered a key element in the communication strategies, management and sale of products and services. The hierarchy of the brand portfolio of companies, also known as brand architecture, is a key means for this process. The idealized image of the company is not always in tune with the image formed in the mind of the consumer, so the evaluation of its image and positioning must be a frequent practice of the brand manager. The article aims to understand the branding in the aspects of hierarchy and brand architecture. This study can be characterized as theoretical, of systematic review, and aims to identify studies in the design and branding field, and also identify the need for future research. The procedures used were, in the first stage, literature review and in the second stage characterized by an external perception research through a questionnaire with consumers, conducted via the Internet. Statistical analysis was performed for data collected in order to obtain quantitative data, with central focus on the perception of consumer preference for certain products. The results demonstrate the perception of consumers on products in the same category according to models of different brand architecture. It is noticed that the brand architecture is part of branding, and contributes to the logic structuring of products and brands of an organization. Keywords: Branding, Brand architecture, Brand portfolio, Brand hierarchy, Design management 1 Introduction An inefficient branding can compromise the association of visual signature to other products of an organization. The brand plays a decisive role in the perception of the product, because consumers perceive the product molded by the brand [1]. By providing the planning and implementation of brand, branding helps to coordinate the