Strategy Before Design
Being the excitable, gratification-seeking creatures we are, the first thing a lot of people tend to do when starting a new venture is think about logos, websites and all the shiny, fun stuff.
If this sounds like you, crack a frosty Sunnyboy and just chill for a minute would ya?
Before putting pen to paper or stylus to touchscreen, a strategy should be put in place to ensure that a) the business is actually viable and b) that the branding has substance. By working with clients early in strategy development, we simultaneously create a blueprint to guide design. This blueprint helps us avoid trend-based design, corny market cliches and most importantly, delivers a relevant brand for the business.
How we create a brand blueprint (feat. Steph Curry)
1. We Look for Prevalent Themes
The most compelling brand identities often come from simple solutions. By taking note of language and conversation (both written and verbal), questionnaires and workshops, it’s possible to identify relevant themes, ideas and language. Whilst buzzwords and phrases that are common to other brands will often appear, an ownable personality can be realised when layered with the tone of voice and character identified through the earlier research.
2. Values are Arranged in Hierarchical Order
Organising the values of a business into a hierarchy of importance helps us communicate the most important values most effectively. This part of the process is about experimenting with the prominence each value has when applied to brand touch points.
3. Characteristics are Assigned to Values
Assigning values with visual cues provides us with a diverse, defined set of elements with which to work. For example, security is commonly communicated through a shield metaphor which could be executed through photography, iconography, animation, video and so on. The role of strategy here is to identify how we can communicate traditional ideas in a way that grabs attention and is understood by the market.
4. Designing in a Holistic Fashion
Incremental design – logo, then stationary, then website – reduces the opportunity for us to go creative Hulk. The blueprint should provide us with perspective to take a non-linear approach to design that is lead by themes and values rather than touch points and trends.
This blueprint process should be considered for all businesses, great and small. The goal is to help people understand their business values while giving us as designers the tools to communicate them in an effective way.
If you’re starting a new business or looking to rebrand and would like to create a considered brand strategy, you know where to find us. Either that, or you could get your cousins mate who has a hacked version of Photoshop CS4 (and is a DJ on weekends) to give it a go for $50 and a slab of Smirnoff Ice.