the

STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Strategic Designer Workshop

Brand Strategy Development

Dave Holston
The Strategic Designer
www.the-strategic-designer.com
[email protected]
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Strategic Designer STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

About me


• Director of Online Communication at Georgia Institute of Technology
• Director of Strategic Design Management at The University of Texas
• 25 years in marketing, public affairs, advertising & design
• Author of The Strategic Designer: Tools and techniques for managing
the design process
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Brand Strategy Development STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

What we’ll talk about

This workshop will provide tools for working through
strategic brand development questions with clients by
using collaborative activities to reach a meaningful brand
positioning.

• How to identify the real brand problem to be solved

• How to get the organization to clearly express their goals
• How to focus on audiences to gather brand insights
• How to develop creative and meaningful brand directions
• How to evaluate brand success
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Brand Strategy Development STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

What we’ll do


Congratulations!
You own a wiffle ball company.

Each table will work together to

develop a brand strategy
• Conduct business analysis
• Conduct audience analysis
• Develop a positioning
• Develop creative messaging and
identity
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Brand Strategy Development STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Why do we brand?


• Provides a competitive advantage
• Provides a stable asset
• Provides an economic value
• Sets expectations
• Creates the experience
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Branding is a process STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Branding is a process STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Strategic Brand Development Questions

Understanding the Understanding the Competitive Creative Implementation Brand evaluation

business audience positioning development • How do we live the • How do we
• What is our core • What do our • What is our unique • What is our brand brand? measure internal
purpose? audiences value? name? • How do we launch alignment?
• What is our vision? experience? • Where can we add • What is our brand the brand? • How do we
• How do our value? tagline? measure audience
• What is our
mission? audiences • What is our brand • What is our visual awareness?
behave? promise? style? • How do we
• What are our
goals? • What should our measure business
logo represent? performance?
• What is happening
in our
environment?
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Why should designers care about strategy? STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

“Make it look
pretty”
Client
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Why should designers care about strategy? STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

“design skills and business skills are converging…

It's time to embrace a new value proposition based on creating – indeed,
often co-creating -- new products and services with customers that fill their
needs, make them happy, and make companies and shareholders rich.“
Martin goes on to say that the design skills of “understanding, empathy,
problem solving” are what business need today.”


Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto
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Why should designers care about strategy? STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Client
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The brand is the experience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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The brand is the experience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Sensation transference
• Christian Brothers and E&J brandy
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The brand is the experience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Sensation transference
• Christian Brothers and E&J brandy
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The brand is the experience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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The brand is the experience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

These aren’t the droids

you’re looking for…

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Strategy and brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Why do you
hate your logo?

It’s not
“swooshy”
Client enough

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Strategy and brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

What is
Strategy?
Client
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Strategy and brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Competitive brand strategies

Cost Focus Differentiation

• Achieve a sustainable • Focus on a small • Provide a unique

cost advantage over target audience or audience value
competitors though provide a limited through performance,
market share or product line quality, life style or
prestige
access to raw
materials

• EX: Walmart • EX: Anthropologie

• EX: Harley Davidson
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Strategy and brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Five competitive forces framework

Bargaining
Threat of New
Power of
Entrants
Customers
Client

Bargaining
Threat of
Power of
Substitutes
Suppliers Competitive
Rivalry
within the
Industry
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Strategy and brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Strategy development framework

Competitive Audience analysis

analysis • Segments
• Identity • Motivations
• Performance • Behaviors
• SWOT • Needs
• Client
Culture

Environment Business analysis

• Political • Identity
• Environment • Performance
• Social • SWOT
• Technological • Culture

Strategy
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Strategy and brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Strategic brand development framework

Audience analysis
• Segments
• Motivations
• Behaviors
Competitive analysis • Needs Business analysis
• Identity • Identity
• Performance Client • Performance
• SWOT • SWOT
• Culture • Culture

Environment Creative development

• Political • Positioning
• Environment Strategic • Messaging
• Social Positioning • Naming
• Technological • Taglines
• Visual design
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Branding creates alignment STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Branding is alignment STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

The most efficient way

to achieve alignment
is through
a collaborative process
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Branding is collaborative STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Drawing game

• Choose a partner

• Work silently

• Take turns drawing parts of a face,

one feature at a time

• When you hesitate, stop drawing

• Now write the first letter of this

characters name

• Keep going till someone hesitates

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Branding is collaborative STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Collaboration is key

• Brands are now co-creators with their audiences

• Cuts down on the disconnect between the
organization and the people they serve
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Branding is collaborative STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Brand with your ears

– Listening creates trust
– Listening and questioning are our most valuable tools
– Questioning gets you to real motivations
Client
– Understanding motivations can help you influence behaviors
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Branding is collaborative STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

On a side note:

HOWARD
ROARK
MUST
DIE
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Branding is collaborative STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

“People support what they

help create”
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Branding is a process STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

“Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the
process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process
drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we
want to be there.” - Bruce Mau
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Branding is a process STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Strategic Brand Development Process

Understanding Understanding Competitive Creative Brand

the business the audience positioning development evaluation
• Mission & • Segments • Cost • Verbal identity • Internal
Vision • Attitudes • Focus • Visual Identity alignment
• Goals • Beliefs • Differentiation • Audience
• Environment • Values awareness
• Behaviors • Business
performance
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Strategic brand development STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Agenda
• Each table will be a fictitious wiffle ball manufacturing company
– Assign a scribeClient
– Assign a spokesperson

• We will go through each step of the brand process to create

brand for your company
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Strategic brand development STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

The Competition:
Amalgamated
Wiffle Ball Corp.
• The leader in wiffle ballClient
and wiffle ball
related products
• Founded by David J. Mullany in
Shelton Conn.
• Started in 1954
• Got a contract with Woolworths in 1956
• Latest innovation -1972 introduced the
plastic bat
• Motto: We strive to make the consumer
happy and give them a solid product.
 the
Branding is a process STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Strategic Brand Development Process

Understanding Understanding Competitive Creative Brand

the business the audience positioning development evaluation
• Mission & • Segments • Cost • Verbal identity • Internal
Vision • Attitudes • Focus • Visual Identity alignment
• Goals • Beliefs • Differentiation • Audience
• Environment • Values awareness
• Behaviors • Business
performance
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Understanding the business STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understanding the business: Define the problem STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understanding the business: Define the problem STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Problem definition tools

Drill Down Technique Ishikawa Diagrams

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Understanding the business: Define the problem STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

PROBLEM DEFINITION EXERCISE:

Draw the problem

The Problem: Amalgamated Wiffle Ball

dominates the market and your company
has no name recognition with buyers
either in-store or online.

How would you solve this problem?

Step 1: Create a list of five items that
contribute to the problem.
Step 2: Draw a picture of how to solve
the problem. Consider the who, what,
where, when, why and how of the
problem.
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Understanding the business: Purpose, vision & mission STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understanding the business: Purpose, vision & mission STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Vision
Core Ideology
BHAG
Core values
Core Purpose Vivid
Description

Mission
What do we do?
Who do we support?
How do we do it?
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Understanding the business: Purpose, vision & mission STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understanding the business: Purpose, vision & mission STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

CORE PURPOSE EXERCISE:

The Random Serial Killer Test

If someone were to buy the company at a generous price,

guarantee that the employees would maintain their salaries
albeit in a different industry, and that the buying company would
destroy the firm and eliminate all its offerings, causing the company
to no longer exist, would you accept the offer?

Why, or why not?

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Understanding the business: Purpose, vision & mission STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understanding the business: Purpose, vision & mission STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

VISION EXERCISE:
Drawing the future state

• COVER – Time Magazine cover featuring the organization

• HEADLINE – News headline about the organization
• SIDEBAR – Interesting facts about the organization
• QUOTES – What people are saying about the organization
• IMAGES – Images that depict the future state

• Write a one-sentence vision statement.

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Understanding the business: Purpose, vision & mission STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

MISSION EXERCISE:
Mission MadLibs
Organization X serves (constituent groups)
by (definition of the business).
Organization X is different from (competitor)
because of (point of differentiation).

Or

(Constituent group) need (insight/why).

(organization x) provides (differentiated solution)
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Understanding the business: Goals STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understanding the business: Goals STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Brand goal framework

Objectives Goals KPI Target

• Why does the • What strategies • What metrics will • What numerical
brand exist? will we use to help us values will we use
accomplish our understand how to measure brand
brand objectives? we are doing? success?
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Understanding the business: Goals STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understanding the business: Goals STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Goal description Feasibility Importance

1. Increase brand awareness
GOAL FOCUS EXERCISE 2. Grow customer base
3. Increase repeat customers 3 4

What’s important and achievable 4. Reduce costs

5. Maintain pricing
6. Create online store front
7. Create a customer loyalty program

This exercise answers the question 8. Host a series of events

Total 24 24

“Given our resources, what should

we do? 5

4
Step 1: Brainstorm and list top eight goals

Feasibility
Step 2: Rank for importance and feasibility 3 3 3. Increase repeat
customers

Step 3: Chart points on the grid 2

0 1 2 3 4 5
Importance
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Understanding the business: Goals STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

GOAL FOCUS EXERCISE

What’s important and achievable
Step 1: Brainstorm and rank goals

Goal description Feasibility Importance

1. Increase brand awareness
2. Grow customer base
3. Increase repeat customers 3 4
4. Reduce costs
5. Maintain pricing
6. Create online store front
7. Create a customer loyalty program
8. Host a series of events
Total 24 24
 Goal description Feasibility Importance
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Understanding the business: Goals 1. Increase brand awareness STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
2. Grow customer base
3. Increase repeat customers 3 4
4. Reduce costs
5. Maintain pricing
GOAL FOCUS EXERCISE 6. Create online store front
7. Create a customer loyalty program
What’s important and achievable
8. Host a series of events
Total 24 24
Step 2: Chart the goals

5
Goal description Feasibility Importance
1. Increase brand awareness
2. Grow customer base
3. Increase repeat customers 3 4 4
4. Reduce costs
5. Maintain pricing Feasibility
3 3. Increase repeat
6. Create online store front 3 customers
7. Create a customer loyalty program
8. Host a series of events
Total 24 24
2

5
1

0 1 2 3 4 5
Feasibility

3 3. Increase repeat
3 customers
Importance

2
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Understanding the business: Internal analysis STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understanding the business: Internal analysis STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Internal forces

SWOT EXERCISE
Internal and external analysis
Strengths (tend to be internal)
• What do we do better than our peers? Strengths
Weaknesses

• What are we known for?
• What resources do we have?

Weaknesses (tend to be internal)

• What problems does the university face?
• What don’t we do well?
• What holds us back from being where we want to be?
Opportunities
Threats

Opportunities (tend to be external)
• What trends can we take advantage of?
• What actions can we take that will produce a competitive
advantage?

Threats (tend to be external)

• What unfavorable trends are occurring? External forces

• What’s happening in the state that could have a negative impact
on the university?
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Understand the audience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

PEST EXERCISE
Environmental analysis

PEST Analysis is a useful tool for understanding the ‘big picture’ of the
environment in which you are operating, and for thinking about the
opportunities and threats that lie within it. By understanding your environment,
you can take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats. PEST
analysis consists of four questions.

• POLITICAL: What political considerations do we need to be aware of?

• ENVIRONMENT: What is happening in the environment/industry?
• SOCIAL: What social trends and consumer values do we need to consider?
• TECHNICAL: What technological tools can we take advantage of?
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Understand the audience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understand the audience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Focus groups

• Moderator
• Scripted series of questions
• Getting to why, gaining insight
• Neutral locations
• 1 - 2 hours long
• 3 rounds of test will get you best results
• Good for brainstorming with audiences or to develop a deeper
understanding of their motivations
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Understand the audience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Dyads and Triads

• Dyads – Two friends interviewed as a pair

– Used for exploring issues that might be hard to articulate
– Good for getting “honest” responses
– Friends keep each other in check, making them less likely to lie

• Triads – Three people who are either similar to one another, or different in a
specific way
– The same: The conversation can be generative like a focus group
– Different (but in the same arena, like donors who contribute at different
levels): Their responses can be seen as comparative
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Understand the audience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Ethnography

• Looks at audiences in the

context of their lives
• Produces detailed in depth
observations in natural
environments
• Observing people in their day
to day activities
• Allows designer to better
understand audiences
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Who is the audience?

Demographics Myers-Briggs Keirsey-Bates Hippocrates

• Age • Extroverts/ • Artisans • Sanguine
• Gender Introverts • Guardians • Choleric
• Location • Sensors/Feelers • Idealists • Melancholic
• Status • Judgers/ • Rationalists • Phlegmatic
Perceivers
• Thinkers/Feelers
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Building a persuasion architecture

• What personality type are they?

Meticulous, humanist, spontaneous, competitive
• What are their behaviors?
• How do they like to be communicated with?
• What are the points of resolution - What info do they need to
move forward?
• Conversion beacons - The first place the prospect takes action
• Baseline metrics - How do we measure success?
 the
Understand the audience: Brand pyramid STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Building a brand experience pyramid
Answer the following questions
• Presence - How will the audience find out about us?
• Relevance – What is the cost/value to the audience?
• Performance – What unique value do we provide our audiences?
• Advantage – What emotional needs do we provide?
• Bonding – What does the product say about the audience?
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Empathy Maps

Empathy maps act as a simple

personas that help get the team
thinking about the audience

• What do you feel?

• What do you hear?
• What do you say?
• What do you see?

Image from Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur

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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Persona Framework

Spontaneous Competitive
Quick
Quick/ Quick/

emotional logical

Humanist Methodical

Deliberate/ Deliberate/
emotional logical


Deliberate

Emotional Logical
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Competitive Persona
Attitude Business like

Use of time Disciplines and fast paced

Requirements Your qualifications

Weaknesses Documented evidence/results

How to present What you can do for them

Problem solving Support their ideas and conclusions

Facilitate decisions Provide option

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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Spontaneous Persona
Attitude Personal and activity oriented

Use of time Undisciplined and fast paced

Requirements Evidence you’re trustworthy and friendly

Weaknesses Personal attention and interest

How to present Why you are the best solution

Problem solving Support their feelings, interests and

excitement
Facilitate decisions Provide guarantees and opinions, not
options
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Humanist Persona
Attitude Personal and relationship oriented

Use of time Undisciplined and slow paced

Requirements Who are you, what you think and who

you know
Weaknesses Give recognition and approval

How to present Who have provided solutions to

Problem solving Support their ideas, intuitions, your

relationship
Facilitate decisions Offer testimony and incentives
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Methodical Persona
Attitude Business and detail oriented

Use of time Disciplined and slow paced

Requirements Evidence of your experience and

knowledge
Weaknesses Documented evidence and preparation

How to present How you can provide a solution

Problem solving Support their principles and rational

approach
Facilitate decisions Provide evidence and service
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Building a persuasion architecture
• Photo: What do they look like
• Name: What do we call them?
• Personality type: Which of the four personality types are they?
• Description: What is the problem they are trying to solve?
• Personality profile:
– Attitude: Are they emotional or logical
– Use of time: Are they quick, or deliberate?
– Requirements: What do they need from the brand?
– Weaknesses
– How to present: How do they want the brand information presented?
– Problem solving: How can the brand support their decision making?
– Decision making
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Understand the audience: Personas STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Brand Positioning STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Brand Positioning STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Three elements of brand experience

People
• Employees need to
embody the brand in
values and behavior

Offerings Processes
• Need to meet • The organization
the emotional must always be
and functional looking for new
needs of the ways to provide
audience audience value
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Brand Positioning STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Competitive analysis
10
Differentiation is
about expressing a 9

unique value that is 8

meaningful to the

Level of performance
7
target audience
6
Step 1: Make a list of 5
eight things that are
4
important to the
audience in this category 3

Step 2: Rank yourself 2

and your competitors 1

Step 3: Chart on a graph 0

Areas of customer
Cost Availability Durability Variety Fun Usability Safety _________
Step 4: Identify points of expectation
differentiation
Amalgamated Wiffle Ball
 the
Brand Positioning STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Competitive analysis
10
Differentiation is
9
about expressing a
unique value that is 8

Level of performance
meaningful to the 7
target audience
6

Step 1: Make a list of 5

eight things that are
4
important to the
audience in this category 3

2
Step 2: Rank yourself
and your competitors 1

Step 3: Chart on a graph 0

Areas of customer
Cost Availability Durability Variety Fun Usability Safety _________
Step 4: Identify points of expectation
differentiation
Amalgamated Wiffle Ball

Your Wiffle Ball Company

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Brand Positioning STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Competitive differentiation
Where to focus the organization and the brand

Eliminate Raise
What factors that the industry Which factors should be raised
takes for granted can be well above the industry’s
eliminated? standard?

Reduce Create
Which factors should be reduced Which factors should be created
well below the industry’s standard? that the industry has never
offered?
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Brand messaging framework

Brand proof
Brand promise Brand name Brand tagline
points
• Organizations name • Character • Short and punchy • Examples of how you
live the brand
• Unique audience • Value • Memorable
value
• Offering • Describe the unique
• Category audience value
• Unique
• Audience profile

• Audience point of
satisfaction
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Brand Promise
The brand promise is not a tagline. It is a permanent statement about the core value
that the organization provides. It is timeless. Taglines on the other hand change
depending on trends and the changing audience needs.

• The brand promise can contain some of the following elements:

– The organizations name
– Unique value audience value
– Category
– Audience profile
– A value that can be consistently achieved
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Brand Name
The name of the organization conveys ideas about personality, values and position
in the marketplace. Strong brand names express both the character and the offering
of the organization, are unique and should reinforce the brand image and brand
promise.

The brand name contains the following elements:

• Reflects the brands persona
• Describes the offering
• Creates an association to the meaning of the brand
• Is unique and memorable
• Short enough to fit on materials
• Available for trademark
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Brand Tagline
A strong tagline implies the point of differentiation by describing the unique value the
organization provides its audience. The tagline should be directed at audiences and
not internally to the organization.

The brand tagline contains the following elements:

• Memorable
• Short and quick to recite
• Expresses the brands points of differentiation
• Reflects the brands personality
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Creating visual brand alignment

Drawing, keywords, mind maps, word associations
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Conceptual drawing

• Drawing the experience

• Conceptual
• Fun
• Creates buy-in
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Understanding the audience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Projective
techniques
– Drawing the
experience
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Understanding the audience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Projective
techniques
– Drawing the
experience
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Understanding the audience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Projective
techniques
– Drawing the
experience
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Understanding the audience STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Projective
techniques
– Drawing the
experience
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Visual development

Totemics
• Developed by Angela Dumas
• How to build a totem
– Define context
– Build vocabulary
– Refine perceptions
– Distill the totem
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Step one
• Build a context. Customers are asked to present ideas or
examples of what they like and don’t like.
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Step two: Define the context

• Team members narrow down a customer’s selections and list
ten descriptive valued word from the personas to describe the
piece. Next, they draw a depiction of the piece and write words
below it to describe it.

Valued Words
Quick, new, fun, spontaneous, reliable, clean, accommodating,
flexible, open and friendly
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Step three: Build a vocabulary

• Collect images showing furniture, interiors, textiles, consumer
products and industrial products (Each category shows a range
of styles and approaches.)

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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Step four: Select images

• The team selects one image from each category to match the
ten descriptors from step one.
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Visually articulating the concept

– Heinrich Wolfflin - Psychology and

comparison (linear-painterly, plane-
recession, closed-open, multiplicity-
clearness)

– Rudolph Arnheim - The art of

perception (balance, shape, form,
growth, light, space, color,
movement and dynamics)

– Dr. Bernd Schmitt - Defining the

parameters of style
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

A tool for aligning collaborators

• Defining the parameters of style
– Complexity: minimal <> complex
– Representation: realist <> abstract
– Movement: dynamic <> static
– Voice: loud <> understated
– Time: contemporary <> traditional
– Location: city/country/state/nation/international
– Authenticity: authentic <> derivative
– Technology: Hi tech <> handmade
– Sophistication: casual <> sophisticated
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Complexity: minimal <> complex

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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Representation: realist <> abstract

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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Movement: dynamic <> solid

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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Voice: loud <> understated

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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Time: contemporary <> traditional

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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Location: city/country/state/nation/international
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Authenticity: authentic <> derivative

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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

• Technology: Hi tech <> handmade

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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE
Parameters of style

Defining the parameters of style for your wiffle ball company

– Complexity: minimal <> complex

– Representation: realist <> abstract
– Movement: dynamic <> static
– Voice: loud <> understated
– Time: contemporary <> traditional
– Location: city/country/state/nation/international
– Authenticity: authentic <> derivative
– Technology: Hi tech <> handmade
– Sophistication: casual <> sophisticated
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Creating the verbal and visual brand STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE
Logo development with
Brain sketching
Step 1: Brainstorm. Use a standard
brainstorming technique to begin the session,
then switch to pictures when ideas begin to
dwindle

Step 2: Sketching. Participants will have two

minutes to draw their solution to the problem.
Once the time limit is up, participants then slide
their papers to the person on the right.

Step 3: Collection and reflection: Once all the

images have gone around the table, they are
collected and discussed. These images are
then used as jumping-off points for new ideas.

.
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Evaluating brand success STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Evaluating brand success STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Calculating Brand Value

Employees: How well do they reflect the brand in their behavior?

• Do they personify the brand?
• Do they evangelize the brand?
• Are they committed to audience satisfaction?

Audience: Perceptions and promotion

• Audience perception vs. brand perception
• Does the audience promote the brand to family and friends?
• How loyal are they to the brand?

Financial: Future profits, brand name equity

• Revenue and profit growth
• Process improvement
• Brand valuation
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Evaluating brand success STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Not picking winners

• The best looking designs
are not always the most
effective
• Design must be looked at
“in context”
• How does the proposed
design work against the
competition?
• Allows designers to focus
on real design issues, not
perceived issues
• Design must ultimately
achieve a goal. Looks are
secondary.
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Evaluating brand success STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Review in context
• Don’t vote
• it’s not about
comparing options,
it’s about simulating
the introduction of
new systems
• Use a monadic
approach
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Evaluating brand success STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Monadic Approach
A means for testing multiple design options
• Two groups of people
• Each group reviews one of the design options
• Compare the responses
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Evaluating brand success STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Visual Equities

Draw the logos created

by the other tables from
memory.
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Evaluating brand success STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

EXERCISE:
Net Promoter Score

How likely is it that you would recommend this organization to a

friend or colleague?

• Promoters (score 9-10)

• Passives (score 7-8)
• Detractors (score 0-6)
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Alignment STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business
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Shameless promotion STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Published by

Available through the HOW

bookstore at:

MyDesignShop.com

Dave Holston
The Strategic Designer
www.the-strategic-designer.com
[email protected]
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STRATEGIC DESIGNER
Design for business

Strategic Designer Workshop

Brand Strategy Development

Dave Holston
The Strategic Designer
www.the-strategic-designer.com
[email protected]