Branding isn't easy!
— Branding isn’t easy. But our process is. —
We live and breathe for process. We love capturing, discussing, and dissecting our process, consistently polishing with the goal of improving quality and efficiency. In lieu of looking at what's on trend, when working to develop visual identity, we focus on creating effective and intentional solutions rooted in concept, that will stand the test of time. A cool-looking logo carries no story on its own. We want to inspire our partners to share the story behind their brand. We wanted to share some insight on the strategy and process behind how we work so we dove a bit deeper.
Studio Dzo: What does it mean to create an impactful brand identity for a partner, and how does our process meet that goal?
Russell: “The first thing we focus on is concept. We ask the partner for the story behind the name or brand they already have, sometimes it takes asking some deeper questions to get to the core, which is what we call “pulling taffy”. There’s a story in everything you just have to keep pulling at it. We must make these connections concise, that’s how we create a story to help develop a concept. The second part of the process is discovery. We pull inspiration from numerous conventional and unconventional sources, and during this stage, nothing is off limits. From books, pop culture, movies, fashion, music, and even nature, we look at everything as a source of stimulus and inspiration. This is why I say travel is the best way of becoming a stronger designer. The more design you are able to absorb the quicker you can whip ideas out. Discovery is where all of our ideas come from, without this critical part of the process we’re just spinning our wheels in the dark.”
Good or bad, rough sketches get ideas out quickly.
“Sketching isn’t personally my best skill (Paul’s are much prettier), but as creatives, we need to explore and share ideas quickly and sketching is the best tool. You can generate more ideas with a scrap of paper and a pencil than you can with any computer. Some of the most important things to keep in mind is that a mark should be simple yet memorable, recognizable, and scalable across a multitude of applications. Note, not every idea is gold. We learn more from exploring than sifting through the bad ideas. If you know what's not working, then you can focus on the good stuff.”
Studio Dzo: When you get feedback from a partner that they don’t like the design direction, how do you shift without starting from scratch?
Tighter sketches make the concept clear.
Paul: “When it comes to feedback, we prefer the kind that addresses the objective and helps determine what is and isn’t working. These honest and transparent conversations with the partner are necessary. In order for us to develop something that the partner can confidently share with the world and take pride and ownership in their needs to be something they truly believe and connect with.”
Studio Dzo: What steps do you take when an Art Director, Creative Director, or partner ask you to shift gears?
Jordan: “When applying feedback from a partner, we take a step back and really digest what they’re trying to get across. Not everyone is great at communicating their thoughts and feelings, so it’s important that we direct the partner to focus on what's working and what's not so that we can be on the same page.
Sometimes the feedback we get isn’t always clear.
When it comes to receiving feedback from an AD or CD, my process is somewhat similar. With Russell for example, I feel that we’ve been working together long enough where I can usually determine what he will and won’t like. When I do get feedback from him, I like to find out what I can do to stay more aligned with our goals, and if there’s anything about what I’ve done that is working, we can build off of. There's checks and balances that we go through to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to serve the partner, and in order to do that sometimes it takes reminding ourselves of the goal.”
Concept is our north star. There are several paths the design journey can go in, but without a concept there is nothing connecting the business to the design solution. Big or small, we call our clients “partners” because we believe that good work requires trust, honesty, and transparency. The “not-so-secret” receipt to any great partnership.
