enlightened design

Case Study — Authenticity Marketing

Apr'8, 2019

Challenge — I was chatting with an eventual client at a business gathering earlier this year who faced an intriguing challenge: How could she, as a successful entrepreneur with multiple disparate enterprises, create strong and cohesive brand identity with an eye toward boosting overall sales?

Orientation — The various businesses she leads are all couched under an overarching Authenticity Marketing brand. Our initial consultation revealed that she wants these businesses to be perceived above all else as: genuine (delivering value), sophisticated (drawing from proven expertise), and easy to work with (responsive and personable). Her enterpises are focused on marketing, web-design, and management consulting. Existing (previous) logos for each are depicted in the 'before' column below.
Design — The client had already established a good deal of brand equity in many of these businesses, so I pursued an evolutionary approach and retained key design elements - e.g., the 'digital' theme, the 'wood' graphic, the 'global' notion. I sought to achieve strong brand identity and cohesion through consistent design choice: 1) color - rich gold and burgundy tones for a genuine, yet sophisticated and affluent feel, 2) typography - use of script (again, sophisticated) and complementary serif/sans-serif fonts in each case. After an iteration or two, we arrived at the new logos in the 'after' column and new icons to the right. The client is pleased.

before

after

Design Process — What to Expect

March'5, 2019

Initial Consultation (free) — Our chance to get to know each other a bit and compare notes on your branding needs relative to my service offerings.

Creative Brief — Assuming we plunge ahead, we’ll meet to fill in a Creative Brief (one concise page) as a ‘springboard’ to the creative process. We’ll cover objectives, target market(s), key messages, call(s) to action, scope of work, budget, deadlines, desired results, and success criteria. I use this brief to ensure focus and to make sure we’re on the same page. We’ll refer back to it and refine as we go.

Conception — My task, then, is to generate design concepts to achieve the results we’re after. It’s not enough to simply arrange graphic elements into pleasing forms – designs must clearly and expressively deliver the intended message. This ‘conception’ process is a bit more rigorous than scribbling on a sketch pad until an idea ‘pops.’ It involves ample doses of analysis, incubation, and (hopefully, ha!) illumination.

Design — Once I’ve crystalized design concepts in ‘rough’ form, I will articulate them more fully in detailed ‘comprehensive,’ or ‘comp’ form using Adobe Creative Suite tools. I always generate at least two design options for consideration. We’ll then select and revise, iterating through focus group and stakeholder reviews as necessary – you’ll find that I am very open to client input.

Coding — If website development is in-scope, I’ll generate code for all pages, sitemap(s), and SEO implementation - with client review, of course, as work progresses.

Implementation — You’ll also find that I am with you every step of the way, providing images, source files, and usage guidelines as applicable.

Debrief — We’ll meet afterward to address any loose ends, gauge success, and identify any process learnings that I can apply. I am a bit of perfectionist, so be assured that I'll follow-through until you're completely satisfied.