When you apply the design process both deeply and broadly, you can create rich brand experiences that turn customers into believers. The trick is to do what Shakespeare did in creating his plays. By designing entertainment products that worked on multiple levels, he was able to increase not only the number of customers but also their satisfaction, so they came back again and again. Here's a diagram called the design well that will help your visualize how your company is understood by its various audiences.

1. Steal this idea
By marty neumeier
The Design Well

2. When you apply the design process both deeply and broadly, you can create
rich brand experiences that turn customers into believers. The trick is to
do what Shakespeare did in creating his plays. By designing entertainment
products that worked on multiple levels, he was able to increase not only the
number of customers but also their satisfaction, so they came back again and
again. Here’s a diagram called the design well that will help you visualize how
your company is understood by its various audiences.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier

3. LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier
THE CORE ELEMENTS
OF THE BUSINESS,
INCLUDING ITS
PURPOSE, MISSION,
VALUE, AND
STRATEGIES.
THE SYMBOLS
THAT EXPRESS THE
COMPANY’S VISION,
INCLUDING ITS
VOICE, ITS VISUAL
PRESENTATION, ITS
PERSONALITY, AND
ITS CHARACTER
THE WAY THE
COMPANY WORKS
TOGETHER,
INCLUDING ITS
PROCESSES,
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE,
REALTIONSHIPS,
AND LANGUAGE.
THE PRODUCTS,
SERVICES, AND
EXPERIENCES
THAT GIVE THE
COMPANY ITS
COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE.
THE BEHAVIORS AND
COMMUNICATIONS
THAT CONVERT
VISION, IDENTITY,
CULTURE, AND
PRODUCTS INTO
CUSTOMER VALUE.
VISION IDENTITY CULTURE PRODUCTS BRANDS

4. LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier
THE CORE ELEMENTS
OF THE BUSINESS,
INCLUDING ITS
PURPOSE, MISSION,
VALUE, AND
STRATEGIES.
THE LOGICAL PROCESSES
WE USE TO MAKE SENSE
OF PRODUCTS, SERVICES,
COMPANIES, AND
COMMUNICATIONS.
THE SURFACE OF OUR
EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING
WHAT WE SEE, HEAR, TOUCH,
SMELL AND TASTE.
THE SYMBOLS
THAT EXPRESS THE
COMPANY’S VISION,
INCLUDING ITS
VOICE, ITS VISUAL
PRESENTATION, ITS
PERSONALITY, AND
ITS CHARACTER
THE WAY THE
COMPANY WORKS
TOGETHER,
INCLUDING ITS
PROCESSES,
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE,
REALTIONSHIPS,
AND LANGUAGE.
THE PRODUCTS,
SERVICES, AND
EXPERIENCES
THAT GIVE THE
COMPANY ITS
COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE.
THE BEHAVIORS AND
COMMUNICATIONS
THAT CONVERT
VISION, IDENTITY,
CULTURE, AND
PRODUCTS INTO
CUSTOMER VALUE.
VISION IDENTITY CULTURE PRODUCTS BRANDS

5. LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier
THE CORE ELEMENTS
OF THE BUSINESS,
INCLUDING ITS
PURPOSE, MISSION,
VALUE, AND
STRATEGIES.
THE LOGICAL PROCESSES
WE USE TO MAKE SENSE
OF PRODUCTS, SERVICES,
COMPANIES, AND
COMMUNICATIONS.
THE SURFACE OF OUR
EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING
WHAT WE SEE, HEAR, TOUCH,
SMELL AND TASTE.
THE FEELINGS THAT
DRIVE MANY OF OUR
DECISIONS, INCLUDING
THOSE THAT ARE HIDDEN
BENEATH OUR REASON.
THE TRIBAL CONNECTION WE
FEEL WITH A BRAND — THE DEEP
KNOWLEDGE THAT WE ‘BELONG’
TO ITS COMMUNITY.
THE INTUITION THAT A
RELATIONSHIP WITH A GIVEN
COMPANY, PRODUCT, OR
OFFER IS ‘RIGHT’ FOR US.
THE SYMBOLS
THAT EXPRESS THE
COMPANY’S VISION,
INCLUDING ITS
VOICE, ITS VISUAL
PRESENTATION, ITS
PERSONALITY, AND
ITS CHARACTER
THE WAY THE
COMPANY WORKS
TOGETHER,
INCLUDING ITS
PROCESSES,
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE,
REALTIONSHIPS,
AND LANGUAGE.
THE PRODUCTS,
SERVICES, AND
EXPERIENCES
THAT GIVE THE
COMPANY ITS
COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE.
THE BEHAVIORS AND
COMMUNICATIONS
THAT CONVERT
VISION, IDENTITY,
CULTURE, AND
PRODUCTS INTO
CUSTOMER VALUE.
VISION IDENTITY CULTURE PRODUCTS BRANDS

6. The top of the design well visualizes your company as a set of concentric
rings. It starts with vision at the core of the company and ripples outward
through identity, culture, products, and brand – the place where your company
touches customers. Each of these rings presents a design challenge, and it’s
important to design a clear alignment from the inside to the outside. If there’s a
disconnect between vision and brand, for example, your brand will be seen as
muddled, inauthentic, or even suspect.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier
THE CORE ELEMENTS
OF THE BUSINESS,
INCLUDING ITS
PURPOSE, MISSION,
VALUE, AND
STRATEGIES.
THE SYMBOLS
THAT EXPRESS THE
COMPANY’S VISION,
INCLUDING ITS
VOICE, ITS VISUAL
PRESENTATION, ITS
PERSONALITY, AND
ITS CHARACTER
THE WAY THE
COMPANY WORKS
TOGETHER,
INCLUDING ITS
PROCESSES,
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE,
REALTIONSHIPS,
AND LANGUAGE.
THE PRODUCTS,
SERVICES, AND
EXPERIENCES
THAT GIVE THE
COMPANY ITS
COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE.
THE BEHAVIORS AND
COMMUNICATIONS
THAT CONVERT
VISION, IDENTITY,
CULTURE, AND
PRODUCTS INTO
CUSTOMER VALUE.
VISION IDENTITY CULTURE PRODUCTS BRANDS

7. Alignment across the top of the well can be addressed through an
organizational understanding of brand, plus the structures and processes
needed to enable it. My books The Brand Gap, Zag, and The Designful
Company will give you a better grasp of brand alignment.
The side of the design well shows the range of levels at which your audience
can encounter your company. The shallowest level, at the top, is perception –
the surface of human experience, including what we see, hear, touch, smell,
and taste.
The next level down is reason, the logical processes we use to make sense of
products, services, companies, and communications.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier
THE LOGICAL PROCESSES
WE USE TO MAKE SENSE
OF PRODUCTS, SERVICES,
COMPANIES, AND
COMMUNICATIONS.
THE SURFACE OF OUR
EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING
WHAT WE SEE, HEAR, TOUCH,
SMELL AND TASTE.

8. Going deeper into the well we find emotion, the feelings that drive many of our
decisions, including those that are hidden beneath our reason.
Below the level of emotion is resonance, which gives us the intuition that a
relationship with a given company, product, or offer is “right” for us.
At the deepest part of the well is ideology, the tribal connection we feel with a
brand – the deep knowledge that we “belong” to a company or brand.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier

9. When you touch people at more than one level, you not only deepen their
experience, but you reach a wider audience, since people vary in their
sensitivity to each type of experience.
Designing deeply cannot be achieved through organization mandate. It can
only come through the personal mastery of the designers doing the work.
While Shakespeare was a great collaborator, it was his personal vision and
skill that gave his plays – and his business – the richness and authenticity
that created a legend.
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier

10. LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier
THE CORE ELEMENTS
OF THE BUSINESS,
INCLUDING ITS
PURPOSE, MISSION,
VALUE, AND
STRATEGIES.
THE LOGICAL PROCESSES
WE USE TO MAKE SENSE
OF PRODUCTS, SERVICES,
COMPANIES, AND
COMMUNICATIONS.
THE SURFACE OF OUR
EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING
WHAT WE SEE, HEAR, TOUCH,
SMELL AND TASTE.
THE FEELINGS THAT
DRIVE MANY OF OUR
DECISIONS, INCLUDING
THOSE THAT ARE HIDDEN
BENEATH OUR REASON.
THE TRIBAL CONNECTION WE
FEEL WITH A BRAND — THE DEEP
KNOWLEDGE THAT WE ‘BELONG’
TO ITS COMMUNITY.
THE INTUITION THAT A
RELATIONSHIP WITH A GIVEN
COMPANY, PRODUCT, OR
OFFER IS ‘RIGHT’ FOR US.
THE SYMBOLS
THAT EXPRESS THE
COMPANY’S VISION,
INCLUDING ITS
VOICE, ITS VISUAL
PRESENTATION, ITS
PERSONALITY, AND
ITS CHARACTER
THE WAY THE
COMPANY WORKS
TOGETHER,
INCLUDING ITS
PROCESSES,
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE,
REALTIONSHIPS,
AND LANGUAGE.
THE PRODUCTS,
SERVICES, AND
EXPERIENCES
THAT GIVE THE
COMPANY ITS
COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE.
THE BEHAVIORS AND
COMMUNICATIONS
THAT CONVERT
VISION, IDENTITY,
CULTURE, AND
PRODUCTS INTO
CUSTOMER VALUE.
VISION IDENTITY CULTURE PRODUCTS BRANDS

11. Find more Marty Neumeier ideas to steal at
liquidagency.com/blog
LIQUIDAGENCY.COM | Source: Metaskills by Marty Neumeier