Building a Meaningful Brand

strongdesign.co | #meaningfulbrand | @melissabalkon
BUILDING A
MEANINGFUL BRAND

Founder + Lead Designer at Strong Design Studios
www.strongdesign.co
MELISSA BALKON

A BRAND IS NOT A:
Logo Color Mascot Product Name

A brand is your audience’s
collective impression of you.

Branding is the process of
designing the experience associated
with your organization.

Every Apple experience is delightfully simple and sleek.

Every Starbucks experience is warm and friendly.

Every Target experience is fun, fresh, and well-designed.

When your brand is well-deﬁned, it
allows you to diﬀerentiate yourself
in your market...
And often charge a premium.

FIRST, A FEW THINGS
TO CONSIDER

DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE
Audience provides important context
Audience may change, but your brand remains
Be as speciﬁc as possible—”everyone” is
not a demographic

AUTHENTICITY IS KEY
Your brand attributes must be true
Brand attributes can be someone aspirational
Strong brands both attract and repel

WATCH OUT FOR DEFAULTS
Your ﬁrst ideas will probably be defaults
Would anyone want to be the opposite of this?

BRANDING IS A PROCESS
You’re building, not creating
Brand development is never done
Over time your brand will stand for more than
your product or service, but what you’re about

THE
MEANINGFUL
BRAND
Made up of 2 layers

The foundation layer is made up
of the core tenets that describe
who you are.

The experience layer is made up
of the ways you execute your
foundational brand tenets.

YOUR BRAND
FOUNDATION
Includes 3 components

PURPOSE
The reason your business exists.

WHY DO YOU NEED IT?
It is a guiding light for organizational strategy
It helps you build your business with intent

HOW DO YOU FIND IT?
Why did you start the business?
What activity do you love most, and why?
When would you work for free?

Challenge the status quo and delight users.

Organize the world’s information.

Refresh the world and inspire moments of optimism
and happiness.

Create a “third place” between work and home.

Connect people to what’s important in their lives through
friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel.

Your purpose should not be monetary
Your purpose should not be a description of
your product or service
DEFAULTS TO AVOID

VALUES
Your deeply-held beliefs.

WHY DO YOU NEED THEM?
They will help make quicker, better decisions
Help you determine client and staﬀ ﬁt
Customers are drawn to what they believe in

HOW DO YOU FIND THEM?
What clients/projects do you love, and why?
What clients/projects do you hate, and why?
Complete the statement “We value...” or
“We believe...”

Deliver WOW through service
Embrace and drive change
Create fun and weirdness
Be adventurous, creative and
open-minded
Pursue growth and learning
Build open, honest relationships
with communication
Build a positive team, family spirit
Do more with less
Be passionate and determined
Be humble

Fight for the humans
Solve the bigger problem
Say what you see
Invest in the future
Assume the best
Work with what you’ve got
Take the high road
Stay ﬂexible
Be consistently reliable

Design is a business asset
Design is strategic
Boldness trumps blandness
Communication is critical
The devil is in the details
Assume the best
There’s purpose in the process
Simple is beautiful

DEFAULTS TO AVOID:
Certain criteria are expected (e.g. integrity,
professionalism, trustworthiness, etc.)

STYLE
Your unique personality or character.

WHY DO YOU NEED IT?
Unique style will diﬀerentiate your organization
Customers are drawn to style they value
Style can become iconic to your company

HOW DO YOU FIND IT?
How does your organization do things?
Are there trends in aesthetic decisions made
in your organization?

Motivating, competitive, aggressive, playful

Rebellious, edgy, bold, unexpected

Bold, trendy, emphasis on design

Beware of generic, overused traits (e.g. simple,
professional, modern, etc.)
DEFAULTS TO AVOID:

YOUR BRAND
EXPERIENCE
Includes 3 components

VISUAL
How your brand experience
is translated visually.

VISUALS CAN INCLUDE:
Logo
Colors
Typefaces
Typography
Illustration
Iconography
Photography
Pattern
Etc.

Nike’s typeface selection is bold and aggressive.

T-Mobile’s look is bold, unexpected and irreverent.

Tiﬀany is renown for their timelessness and quality.

VERBAL
How your brand experience
is translated verbally.

VERBAL CAN INCLUDE:
Voice/point-of-view
Tone
Structure
Length

Nike’s messaging is a verbal kick in the pants.

Apple’s messaging empowers it’s users.

Coca-Cola’s messaging is delightful.

INTERACTION
How your brand experience is
translated through your actions.

INTERACTION CAN INCLUDE:
Service design
Retail experience
Product oﬀering
Process design

Apple’s product line has only one, reﬁned model.

Apple’s retail experience is simple and delightful.

Walmart’s experience comes back to low cost.

Starbucks’ beer and wine oﬀering allows them to be
the third place in the evening.

THE
MEANINGFUL
BRAND

LESSONS I’VE LEARNED:
Give yourself time to ﬂesh these things out
Gain insights from customers and staﬀ
Your brand will continue to evolve

MORE INFORMATION:
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
Positioning for Professionals by Tim Williams
The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier

Melissa Balkon – @melissabalkon
QUESTIONS?
slideshare.net/mbalkon/building-a-meaningful-brand

Building a Meaningful Brand

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