CONVERSATIONS / ARTICLE
A conversation worth having.
Before you ask for a logo, a label or a website, talk about the problem it needs to solve.
BY BRENT DUCHARMECREATIVE STRATEGIST & DESIGNER
VIDEO TO FOLLOW
A conversation worth having.
The written article is below. A recorded walkthrough or conversation can be added here later.
VIDEO PLANNED · NOT PLAYABLE“We need a new logo” is a starting point.
Sometimes a business needs a new logo. Sometimes the logo is being asked to fix something it cannot fix: an unclear offer, a confusing customer experience or a message that changes depending on who is speaking.
That's why I like the conversation before the design brief hardens into a shopping list. What has changed? What isn't working? Why does the business feel it needs this now?
You don't need polished answers. An honest explanation of the problem is more useful than a page of impressive marketing language.
Ask what customers actually misunderstand.
Where does the conversation with a prospective customer get stuck? What do people repeatedly ask? What do they assume you do that you don't? What valuable part of your work do they overlook?
Those are useful clues. If customers can't understand the difference between two services, the website may need a clearer explanation. If a product looks interchangeable with everything around it, the packaging may need a stronger identity.
Design helps communicate an answer. First we need to understand the question.
Make room for specifics.
“Modern,” “professional” and “premium” can mean almost anything. Bring examples and explain what you see in them. Is it the confidence of the type? The space? The colour? The photography?
Then look at your own business. Who are you trying to reach? What are they choosing between? What do you want them to understand or do next?
This conversation can change the creative direction. It can also reveal that an admired style wouldn't make sense for your audience. That's useful progress, even if no artwork has been produced yet.
Say the awkward things early.
Budget, deadlines, decision makers and production limitations belong in the conversation from the beginning. So does the question of what is already available: original artwork, photography, copy and supplier specifications.
If five people need to approve the work, build that into the process. If the printer needs files before the product launch, schedule backwards from that date. If something must work on a tiny label and a large sign, say so before the concept is chosen.
Clear constraints give the creative work something solid to respond to.
Leave with a shared understanding.
A useful first conversation should end with agreement on the problem, the audience, the deliverables and the next step. It doesn't need to solve the entire project in an hour.
Bring what you know, what you're unsure about and any work you've already started. I'd rather see the rough notes than hear that everything is fine when it isn't.
The best opening question may be the simplest: “Here's where we're stuck. What do you see?” That's a conversation worth having.
YOUR NEXT PROJECT
Let's talk about what you need.
Creative strategy, design and the work needed to make it real.
Let's talk ↗