Brand

A brand is one of an organisation’s most valuable assets. But it’s also what people say about an organisation when they leave the room, meaning although it’s not possible to dictate what they say, it is possible to influence it.

Think of brand strategy as an organisation’s secret sauce. It has the power to flavour everything an organisation does - uniting the leadership team, aligning employees around a common goal and bringing consistency to communications. When everyone is pushing in the same direction, they’ll reach their destination faster.

No one knows an organisation like the leadership team, but through a combination of interviews, workshops and research The Product Counsel will get to know the organisation’s story and develop a strategic framework, consisting of purpose and vision statements, values and personality traits. Guidance will be offered on how to actualise these within an organisation and build a compelling brand narrative on top of the framework.

A visual identity is the most public expression of a brand strategy. Done well, it can grab the attention of target audiences, build brand recognition and develop confidence and trust in an organisation. Often, the visual identity plays an important role as a brand differentiator, allowing organisations to stand apart in competitive markets.

Design starts on paper, before transitioning to digital renders - where 3 unique concepts that encapsulate the strategy work completed prior will be created. After presenting these concepts the chosen one is developed into a full identity system. Everything needed to use the visual identity to its full potential is supplied, including detailed brand guidelines.

Whether a small team relying on freelancers, or a huge organisation with locations across the globe, one source of truth for all brand touchpoints is needed, (hint: that’s brand guidelines!) but perhaps even more importantly, the need to ensure the guidelines and strategic framework are followed - protecting the brand and ensuring marketing efforts get the best ROI.

Depending on individual requirements, the option for hands-on involvement is available - creating new assets with assurance they adhere to the brand guidelines, or the option to work closely with existing creative teams and provide timely feedback before a brand faux pas makes it into the world. This ongoing process also provides the opportunity to develop a brand as the business grows.

User Experience (UX) research seeks to understand the wants, goals, needs and pain points of users when using a website or application. Therefore it is critical in the successful design & build of any website. The UX Research phase can be compared to building the foundations of a house; if insufficient time, effort and energy is spent ensuring they meet the requirements and solve the problem, the whole building (website) can crumble, easily.

The UX Research consists of around 5 stages, depending on the size and complexity of the site. Beginning with an audit that identifies issues with an existing site, a competitor analysis to suss out the competition, identifying the target audience and conducting usability tests, culminating in a detailed sitemap. It’s fair to say this UX research is extensive and gives an organisation and their website the best opportunity to succeed.

Everyone loves this bit - the pretty visuals! It’s when all of the UX research comes to life and the look and feel of the new website begins to become realised. 

The design process actually starts on good old pen and paper, where wireframes help determine the position of elements on each page – this helps ensure stylisation such as colours, fonts, spacing etc are not a distraction at this early stage. When creation of an interactive prototype begins, designers will introduce branded elements, hover states, animations etc. Once approved by developers, the interactive prototype will be presented, allowing the client to navigate through the design as if it were a completed website.

Sites are custom built on WordPress, making them optimised for accessibility, conversion, performance, and future scale - a lightweight custom page builder allows for easy customisation without the need for a developer. Experience with WordPress has seen us building eCommerce, booking systems, EPOS integrations and more into sites.