Posts Tagged ‘left brain’

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Advice from the Pros: Will Burke, Brand Engine

In: web resources

18 Oct 2009

Header_ArticleMaster_ADVICE
What draws us to the business of branding? What makes us choose to dedicate our lives to design? We are artistic, usually intuitive people. We are people who are impressed by an eye-catching billboard layout and who feel a thrill at the sight of a particularly well-designed toaster. Simply put, we value the medium as much as the message. 

Yet these days we ask more of ourselves than just the possession of a good eye, a formidable portfolio and well-honed Photoshop skills. The days of design for design’s sake are gone, and rightfully so. Today, any design agency worth its salt completes a strategy phase before a single designer puts stylus to tablet. 

And this is good. Indeed, our work has much more value when grounded in sound business strategy. But, lest the pendulum swing too far in the other direction, remember: our discipline is not all science. The magic we bring is in fusing design with business. Yes, our work must be rooted in the left brain: gathering background information, doing competitive research, interviewing key stakeholders. Doing this homework well results in a rock-solid design brief—a document that will keep everybody, including our clients, on track. But with the design brief in hand, the next phase of work begins, and this is work of a different kind: expansive, playful—decidedly right-brain.  

We all know that inspiration often strikes from the intensely personal, and yet we often try to bury this fact in strategic validation. I’m suggesting that this personal inspiration is, in fact, an exciting and irreplaceable part of the design process. We must inject ourselves into what we do, revel in the moments of creative self-expression that drew us to this work in the first place. That doesn’t mean embracing whatever pops into our heads. Rather, we have to develop skills that support our design process, guiding our creativity down constructive paths. Here are four tips for harnessing the personal creative energy in your work and creating excellent results: 

1. Be curious.

Albert Einstein said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning,” and this is certainly true for the best designers. Always ask “what problem are we trying to solve?” and “is this the best solution?” Question your decisions along the way. This will ensure that you never accept the status quo or take the easy way out.  

Curiosity drives us to be insightful observers… of everything. Look outside your frame of reference. Literally, get away from that computer and outside. Watch people, observe nature, read literature, go to a soccer match. One never knows when or where the flash of insight will come. When we are mulling over a design challenge, our senses are attuned and our designing minds are open to the input the world has to offer. 

2. Remember your own past.

Our memories shape us as people and as professionals. What are the events that have made an impact on you throughout your life? Connecting with these stories and understanding how they fit in with your daily life—your actions and choices, the things you do, the things you eat, the things you love—is one of the most valuable tools you have for understanding human behavior. Now, think about how this might relate to a brand story. It should be every bit as detailed, nuanced and tangible as your own personal history. It should speak to the intellect and the heart. Above all, it should resonate with the real people who are your audience. 

3. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Empathy is yet another way that our personal skills support our design work. It’s not enough to know your target customer, to create a collage detailing her age, income and favorite brands. We have to try to imagine ourselves in her place. Like an actor preparing for a role, we must think about what her needs are, what drives her, what excites and empowers her. 

This exercise gets us out of our heads and prevents us from falling in love with our own designs. Always remember it’s about your consumer. By shifting your perspective, you will create the potential for the brand to truly connect with her. Like any process, this will become easier with practice. And over time you will develop an amazing capacity for anticipating consumers’ needs and thinking of what they could want in the future. From there you will be in a position to create trends, rather than follow them. 

4. Like your mom always said: tell the truth.

This one is easy, at least on paper. Translated for the purposes of our design work, the basic point is this: Know your consumers and communicate with them with honesty and respect. In other words, let trust and authenticity guide whatever you do. Ultimately, that package on the shelf needs to reflect the brand in a truthful manner—what it stands for and why people should care. Without that, you’re just a pretty box on a shelf. 

A final word of wisdom: When your work is done and it’s time for the big presentation to the client, no egos allowed. You’ve poured yourself into your work, but you can’t get too attached to your vision. It’s time for you and the client to judge the work based solely on your mutually agreed-upon brief. And it’s time for you, the designer to stand back and let you, the strategist take over. 
 

About Will Burke and Brand Engine

Will Burke is the founder, CEO and Chief Change Officer of Brand Engine. He draws on more than 20 years of experience in branding—uniquely bridging strategy and design—to solve complex issues with great insight and straightforward solutions. With a focus on consumer brands, his expertise is introducing new brands and repositioning existing brands to engage today’s consumer. Formerly with Landor Associates, Lister-Butler, and Axion Design, Will’s background includes major branding and packaging programs for Citicorp, MasterCard, Shell Oil, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Logitech, Palm, Foster’s, Frontier Natural Products, Nestlé and Tropicana. Under Will’s direction, Brand Engine’s work has been recognized in globally renowned competitions and books. In addition, Will’s thought leadership has been featured in various trade & industry publications, and he is involved with several brand advisory boards, a speaker on branding and design, and judge for design competitions.



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Design as a Differentiator

In: web resources

10 Oct 2009

Right-brain versus left-brain or designers versus accountants, both refer to two different ways of viewing the world. I call them Crunchers (as in ‘number crunchers’) and Creatives and there’s a healthy tension among these two camps in almost all organizations, but what about the influence they each have on the growth of a company?

We’ve seen companies like 37signals burst onto the scene in the last few years with a great appreciation for design and user experience. Both supported by their preachings of simplicity which has launched a mentality of “less is more” in designing apps and has made a convincing argument that design is key to growing your business. We’ve also seen Apple’s focus on design skyrocket the company into a leader in technology. We see this happening around us but for some reason there are companies that continue to downplay design and its importance in impacting the bottom line. The companies that are ignoring this haven’t built a culture that understands the power of design and realizes its real impact on business and my guess would be that these companies are filled with Crunchers.

So let’s look at Crunchers and Creatives. Both understand the importance of revenue but approach its generation a bit differently. Crunchers tend to develop a laser-like focus on the goal of acquiring revenue and make a b-line for it without paying close enough attention to user experience. Examples of this would include aggressive sales tactics in order to “close the sale”, bending the truth in their messaging in order to attract more customers, or selling customers products or services they don’t need. They can get a little too aggressive with closing the deal. I believe that this effort is needed to makeup for a lack of clear differentiation of their product in the marketplace which could be achieved due in large part through great design and a focus on user experience.

When strong design and focus on user experience is non-existent or weak, marketing must work that much harder to compensate for these shortcomings. When design and user experience are strong it removes a burden from marketing by making the benefits of using the product clearer and empowers users to share their experience via word-of-mouth and through social media. In short, if your product is easy to use and empowers users, they will share their experience with others. When this happens marketing can simply play a supporting role and doesn’t need to work twice as hard in convincing prospective customers on why they should use your product over a competitor’s.

The Big Picture and How These Elements Work Together

The diagram below illustrates Design & User Experience, Marketing, and a solid Business/Revenue Model working together to generate revenue and growth for your company. You can also see what happens when you have two out of the three working for you.

Growth Big Picture

Marketing Must Overcompensate for a Lack of Quality and Focus on Design & User Experience

We can see what generally happens when there’s a lack of quality and focus on design and user experience. Marketing must work harder to tout the benefits and competitive edge over similar products.

Growth Big Picture

A Greater Focus on Design & User Experience can Relieve the Burden Placed on Marketing

By focusing on the quality of design and user experience and improving it, marketing dollars can be spent much more efficiently and work to support a product that has a clear competitive edge through ease of use and quality of design. In addition, making the product easier to use can reduce the amount of effort and resources needed to support it, which can lower costs and increase your return on investment.

Growth Big Picture

Creatives tend to do a great job of focusing on the customer’s experience and also attracting the right customers. If they can do these things well there can be a clear differentiation among their competitors and customers will be easier to support. Creatives also realize that by focusing on the customer and their experience customers will trust you, pay you (and perhaps even pay a premium), and continue using your product leading to a higher lifetime value.

However, there needs to be a balance between these two approaches. Creatives must remember that there’s a difference between building a product and building a business. An extreme example of this is Twitter. I love Twitter, but they have yet to develop a business and revenue model around their product. That’s not to say that it won’t become a revenue generating machine, but it’s currently lacking the model. Building a product will serve your customers, but you must develop a business model around the product in order for it to be sustainable and serve your customers, you and your team, and thrive. If Creatives can do that successfully and team it with great design and user experience, and support it with targeted marketing, the sky is the limit for their business.

Crunchers on the other hand must realize that not everything can be individually and directly tied to a return on investment and it’s the small things that collectively contribute to a customer’s experience with your product and brand. In addition, don’t treat design as an afterthought. Design is king. Design is the reason Apple is a success, design is the reason you chose your car over others, design is the reason you chose the clothes you are wearing, design is the reason you chose one app over another- you get the idea. My point is that EVERY SINGLE THING YOU TOUCH WAS DESIGNED. Do not downplay its importance in generating revenue and growth for your business and its impact on customer retention.

On that note, one of the greatest things we’re witnessing are creative agencies building businesses. They are taking the talents they have provided clients and developing apps for the rest of us that solve the problems they, and/or their clients, are experiencing. I love seeing this. Who better to launch an app than a company who has all the tools to build it and an in-depth understanding of what users are looking for based on their experience working with clients. As a result, we’re seeing well-designed apps that solve real problems all while inspiring us to better serve our users through great design.

Whether a company is lead by a Cruncher or Creative a culture should exist that emphasizes design and user experience and a realization that without them, innovation, differentiation among competitors, and solid growth cannot and will not happen. If you’re a Creative and leading a company be sure to include a Cruncher on the team for balance and healthy tension and leverage what they do well like financials, forecasting and planning and if you’re a Cruncher leading an organization it’s time to embrace design and user experience, spread it through your organization and realize that nothing can have a greater impact on your bottom line.

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Freelance Contracts: Do’s And Don’ts

In: web resources

6 Oct 2009

  

Freelance Contracts: Do’s And Don’ts (via @smashingmag) -

In the world of freelancing, the entrepreneur has to take on a number of tasks for themselves that would normally be handled by a separate department at a bigger company. Most of these tasks are not part of the creative processes that freelance workers are used to, but rather are more tedious, left-brain paperwork. Right-brain creatives often shudder at the thought of these forays into linear domains. Such detail-ridden tasks would strain any freelancer who wears multiple hats, but they must be completed.

One such task is contracts. Drafting a contract that covers you, and doesn’t just enumerate information, is more than important: it is a must. Freelancers do not have the benefit of a legal department dedicated to protecting their interests with a watertight contract. Nevertheless, a freelancer’s contract must be comprehensive, concise and clear. It should outline the scope of the job, scheduling demands, the expectations of both parties and more.

Screenshot

In this post, we’ll help you identify the information that should be included in your contract and make sure you have a concrete agreement that leaves little chance of things getting out of hand… as can sometimes happen to those of us in the freelancing crowd.

These do’s and don’ts will hopefully remove a lot of the headache and guesswork that comes with drafting a contract. By understanding the rationale behind various contractual elements, you will be able to better customize your contracts to fit the specific job you have been hired for.

The Basics

Include the basic information, obviously. The “who” and the “what” of the project. Who is contracting you to do what kind of work? This is standard stuff included in every contract that defines the job as a whole. While this information is probably well known by both parties, put it in the contract anyway so that everyone is on the same page about their roles and responsibilities. Because it is such basic information, freelancers often overlook how important this section is for establishing the framework of the project.

Do’s and Don’ts

K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Simon (your name may not be Simon, but it is nicer than the traditional “S” in the phrase.) Do be sure to clarify your role in the project from start to finish and exactly what it entails, so that the client doesn’t try to put a hat on your head that you do not want to wear (for example, trying to make you switch from designing to providing tech support once the project has launched).

You know who you are and what your strengths are; don’t leave room for the client to change your role in the project for their convenience. Be specific about what roles you are and are not willing to play.

Time Frame

Screenshot

This simply establishes the time that the project will take and the duration that the contract covers. Sometimes a freelancer has to leave time open after a project’s completion to help integrate the product into the client’s existing media stream. But not always. Determining that time frame at the beginning and formalizing it in the terms and conditions of the contract will ensure you are not taken advantage of.

Do’s and Don’ts

Many people do not like deadlines, and some freelancers are no different. Whether you love or hate them, including deadlines in your contracts is important. Don’t overlook this detail simply because of the pressure it may bring. Give yourself enough time to properly complete your tasks, while keeping the client’s timetable in mind.

Being vague about how much time the contract covers will give your client room to find things for you to improve after the project has launched. Also, do be sure to include time frames on when the client needs to respond to your submissions with their questions and concerns, so that you are not endlessly strung along waiting to hear back on how to proceed.

Delivery Details

Putting this in the contract further clarifies expectations at the outset. The client knows up front what the final product will be and how you will be delivering it to them. This frees you from having to guess later on things like what file types they can access, and it gives the client peace of mind knowing that you are both on the same page.

It also gives you an indication of the depth of the client’s knowledge in this area of work and how well they will be able to work with the product once you hand it over. And being able to anticipate the client’s need for assistance in accessing and integrating your product will help you formulate other parts of the contract.

Do’s and Don’ts

Once again, keep it simple. Once you’ve assessed the client’s needs, don’t send them more files or file types than are needed to satisfy the project’s requirements. Don’t try to impress them with a ZIP file full of extras that show how professional you are. This will overwhelm clients who are not design-savvy and encourages needless pestering. Keeping it simple will move your client happily along their way, not only giving you peace of mind from a job well done but freeing you from future distractions as you move on to your next client.

The Financials

Screenshot

For most design work, billing by the job, rather than by the hour, is easier for everyone. You may have already come to an agreement on financial matters, but include them in the contract anyway for good measure. Just because you have an understanding about payment, the client could always conveniently “forget” the amount or change the terms.

Do’s and Don’ts

Agree on an initial deposit (whatever seems fair) before doing any work, to protect both parties if either wants to back out. Make sure the client understands that this deposit protects them as well by committing you to the project and keeping you from being sidetracked by other clients. Also include a Cancellation Clause in the financial section of the contract. This isn’t Santa’s less famous brother; it actually protects you, the freelancer, in case your client backs out by stating the financial obligations of both parties should the project terminate before completion.

Revisions And Alterations

You can also protect yourself by including a clause that states how many alterations and revisions to the product are covered by the fee. You can set the pricing for changes requested by the client that go beyond the number specified in the contract, thus preventing the client from abusing their privilege.

Be clear that this is not a commentary on either party; by including this, you are not implying that the client will be hard to please or that you will need multiple attempts to get it right. It simply recognizes that we sometimes need time to fully process something before making a decision and that we should have the freedom to change our minds about whether an idea works or not once we actually see it in action.

Do’s and Don’ts

Remember that professionalism should win out at all times, so don’t let this part of the contract be any different. Yes, it can be aggravating how some clients come back to you over and over with requests as a result of every whim that moves them, but do be reasonable. Don’t punish all of your clients because of one that burned you in the past. And don’t let pride keep you from accommodating a modest amount of revision by the client, even if they don’t suit your taste. After all, the design may be yours, but they are paying you to create it for them.

The Fine Print And Bottom Line

Screenshot

In the end, make sure the contract is professional and clear throughout, and be as detailed as possible in defining the roles of both parties in the project.

Further Resources

Here are some further articles and related resources:

About the Author

Rob Bowen is a talented author and graphic designer, celebrated podcaster and poet, who is now the co-editor and imaginative co-contributor of Fuel Your Creativity. With a background in most areas of the arts, Rob works from a creative wellspring that shows no sign of running dry.

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© Robert Bowen for Smashing Magazine, 2009. |
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