Design Thinking in Branding
What do we mean by design thinking? For the purposes of its role in branding, design thinking explore ways in which design enhances communication to an audience (or fails to do so), and shapes interaction between the roles of “communicator” and “audience”. Another way to think about “design thinking” is that it starts with a focus on outcomes.
Our approach to working with clients starts with listening and asking a lot of questions to find out about your organization. That leads us (in this case, “us” means both of us) down the road of discovery about what your offer to your audience, and your goals. Once we discover the things that set you apart, we collaborate to develop meaningful ways to communicate. Creative production can then be centered around the core message(s) and results measured by those outcomes we established.
Does your organization stand out from the crowd? We’re committed to working with you to create a memorable look that distinguishes you from ‘those other guys‘.
Various Channels of Communication:
- branding: logo & corporate identity | business stationery design
- online: front end design | e-commerce development
- social media: we get you launched | we keep you “posted”
- print design: collateral & flyers | direct mail design
- trade show: event strategy | signage | promo items (great sources, great pricing!)
- other: yes, it’s broad. But we want to keep an open mind about how best to engage your audience.
Design thinking is the ideal approach, but how do you handle it when a client doesn’t seem interested in taking the time (that means budget, of course) to do this?
Hi Andrew,
It’s easy to be defensive when a prospect questions a price, but keep in mind that when someone says,”That’s too expensive.” it tells you as much about the person making that statement as it does about your price. When someone states that the cost of your services isn’t in their budget, etc. it may be that they don’t understand the value of what you offer.
Certainly, you want to regularly check to make sure your prices are in line with the market, but a price question can be the opener for you to explain how they will benefit from working with you.
Does the client just lack the financial ability to do the full scope you recommended? You have to decide whether you’re willing to do a smaller scope. You should be prepared to explain why a smaller scope is less likely to deliver the results they’re looking for.
It’s possible that the customer hasn’t done much research. You wouldn’t point that out, of course, but you can ask how they arrived at their “expected” budget. It may be that they are basing their amount on a project done years ago, a different industry, or a different scope of work.
You can help your customer by providing fairly detailed estimates from the start. If you already did that, go through each point with them, explain how you arrived at the price, emphasizing the elements that you know are most meaningful to them. Don’t know what’s meaningful to the client? In that case, you didn’t do your homework — find out what’s important to the client up front.
In any case, a question about pricing is an opportunity to set a positive tone for the relationship by helping the client understand how you do business, and how they’ll benefit from the approach that you’re recommending.