The biggest challenge every business faces has to be humanising what it is that they produce. Whether what you do is technically brilliant, fantastically serviced or just an awesome experience. How you communicate that in a human way is central to the growth, development and sustainability of your business.
Every business needs branding to humanise it, connecting a thing, a place or service with real peoples values. When you get this right, amazing things happen. Over the past 21 years I’ve worked with many clients on all sorts of products and services from bio-tech and pharma to service and retail, from cutting edge technical innovation to time honoured skills and trades.
Everyone is different.
Everyone is unique.
Q – How do you know that?
A – Branding.
The visual way in which a brand presents itself to you allows you to make huge, complex decisions about whether it is right or wrong for you…almost instantly, within seconds. It’s as simple as that…and as BIG as that!
Remember the visual icon/identity is only the beginning of a much bigger… and hopefully richer experience.
People often ask me what was the hardest job, toughest client etc. It’s really hard to answer because every project is challenging, but never in the same way. I want to share with you a couple of examples where humanizing the business has made a significant difference, and where I’m proud to say I’ve played my part in delivering those differences.
First Tunnels
Polytunnels are the marmite of the gardening world. Whether you love or hate them aesthetically they are a superb way to grow better crops, for more of the time. The First Tunnels identity concentrates on the output of the polytunnel process – beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables, which when sliced, echo the shape of the place they were grown. The naïve illustrative style has a broad appeal and instantly connects with the personal motivators, the crops.
Hundred Houses
Any business that works with, and provides services for, people needs strong brand communications. The work of a charity like Hundred Houses will mean something different to every one of the people they help. How do you show that? How do you make it genuine and inclusive? We developed a series of stylised characters – all different – cultures, genders and ages but also all very much from the same mold, expressing community and friendship. This style has empowered and engaged both the internal teams and service users, all of whom are proud to be involved with the organisation.
Janice Clare Consultancy
Coaching and life skills are very personal services, creating a mark that is warm and welcoming, something that’s centred on people was an absolute necessity for this client. Janice’s name is a major asset of the business and needed to be prominent. Combining the face in the J brought those two important elements together in a simple icon, that could be easily understood and applied to many situations, professions and people.
Morris Armitage
Estate agents are very much people businesses. Admittedly it’s not an expression that you’ll hear every day, but I firmly believe they are. They get people into the properties that they desire…it’s all about people skills and communication. It’s a sector with a lot of negative and prejudicial baggage. So how do you create and communicate in a human manner? With human marks – sketches, hand drawn illustrations that immediately have a warmth and humanity about them that no photograph or render could ever have…and because it’s this hand worked style, it stands out from the competition as well.
Busy as AB 