A thought (condensed from an earlier idea)

Most organisations want their designers to turn them into something they can’t be. If I had $1 for every time someone has asked me to turn them into Apple or Nike, then I’d be on a beach, instead of here in my office.

What people seem not to understand is that at essence branding is a very very simple discipline. To have a successful brand you need to do two things:

1 - Make a promise.
2 - Keep that promise.

Item one is easy. Item two is hard. What organisations need to realise is that, at their behest, we have started to imbue companies with personalities. If you can’t do item two on the above list, then I’ll let you know what personality trait you just got tagged with – liar.

Nobody likes it when people lie to them, and we’re no different with companies. So my advice to all of my clients from now on is going to start with the following simple idea.

Find out the lies your company is telling. Now stop telling them.