Process: Design
The number one question I get when talking about TIV Branding is "How the heck do you come up with creative ideas every day?" And my answer is typically some sort of deflection about how I WISH it was every day...but it's less often than that. And how it's all about the team we have. And then I say something about how I've been doing this for nearly 20 years, so I just look at the world through a different lens. But in all actuality it's not always a lightning bolt event that results in truly great creative work. And if there's not a process in place to help dig you out when you get stuck, then creative ideas are far from reliable.
Kickoff
We start every creative project, whether it's a branding project, a brand building campaign or a packaging project, with a kickoff meeting with the client. When it comes down to it we really need to understand what the point is of the project. Are they looking to expand their reach, improve their brand perception, build on the momentum they have...or something else? And do we all agree, big picture, on what needs to happen to achieve this goal?
Discover
We start every project with a DISCOVER phase. It's basically our diagnosis process where we really dig into the brand, formalize the details of the project, research the competition and the industry, and eventually present the approach(es) we will take in the DESIGN phase. I do my best to stay at arm's length during the DISCOVER process whenever possible because it's easy to get lost in the details. The final research as a whole helps me to view the bigger picture and develop ideas for the strategy. Check out my blog about the importance of our DISCOVER phase here.
Brainstorm
We start our brainstorming in the office with the team. Ideally we order some food and sit around a table to discuss the project, but sometimes random conversations spark an impromptu session. We have a team with many different skills and approaches, so while we are working to look at the project through the eyes of the audience defined in the DISCOVER phase, the marketing team usually has a much different view of things than the design team.At that point we typically have some general ideas. And my favorite thing to do is go for a drive with my Wife / Art Director...or is it Art Director / Wife? Something about putting on music and driving through Northern California gives us the chance to really dig into the idea without distraction. I can tell you where we were when we came up with some of our best ideas...almost never in the office. I also use jogging time to brainstorm because, let's face it, I need distraction when jogging. One of my favorite campaigns was conceived while on a Sunday run.
Concepts
From there we sit down with the design team and discuss the ideas. We jump straight into design. Sometimes we sketch, but typically we develop our ideas straight into Illustrator or Photoshop. And we push ourselves to create as many concepts as possible. Twenty if we can.One of my favorite stories is when I took our designer, Adrian, out for a beer (good start, huh?) and I told him I needed him to push himself to do more concepts. Design three. Then design three more. Then if you feel like you're out of ideas...design three more. He came to me the next week with one of my favorite logos of all time and said, "This was my 10th concept!"
Internal Review
When we feel like we've squeezed out as many initial concepts as is humanly possible, we tack them up on the wall in our office. If timing allows we like to keep them up there for at least a week or two. Something about the process of walking past a concept or seeing it first thing every morning really opens your eyes to new ideas and considerations. We make notes directly on each concept.
Revisions
As a team we pick our favorites and discuss ways to combine or improve initial concepts into designs worthy of review by the client. This process keeps going until we have 3-5 concepts to present. I've tried presenting the initial 20 to the client in an effort to be more collaborative but have found that most people, unless they're well-versed in creative projects, find this overwhelming. They would rather we do the initial trimming and leave a handful of distinct concept to review.If we've done our job well and followed our process we never miss on initial concepts. That doesn't mean that client input or additional work on the project never leads us in a completely different direction, but we never come to a client presentation without concepts that we feel are great starting points in the process.