Discover
What we do is fun. Really fun. We think so and we do it every single day. So it's really easy to get sucked into the world of fonts, colors and big ideas involved in creative projects and forget about any sort of foundational strategies. But the truth is without the strategy in place from the get go, you're setting yourself up for failure. Perhaps you'll fail with a great looking and well formulated brand that just doesn't speak to your audience. Perhaps you'll do well initially but the impact of your brand will slowly fade. But unless you do the research and set the strategy prior to jumping into design you will fail on one level or another.For a branding agency like TIV, it's a regular occurrence to have potential clients ask us if we can skip the DISCOVER phase. They either say they already know the answers to the questions we're asking, or they say they just need us to get started quickly and don't have time for the month or more we typically spend on researching the audience, competitors and current brand, among other details that will prove invaluable down the line, and developing recommendations and strategy to guide the phases that follow. They just want to get to work. Now.Blair Enns uses an example in The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and to me it says it all: Having a branding agency dive into any sort of creative project without requiring a research phase first, is akin to a doctor performing surgery on a patient because that patient came in and said, "Doc, my ankle's killing me. I need surgery." You wouldn't trust a doctor that replied by patting the operating table and saying, "Sounds good, jump on up and I'll wash my hands." Our DISCOVER phase is our chance to diagnose and create a strategy to solve any challenges that we find.Once we finalize the strategy in the DISCOVER phase we use it as a sounding board for all future creative decisions. It should constantly be referenced throughout the project and, as an added bonus, can usually solve any conflict between decision makers down the line. It is the difference between yelling in a crowded room and hoping the right people hear you and walking up to your audience and having a conversation.Just remember, designers like me want to jump in too. The excitement of the new project is ripe with juicy ideas. Postponing the fun stinks for everyone. I've even taken to developing my initial ideas while the DISCOVER phase is being completed and checking them against the strategy after it's completed just to capture that initial excitement. But don't skip the DISCOVER phase. Time saved today will be lost ten fold down the line.