We had four objectives for the site:
1. Create a site true to our brand vision, voice and actions.
2. Showcase our philosophy, breadth of services and depth of our work, so clients and prospects really understand what we do.
3. Create valuable editorial content for people seeking knowledge of graphic design, branding, and marketing.
4. Build the site on the same WordPress CMS we use for most client websites, so we can regularly show our latest work and share our experience with ease.

We’ve handily accomplished all of these goals and even learned some things along the way.

A worthwhile effort
I’ve found that with graphic design, brand development and websites, business owners and marketing managers frequently have a hard time articulating their vision until they get inspired by visuals. So our site new site is focused on giving a good gander at large visuals that bring greater perspective to the depth of the work, each accompanied by project background info and a list of skills we tapped.

We’ve also described our services in depth, using simple terms that won’t boggle your mind with technical jargon, yet give you a good feeling for how we might help you communicate your value to the peeps who need to know (your target market).

I’ve been writing branding and marketing blogs for a few years. I ghost write on some blogs too. I wanted to include a blog on Train of Thought only if it was a value-add for clients and visitors. (Don’t you just hate blogs with entry after entry that are little more than advertisements?) Our blog is content-rich, with posts designed to educate and hopefully entertain a little along the way.

The result, we believe (and hope), is a valuable site for startups, seasoned business folk, clients, and even for tire-kickers who hope to learn something along the way.

The show had to go on
In between designing the site and programming it, we had to perform for our clients. In fact, client work always takes precedence over our own, so the Train of Thought site was put on hold each time the firm’s work schedule reached maximum capacity. This happened at least eight times! Which is good because it means we do our job well, and clients like us. And it’s also bad because it meant we had to put off launching the fruits of our labor for longer than we’d like.

Hundreds of hours have gone into planning, optimizing graphics and programming the pages of our new website. The copywriting was completed in our usual manner (rocket-fast). Look for an upcoming post where guessing how long it took to write this website’s text could win you something [probably] better than a fruitcake.

Launching our new website
We have finally completed this protracted cheerful chore of birthing (launching) our brand spankin’ new website. It’s been a nostalgic trip through our work archives. I’ve found the act of pouring over the portfolio to be quite reaffirming, underscoring the on-brand text written in the services pages, while highlighting the depth of our work.

We hope you find our new website to be of value, and that you might tell your business-inclined friends, business owners, startups, lovers, and otherwise marketing needful mates about it too.

Thank you for reading, perusing, or even lounging about. Give us a shout if you have questions, comments or burning desires.

Can you be true every day, for just five minutes? Think what you can do.

Pick a 5-minute window in your day, schedule it in your calendar, and write down one new thought each day about your brand, customers, prospects, products, employees, yourself, advertising, website, messaging or any component of your company that touches your brand.

Keep your thoughts together in a notebook. When it comes time to review your brand, perform a brand audit, or rebrand, you will have a valuable compendium of thoughts about your brand right there at your fingertips.

You can use your 5-minute brand thoughts to reaffirm your motivation, share it with your branding firm, teach your employees, or even to fuel your ad messaging.

Your daily thoughts don’t need to be earth-shattering, new or profound. All they need to be is true.

Have you got 5 minutes? That’s all it takes.

Does winning design awards make me a branding expert? Design awards aren’t worth a whole lot in my opinion. I consider client success to be the best award, or really, reward. So, no, design awards don’t make me an expert in branding.

Do you become an expert by creating big brands? I’ve branded big brands, but no, branding big companies and their brands isn’t the most fruitful way to learn about branding. Larger companies tend to homogenize their messages to appeal to wider audiences, which means their brands are safer, take less risks and often connect on (sadly) more shallow levels.

Did I just declare one day that I was a branding expert, and made it so? Nope, that would be too easy and too hard at the same time. Too easy because there’s no challenge in making such a declaration, and too hard because it’s difficult to provide proof for something you haven’t any sort of official certification.

Did I learn so much about branding by just creating brands? Not exactly. It’s easy to create a brand. Anyone can do it, but few people can do it well. Most brands fail on some level, and the ones that fail the most are usually those created by small business owners, simply because creating brands isn’t what they do. Yes, I have created a lot of brands, but I believe this alone does not qualify me as an expert.

So how did I become a branding expert? Honestly, I have never called myself an expert. In fact, I tend to shy away from such terminology. My clients, however, embrace the term ‘expert’. I first heard I was a branding expert from a large, international client, all the way back in 1989 (when I still had hair atop my head). I made them think about their company and their brands in ways they had never done before.

How did I do that? How did I make them think? I asked them questions they’ve never before considered. Then, I listened. A ton.

Does being a graphic designer make me a branding expert? No, not at all. In my ‘expert’ opinion, branding has very little to do with graphic design. While graphic design as a modality compliments branding perfectly, branding is much more about listening and making valuable connections. I am exceptional at making valuable connections.

And that, according to my clients, makes me a branding expert. I take their label as a prized compliment of the highest order.

For instance, I’d been telling the doctor my throat hurt for months, then upon examining me, he said, “That’s not your throat, it’s your thyroid.” Whoops! I would have likely had a solution in days not months had I just known better how to describe what I meant. Thyroid and throat are in fact inches apart. Dhoh!

Brand is not branding

The difference between brand and branding is that one is an action and the other is a marketing tool. Brand is a noun, and branding is a verb. Similarly:

Drive is not driving.
Cook is not cooking.
Gain is not gaining.
Market is not marketing.

Perhaps the biggest mixerupper I hear in business is the use of brand and branding as interchangeable words. Some people also call advertising branding (it’s not even close).

The fact that many graphic designers don’t know what branding is or how to accurately describe it, makes matters worse, particularly because businesspeople expect them to know. Some designers use brand and branding interchangeably, reinforcing confusion.

A brand is a thing (noun). Branding is an action (verb). This is more than just persnickety semantics—it’s about fundamental understanding of a core marketing tool.

What is branding?

Branding is the act of creating a brand. The process involves positioning your company or product in the market (carving out your own place), devising brand strategy (how you will reach your goals), creating your name (your verbal identity), designing corporate identity or product identity (your visual identity), writing brand messaging (verbal and written tone), and setting brand standards (how you keep your brand consistent and strong).

When branding (also called brand development) is completed, most businesses (when they’ve worked with an experienced professional) will not have to undertake the branding process for roughly 10-20 or more years. In the life of a 50-year business, branding the company occurs only 2-3 times total.

When a company’s brand becomes outdated in 20 years, then you may once again need to take on the branding process. If you create new products or launch new companies, you get to enjoy the exciting process of branding on a more frequent basis.

Once the branding process is completed, the word ‘branding’ has no continuing relationship to your brand (unless you work with cattle).

What is your brand?

Your brand is the result of the branding effort. Your brand describes who you are and what you do by use of visual identity, verbal dialog and tone of actions. It is utilized for virtually all of your marketing communications. It is how people identify, know and remember you.

How knowing the distinction helps your business

I was checking out a newly rebranded bank a couple years back, and watched a manager trying to help a woman understand the differences between personal and business offerings. As the prospective customer asked her questions, the manager handed the bewildered woman a brochure, saying “Here, let me give you a copy of our new branding,” and walked away leaving her to figure it all out on her own.

A critical branding concept to embrace is that we are not creating a made-up story or spiel. We’re creating a real marketing communication tool that when wielded articulately can empower your entire team to communicate with greater purpose and clarity. Knowing this enables people to be well-informed, and to impart better understanding, which leads to less confusion and better communication.

Understanding the difference between brands and branding helps you net a stronger brand because you will enjoy a better understanding of the brand development process. Your understanding also helps your employees grasp the full significance of the brand, so they learn how to best utilize it in marketing, selling, and supporting your goals and initiatives.

Type is one of the primary ways you express your brand. When used in your corporate identity, it exudes a personality and imparts character. It has the power to stand out, and people really take notice. Like all things ‘brand’, it’s preferable for your text to have a unique character that actually describes your brand.

Type can express virtually any characteristic, such as wisdom, nostalgia, modern, rebellious, conservative. You name it, type can communicate it.

What is Custom Type?
Custom type is a typeface which has been drawn and programmed (as a font) specifically for you. That means that no other business has the same type in use.

A custom typeface can be drawn from scratch, or it can be an edit to the shapes of an existing typeface. It can be just the characters used in your name, or it can be an entire alphabet, with numbers and punctuation.

Custom typefaces are common in the world of publishing. Publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Dwell and Esquire utilize custom type to add to their unique voices. From corporations to non-profits to the arts, organizations use custom type to bring a more memorable look to their identity, advertising, and other marketing communications.

How do custom typefaces work?
Since people remember information first by shape, then by color, and third by type, custom type works in double capacity — with shape and type — to make your logo and communications more memorable.

Why not use the system fonts on your computer for your logo?
Virtually everyone is familiar with system fonts, so they don’t stand out. Also, system fonts are designed for optimum on-screen readability. They are generally not optimized for print, which means they can be harder to read off screen. Are there exceptions? Sure, but they are few and far between.

When should custom type be considered?
Custom type most commonly comes into the picture with logo design, but it can also be considered for all brand and marketing communications, including advertising and collateral.

When you want your identity to speak with a voice that is unique to your business, to communicate with purpose, and embody a character all its own, you should consider custom type design.

Brands are made of three primary components:
1. Visual (identity)
2. Verbal (messaging)
3. Action (how you treat people)

The first creative part of virtually every brand development is visual design. I’ll cover the verbal and action components in upcoming posts.

Your logo and corporate identity, including your business card and website, set the visual tone for your brand and many of your marketing communications. Colors, graphic standards, and type selections are all determined at this phase.

One of the most common questions I get on first contact from someone looking for a graphic designer is, “What items do we need for corporate/brand identity?” There is some variation according to usage and business type, but for nearly every businesses I recommend the following basic items as a start:
1. Logo
2. Business Card
3. Website
4. Letterhead
5. Envelope
6. Tag line
7. Overview Brochure
8. Mailing Label

Here is an overview of each item, along with the reasons why nearly every business needs them:

Logo
Your logo is the visual cornerstone of your brand that tells people who you are, and does so in an incredibly memorable way. It sets the tone for all pieces and graces nearly all of your marketing communications. Love it, and never leave it.

Business Card
When someone asks for your number at the market, that’s an opportunity hanging in the air, which you can answer easily if you have a great business card handy. Even if you never leave the dark dungeon of your home office or the confines of your plush leather chair, you must have a business card. And not just any business card. Your business card has the power to make a huge first impression, or to be silent as a lamb – even if it’s coming out of an envelope. Never skimp on your business card design or printing. Avoid cheap online printing of your cards at all costs. If you have to go that route, fine, but consider it a temporary stop-gap measure. Or better yet, find any way humanly possible to budget for a great card, and it will pay off in lasting memories in the noggins of your prospective customers.

Website
Your website is the first or second point of contact for many people. Make it great. Budget well for it. Do not put up a website that you have to apologize for. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve heard people from large and small businesses alike say, “Our website sucks,” or “This is our website, and it’s not really, uhh, very good.”

If you’re not impressed by your website, no one else will be either (even if you apologize for it in advance). If you have a small budget, keep an open mind, and find someone who offers an outstanding solution within your budget. It may take time to find them, but someone can do it. Work incrementally if you have to. Never settle for a lesser website than your brand deserves.

Letterhead, Envelope and Mailing Label
Many businesses use these items few times in a year, however, those few times are usually worth investing in good design and printing. If you send someone a fat proposal on a lasered letterhead in an ink-jetted envelope, you’ve just sealed a fly-by-night look on your hard work. Why risk losing that $150,000 contract (or even the $5,000 deal)? Spend the bucks on quality offset printing, and look professional every time.

Tag line
We’re venturing into the waters of the verbal part of your brand, but since your tag line accompanies your logo nearly everywhere it goes, your tag line development should be included with the initial brand development deliverables.

While your logo tells everyone who you are, you tag line succinctly tells people what you do and what you stand for. Your logo and tag line are a potent combination of meaningful, memorable brand smack.

Overview Brochure
Think brochures are outdated? Think again. When your computer, iPod or iPad are absent, your brochure can make the sale. I’m not talking about that yawn-inducing tri-fold in your dentist’s office, replete with cheesy clip-art. I’m talking about the uniquely formatted and crisply designed rockstar brochure that makes you feel like two million bucks handing it out. The one that can be passed on to someone easily and with a word of recommendation. I’m talking about the brochure that makes breaths be held and helps people connect with your company. Your overview brochure is your impressive, convincing voice when you can’t be there.

Sometimes we add in vehicle design, t-shirts, thank you cards, holiday cards, bookmarks and other branded items.

Investing in professional brand identity materials does three things:
1. It makes you look and feel more professional.
2. It helps you project more confidence, thus you sell better.
3. It makes the difference between looking like a fly-by-night organization or a real business people can depend on.

Take care of your basic corporate identity deliverables, and they will take care of your business.

What do you intend to achieve with this project? The question surprisingly gives some clients pause. The answers range all the way from detailed bullet lists of goals in creative briefs to, ‘I have no idea, but I know we need it.’

Communication is key
If you want a big change in the perception of your business, or a boost in sales, or you have some other big goal, find a designer who speaks your language, both verbally and aesthetically. You can usually tell if you’re on the same page within 15-20 minutes of talking. Branding is a personal process, as is graphic design, so great communication with your graphic designer is critical to getting what you want.

Align your budget and goals
If your budget doesn’t align with your goals, ask about options or adjust your goals to a more modest start with increasing ambition as your efforts start paying off. Some graphic designers can get pretty darn creative with solutions to meet your budget.

If you find yourself theorizing about the least amount of business you can take on to survive (to deal with a low budget), try instead thinking about your ideal client capacity.

How do you set goals for your project?
Depending on your business size, a brand audit is a good place to start. A brand audit will show weaknesses and enlighten areas to improve. If you run a small business, a brand audit shouldn’t take very long. If you’re just getting started, do a reverse brand audit by thinking about all of the places you think people will interact with your brand.

Think about every single point of contact you have or will have with customers and prospects. This may be a little hard to do by yourself because you may take your brand touch points for granted, which is easy to do.

Listen for the red flags
Some designers actually view a logo as a secondary element to a website. If you get that vibe while talking to them, find another. Your logo is one of the primary things you want people to remember on your site. It should never be an afterthought. If it is thrown in as a side order, move on. Your logo is the most important visual element of your brand.

Example graphic design goals:
• Design a new logo that you totally love
• Get an identity design that you can be proud of
• Develop a brand that speaks to you and your audience
• Develop a clear brand that motivates employees
• Design packaging that is strong at every touch point

Ask your prospective graphic designer the following goal-oriented questions:
• What is your specialty?
• Where can I see examples of your logo design, corporate identity design, and websites?
• Can you help me do a brand audit?
• Can you provide both individual and package pricing?

Try to get a feel for how the designer listens to you, and how responsive they are to your questions. If you have worked with a graphic designer in the past, think about some areas where you would like a better relationship with a new designer. Ask about those when you are interviewing designers.

This is your opportunity to find a graphic designer who can deliver exactly what you want. Make the most of it.

Read on:
Finding a great graphic designer, an introduction
Finding a great graphic designer, part 1: Budgeting

Budgeting for graphic design or brand development often draws a question mark for people new to hiring a designer. While frugality is important, your visual identity is the last item to skimp on because it is the most important tool you have for making a great first impression. People often ask, ‘What about me? Aren’t I a great tool for making a great first impression?’ I hope we can agree that you are not a tool!

The first thing you need to do before contacting graphic designers is determine your budget. Designers are masters of crafting solutions to meet budgets, but if you don’t know your budget when you start calling, they will not be able to provide responsible estimates.

Some graphic designers do design only, while others competently offer a full range of services. In my experience, working with one person or office can be of great benefit because it keeps your overall brand message focused. It saves money, energy and time too.

A quick word of warning for those hiring a designer for branding: Many graphic designers have no idea what branding actually is, so be sure to ask some tough questions specifically about branding. I’ve covered this in greater depth in another post.

There are many ways to find a great designer, from referrals to checking samples, to good ole Q & A. Conversation wins out nearly every time, so my vote is Q & A. First, you have to ask yourself some tough questions, then it’s time to start quizzing a short list of designers to find the right one for you.

Budget setting: use the new computer rule
When setting your budget, use the ‘New Computer Rule,’ which states that you should always buy the most expensive computer you can afford. The reason for this is simple. If you buy the cheapest computer, it will have a slower processor, it will become outdated much faster, and it will not serve your purposes very well.

Similarly, if you buy the cheapest logo, identity or web design, it may be lacking in power and longevity, and it probably will not communicate the essence of your unique business. If your goal is to increase sales by making a bigger impact right from the start, a cheap identity or website will not do the trick. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, but don’t sell your brand short either.

Budgeting questions to ask yourself:
• What is my annual operating budget?
• What can I budget for brand development?
• Do I want to work with an established professional?
• What are my needs for deliverables? (i.e. brand strategy, brand positioning, logo, business card, tag line, packaging, website, etc.)
• What do I expect from the working relationship?

Questions to ask your prospective graphic designer:
• What are your primary services?
• Can you provide an estimate? (If you know your deliverables, ask for an estimate. Even a ballpark estimate might help you determine if you can afford to work with the designer you like.)
• How many revisions are included in your estimates?
• Can you create a project package to cover all my needs?

Notes on hourly rates
You might be tempted to ask hourly rates. Proceed with caution or at least a very open mind here because all designers work at different speeds, which means that a fast designer will probably have a higher rate, yet you may still be able to afford them. You might be surprised – some designers work 5-10 times faster than others. Also, while a low rate may be hard to resist, it can often be a red flag signaling lack of experience that can cost you bigtime down the road.

Some designers don’t charge by the hour. Seasoned designers estimate jobs based on several factors, and many don’t use an hourly rate.

If you start out with the idea that the work you need is worth only a low hourly rate, you will probably undermine your marketing goals. Similarly, focusing on a low overall dollar amount will limit the depth of the work that is possible. For instance, if you start out by saying, ‘I need a 30-page website with a CMS, e-commerce, plus a logo and a brochure,’ followed by, ‘What can you do for $500?’ Well, you’re going to get politely laughed out of the room. If you put your budget on the table right from the start, however, we can begin aligning your realistic budget with your needs.

Try prioritizing your marketing goal first, and see how the possibilities open up. Starting with your goal first in mind is a smart strategy for getting the designer thinking creatively right from the first meeting.

Read on:
Finding a great graphic designer, an introduction
Finding a great graphic designer, part 2: Goal Setting

‘Great’ is a relative term. The designer has to be right for you by working with your budget, meeting your goals, inspiring you, and delivering effective work. How do you find the perfect designer for your needs?

One way to start is by considering locale. For instance, if you are in need of graphic design in Seattle, there are over 500 of us in Seattle alone, and those are just the ones listed in the local directory. Once you decide to choose a local designer, figuring our your budget and goals will help pare down the list of people you can work with. Don’t know your budget and goals? That’s ok. I hope to help you figure that out.

Train of Thought frequently takes calls from business owners who know they need to hire a graphic designer for brand development or web design, but they have no idea where to start. By ‘no idea’, I’m not just talking about the finding a designer part. If you haven’t the foggiest notion of where to begin, you are not alone!

Small business owners frequently have no budget in mind, no known annual operating budget from which they might figure out a project budget, no business plan, and no long-term goals down on paper. They often have no idea what constitutes a good logo design, and they have no idea what elements make up a brand. They just know they need a graphic designer. All of these unknowns are okay, if you can trust the designer you ultimately hire to help you answer them. Can I work with this set of variables? Well, I certainly try! The truth is calls like that are often the launch pad to a bunch of tough questions. Sometimes it leads to a great relationship.

Now, I could throw a guesstimate price out there based on what I think they need – and sometimes I just have to – but if I really want to help the person by providing an accurate estimate and have any chance of landing their business, it’s important to learn a few things first. Primary among them are their budget and goals.

If you have no budget, as in the sky’s the limit, every designer under the sun will LOVE you. But if you’re like most companies, you have a budget for each project. Sometimes budgets are set arbitrarily, and other times they’re determined by operating costs. Once you figure yours out, and find a designer you trust, it’s okay to share it.

Hands on the table
Ten years ago, if I asked about a project budget, I got a straightforward answer, but things have changed. Now when I ask for the budget prior to providing an estimate, about 85% of the time the answer is, “I have no idea. What should the budget be?” If I then produce a middle-of-the-road estimate, I stand a good chance of seeing my prospective client’s utter surprise fly across the room or through the phone, smacking into the wall like a herd of wild spoonbill platypus.

People often have a preconceived notion of what a design project is worth before they have any idea what the end-product will do for them, or what the development process might look like in terms of hours or services required.

Some people hold back on sharing their budget because they think it’s smart business, like maybe they’ll get a better deal. (It’s far more likely they wind up with a worse deal.) A more efficient strategy for getting an exceptional design is everybody with their hands above the table, working towards a common goal.

If you truly have no idea what your budget is, that’s ok, as long as you’re willing to do the work together to figure it out. At some point, your budget and goals absolutely have to align, or you will wind up frustrated or disappointed—or worse, over budget with a crummy design.

Budget alignment, an example
A company called me last year wanting a custom font designed and programmed. I was told that budget wasn’t a problem. I mentioned that custom type design and font programming can run between $5,000 and $15,000, depending on complexity. I heard this: “What?! Oh, I thought it would be maybe one or two hundred bucks.” Click.

Type design is often a 100-200 hour (or more) conquest. The end result is a truly unique typeface that becomes a core part of a company’s marketing communications. It provides a distinctiveness that few other elements can. The financial benefit of it is tremendous because it can transform a company’s marketing pieces from mediocre yawnfests to attention-getting masterpieces.

Say I spent 50 hours on their type design project. At their $100 budget, I would make $2 per hour on the project. Had the company’s goals and budget been aligned, I could have suggested a smart solution for them.

It’s the thinking that counts
Creative problem solving is part of what you should be looking for in a great graphic designer. It’s what elevates design to another plane that connects with people on multiple levels, generating greater sales possibilities. Savvy graphic designers can help you figure out a realistic budget.

Say you need a logo, corporate identity and website. You don’t know your budget, but you have an open mind. An experienced designer can tell you off the top of their head what a logo and identity costs, then ballpark a website estimate based on page count, features and work required. That’s some valuable input when you don’t know your budget, right? From there, you will be able to quickly access whether or not you can work with that designer.

Finding a great graphic designer
Finding a great graphic designer is not like finding a decent order-taker. Good designers are paid to think. Mediocre designers may do what you tell them, but they usually will not produce graphics that support marketing. And that’s really the whole point of hiring a graphic designer.

If you read every article in this series, you will be one dangerously informed entrepreneur, ready to march out and find an absolutely perfect fit in a graphic designer for your brand development needs or virtually any graphic design project needs.

Read on:
Finding a great graphic designer, part 1: Budgeting
Finding a great graphic designer, part 2: Goal Setting