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1.1 KICK-OFF
The project kicks-off with a meeting of principal stakeholders and decision makers. We will be looking to your team to share company background, core positioning, target personas, goals, tone of voice, products / services and how we will define brand success. The meeting will include brand alignment exercises to facilitate a discussion about how you are currently perceived and where you would like to go. Post-kickoff, we will spend one and a half days on research to review current company standing, competitors, products / services, and the general design landscape.
1.2 STYLEBOARDS
We will then create a series of six to nine conceptual style boards that illustrate potential visual and conceptual brand directions. In this presentation, we also include results and key takeaways from the Kick-Off meeting for easy reference as we continue design and development. We will present the styleboards to you and ask the team to select one to three concepts to explore in the Identity Design phase. These selections will also help inform the following Tone of Voice phase.
1.3 TONE OF VOICE
In this phase, we will develop at least three manifestos, each representing a distinctive tone of voice direction that we believe could be viable for your brand based on what we heard in the Kick-Off and Styleboards. Additionally, we will develop at least three sample headlines per tone of voice. We will present the copy to you and ask the team to discuss which feels authentic and ultimately, select one manifesto for refinement. After one week, we will present the final manifesto. Whether or not this is the final published company manifesto or not, it will serve as a key guidepost for the Identity Design and Site Design phases.
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2.1 IDENTITY DESIGN
In this phase, we will further explore the design concepts selected from the Styleboards. Each direction will be expressed through a unique combination of type, color, graphic elements and imagery. To illustrate each concept, example applications will be created to demonstrate the system and visual components (typically items like website homepage, promotional and event materials, signage, print collateral, social network pages, etc.). We will review and confirm these applications with your team prior to ensure that we are creating applicable materials. After three weeks, we will present at least three design directions and ask the team to select one design concept for refinement in the final system Identity phase.
2.2 REFINEMENT
Using feedback from the Identity Design phase, we will refine the selected design direction. Refinements will include further explorations of imagery, color, and layouts while expanding the overall system. After two weeks, we will present the final brand identity system to your team.
2.3 GUIDELINES
In this phase, we will deliver a core package of brand guidelines that will include but are not limited to type, logo, color palette, brand system elements, rules for imagery and tone of voice. As we compile elements and develop the package, we will share in-progress guidelines with the team and ask for feedback to ensure that the document is clear and comprehensive for key stakeholders. We will also deliver a series of templates, such as business cards, presentation deck templates, etc. All content, specs, etc., will be provided and confirmed by your team prior to design.
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