Like method actors, one of the first things we’re asked is “so what’s your process?”. People like process; it’s comforting. It means everyone knows the steps involved to get the perfect piece of work.
But there isn’t a one-size-fits-all, ten-steps-to-success way to do branding. If anything, we’ve found that process gets in the way and causes the most problems (and the bigger the company, the more process clogs things up).
We’ve been thinking about this because we’ve written a series of how-to guides to help demystify what we do and share what we’ve learned over the years. We found that it’s far easier to explain how not to get bogged down in process than it is to explain what to do instead. And the knock-on effect of stripping away a process means explaining how we do what we do sounds really simple – far simpler than it really is. Maybe that’s why lots of agencies call things like briefing meetings, research and interviews ‘immersion phases’ – because it sounds too simple to say what really goes on.
But actually using your wits and changing the way you work to fit the project and the brief is far harder than working to a process. We think it’s the only way to get good work. So we’ve stuck to our guns and told it like it is.
Update:
We posted our first how-to guide about tone of voice here on our blog. We’ve moved it to a new section on our website, where you’ll find all our how-to guides: over here.