Brian Frick

Everyone wants a fabulous logo. It takes a great design process to get there. And that's exactly what we are covering in this series of posts. Yesterday, I covered the preliminary, "discovery phase" or, as some people like to call it, "onboarding." If you haven't read that post and the one before it, I recommend reading both to get full context. I'm breaking out the full brand design process so you know what to do if you are trying to do it yourself, or know what to expect of a really great designer if you are hiring someone. Here we go! The Brand Design Process: Phase 1 - Research This is THE MOST IMPORTANT PHASE. The better the research, the better the strategy. The better the strategy, the better the execution. The research phase is mainly comprised of audits. Compiling lists and comparing data. These are the audits and the data within each that we want to examine if it exists: • Brand - name, messaging, taglines, trademarks, brand manuals • Business - stationary, forms, invoices, business cards • Internal - memos, employee swag, holiday greetings • Retail - packaging, promos, bags, merch • Sales - sales/product literature, decks, investor relations, campaigns • Electronic - social/web, video, apps • Environment - interiors, exteriors, signage, trade show booths I use a checklist and a corresponding file structure to gather and organize all of this data from each client. This can take days, weeks or even months, depending on the size and history of the brand. (DM me if you would like the checklist and file structure) It should be noted that you can use the checklist to also reverse engineer the deliverables that will be created for the brand in phase 4 of this process. Corresponding with this data gathering is the interview. I interview the team that is responsible for branding decisions. The owner, founder, CEO, whoever it may be that is on the team. The interview is comprised of 16 questions that elicit the values, purpose, mission, vision, culture, goals and more. It is recorded, and transcribed and annotated and delivered for the team's digestion. This interview usually goes for several hours and a byproduct is a business/life coaching session where the answers that the team comes up with are revelatory for those being interviewed. I have found that time and again, that interview ends up being one of the most valuable parts of the branding process. The value comes from the clarity that arises for the leadership of the company. Even if the company had plenty of clarity in their business, it's amazing what happens when you get a whole lot more. Once the audits and interview are finished and all of the data is in our hands, the research phase is complete. The next phase is strategy, which is distilling this data down to two one page briefs. The Brand Brief defines the brand personality and the Creative Brief defines where we are going and why. And I have hit the character limit! See you tomorrow!

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Feel like this is the future use cases for AI. Despite all the fear mongering about AI taking everyone's jobs (and of course, legitimate copyright questions), I think it'll ultimately boil down to a great toolset that augments existing tools and platforms, enabling us to make better work. Just because there's a camera in every phone, doesn't make us all photographers. Sure, everyone might be able to make a video in Sora once they release the public version, but great work will still require taste, experience and skill. Exciting times ahead, once the initial mainstream hype dies down. #ai #adobe #sora #runway #pika https://lnkd.in/eP2aYxx8

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I've treated my entire career as a journey to get as many snaps as possible to make what was once unknown for me (making, doing, thinking, directing, delegating, etc.) into a highly developed muscle that situationally flexes as necessary. AND I continue to adapt to my surroundings, and sacrifice what I may have once considered to be core to my integrity as a design professional in order to meet the moment fully. It hasn't felt like a clear progression into the commodification wall that Ryan describes; more like bits and pieces, here and there, more or less in various domains. Operating today in an early stage startup within a speculative industry (tech) for a conservative problem space (pharma & healthcare) yet with intelligent leadership who are true SMEs creates a stew of interesting trade-offs and opportunities as a function leader. Generally speaking, I've experienced what Ryan describes, but as with analytics in basketball, there's a big difference between a generalized approach to manifest offensive efficiencies and the individual choices one must make in a game seven. Matchups dictate adaptive strategies.

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How do you help a community as a designer versus become a tourist with a white savior complex? What does it truly mean to facilitate designing solutions together? How do you create space and uplift voices versus take space and claim "ultimate expert mastery" as a designer? All these questions and more are proposed by Marielle Sam-Wall in their Medium article below. Sam-Wall digs into how to be a better designer as facilitator as collective community member. Worth a read!

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Introducing Digital Accessibility+ At fare·well, we’ve always prioritized WCAG and ADA compliance in our web designs. Now, we’re thrilled to offer Digital Accessibility+, a comprehensive service that goes beyond essential compliance. • Accessibility Compliance: Ensure your site meets WCAG and ADA standards. • Privacy: Enhance user data protection. • Content Optimization: Improve clarity and effectiveness. • Data Privacy: Safeguard sensitive information. • Analytics: Monitor and enhance performance. • SEO: Boost your search engine rankings. Benefits of Website Accessibility: • Legal Compliance: Adhering to ADA and WCAG standards. • Improved SEO: Better search engine rankings. • Better User Experience: Easy navigation and readable content. Get Started: Begin with a free strategy call to plan your digital compliance journey. We offer flexible payment options, including a 50% discount for the first 5 clients. Start with a free strategy call to plan your digital compliance journey. Learn more and get started here: https://lnkd.in/gP9Wy6e9 #DigitalAccessibilityPlus #WebDesign #InclusiveWeb #farewell #Accessibility #Privacy #SEO #Analytics #Compliance #WCAG #ADA #FreeAudit #LimitedOffer #WebsiteAccessibility #DigitalAccessibility

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After reading Kara Swisher's "Burn Book," (which I HIGHLY recommend for anyone working in tech), I started thinking more about how digital designers can actualize responsible design techniques in their day-to-day practice. John Payne's lecture, "How to Work Responsibly with Emerging Technologies" (on EPIC People's website) is really an outstanding and inspiring resource. He reminds us of the unintended consequences of launching MVPs at scale, and how we might shift our thinking and practices to mitigate unintended effects. One method, creating a Narrative Map, was an especially fun exercise that John shared. My team and I thought about that in relation to transportation -- the Jetsons and Mad Max as examples of fictional utopian and dystopian vehicles. Both the vehicles and their environments tell very different stories about humanity. Designers -- how are you thinking differently about your practice than you did 5 years ago? What methods and tools are you using to practice responsible design?

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10 basic lessons of a design system. Being someone who has worked within and created many design systems, brand guidelines, and UI libraries, I've encountered many bumps along the way. What would you add or remove from this list? #designsystem #UX #lessonslearned #basics https://lnkd.in/evFxwP79

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How can someone wrap a Ferrero Rocher in 3D? I explain my approach in a new tutorial. Link in the comments 👇 #cpg #productanimation #tutorial

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The most poignant and well-written take I’ve read on AI in Design. A must read. https://lnkd.in/gVjkBFaf

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I haven't use it with a team yet, but what I love about Adobe Express is it's ability to create pages in different sizes in one file, that's another thing the makes it is easy to use. Have you been using Adobe Express? How can you compare it to others in the same category? Which is easier to use on your opinion? #adobe #adobeexpress #designmadeeasy #socialmedia #ads #socialmediadesign #contentcreation

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THIS 👇🏼 “Career progression for me, is asking yourself the right questions to figure out how you want to grow, then taking actionable steps to grow in the areas you’ve identified.”

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I flag brand integration as a critical skill for product designers to develop–it’s a versatile ability to add to your skill set. I’m not talking about learning how to create a brand (logo, color palette, typography, etc.). The skill I advocate designers to cultivate involves the ability to assess and understand all attributes of an existing brand–visual identity, voice/personality–and skillfully integrate those elements into the product experience. Do this, and you add tremendous marketability to yourself because you will know how to ensure that marketing's brand-led first impression will make a seamless handoff to the product experience. We’re in a state where, like Moore’s Law, there is exponential growth in the importance of branding for all businesses, not just corporations. If you know how to wield it in the design of the product experience, you will distinguish yourself.

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"Those who can't do, teach." Or do they? Today, I will be ➤ reviewing projects and giving art direction instructions to our designers and ➤ prepping a 14Minds behavioral health imagery "work with me" session (stay tuned) and ➤ running an AI imagery training session for designers in the healthcare space. I will also be researching. And generating. And designing. Among lots of other things. This butchered version of Aristotle's eloquence has always sat in the back of my brain, holding me back from giving 1000% of myself to publicly teaching and sharing on a professional scale. I don't know if there's truth to it. I always wonder. #Design #Mentorship #Growth #Teaching

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Research is a function of strategy.  "According to CB Insights, over 90% of all products fail, most commonly due to no market need." Leave yourself time to ask big questions about whether any actually needs your product or service before you decide to launch it. #UXstrategy #UXresearch #Marketresearch

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I revamped (concept ) the hero section for Korn Ferry Here are the changes I made: ✅ Updated to modern typefaces for improved legibility ✅ Emphasized the primary color ✅ Provided more context within the hero section ✅ Incorporated illustrations strategically for enjoyable scrolling and highlighting key points ✅ Refined copy and layout for enhanced conversion ✅ Placed the video demo prominently Which update do you prefer the most? P.S. Need help with your landing page design? Let's discuss optimizing it for conversions!

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I’m noticing a peculiar design related anti-pattern of sorts in the post ZIRP economic environment. It’s where companies have the budget to staff design talent, albeit in lower numbers, but the development budget is so limited that teams are unable to implement the work designers produce. This is the third economic downturn I’ve experienced and we always get pendulum swings. In this one, there seems to be a bias toward austerity and implementing the least expensive solution.

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It is essential to remain mindful of the bigger picture in your design process. Remember to periodically pause and assess your work to ensure you are not succumbing to these prevalent design pitfalls.

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"Your design system isn't just a store of rules and constraints." ✨ Phillip Maggs, Superside's Director of New Horizons, spoke about how to build AI design systems at scale during Figma's #Config2024. Check the full talk: https://lnkd.in/dduYtTts

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