Brand Strategy vs. Design Strategy
There seems to be a need to clarify brand strategy vs. design strategy, what defines each, and how and when each is used.
Over the years, we’ve received cultural arts RFPs that stated the organization wanted a brand strategy and then went on to list all the visual design they needed. We’ve had graphic designers explain to us how they developed a brand strategy for a cultural arts client with not a mention of the usual components that make up a brand strategy. And, we’ve had cultural arts clients complain to us about their organization’s brand when they were clearly talking about their logo.
Also, there’s a difference between branding and marketing, and we will address that in another viewpoint. Here, we stress the importance of first creating a position for your organization before beginning any design.
A Brand Strategy, at a minimum, contains:
1. Major Communications Issues. An identification of, and implications of, and recommendations to resolve a cultural organization’s major communications issues (e.g., misperceptions to correct, new ideas to communicate, organization issues that need to be rectified to ensure effective communications).
2. Audience Analysis. An aggregation and analysis of the audiences with whom the organization wants to communicate.
3. Position Statement. This paragraph focuses internal audiences on how they would like external audiences to think about your organization. Typically, it contains audiences, categories, differentiation, and proof of promise. This Statement is used as the basis for Position Pillars and informs visual identity.
4. Position Pillars. These are a group of key communications messages that stem from the Position Statement and are important to always communicate about your organization.
5. Image Attributes. These are your organization’s personality traits that need to be communicated via messages or visuals. They often suggest avenues for visual identity creation. They are the bridge from brand strategy to design strategy.
Sure, there are variations on the names for the components defined above, but the components are pretty much consistent across branding for not-for-profits and in the corporate world.
A Design Strategy always has a visual design outcome at its core. A Design Strategy could include several components:
• Creative Brief. This short document is based on and informed by the communications issues identified in the Brand Strategy.
• Comparable/Competitive Analysis. A visual analysis of comparable and/or competitive arts organizations’ visual identities.
• Current/Past Visual Identity(ies) Analysis. An analysis of a cultural organization’s current and possibly past visual identities with opinions/recommendations on which aspects may have accrued equity over time.
• Current/Proposed Directions Analysis. An analysis of the symbology and meaning behind current and/or proposed visual directions.
• Recommendations. Recommendations and implications on the various design directions that could be followed to create a cultural organization’s visual identity.
• Ancillary Components Exploration. Design studies of layouts, image styles, typefaces, and/or colors.
Keep in mind that a brand strategy and a design strategy are both important and interdependent. However, we believe that a design strategy should stem from a brand strategy.
Also, keep in mind that there are plenty of visual communications projects out there that do not need a organization brand strategy; they just need effective visual design that reinforces a brand strategy.
Finally, we believe something as organizationally and strategically important as a cultural organization’s visual image should be driven by a brand strategy, not solely a design strategy.
We hope this helps better clarify and identify communications services that are needed, that you are seeking, and that are being offered.
