Brand
The right word. Worth 1000 words.
A brand is built like a person, from the inside out. I help founders build brands that connect with people.
From the inside out
Headvalue, the essence of your brand
Your brand's single intrinsic value, in one word. It's the first thing to find, because everything else flows from it: the name, the voice, the identity, and every decision that comes after. In a workshop with me in the room, or through the course, if you'd rather run it inside your own company.
Brand heart
Vision, mission, principles and promises. The four pillars that complete the Headvalue and form the heart of the brand. With them, the whole company knows what the brand is for and how it behaves day to day.
You walk away withThe four pillars in writing, and a team that knows what the brand stands for and how it acts.
Naming
A company name, a product name, a product line. There is a method for finding names, one that gets you reasonably close to exhaustive. It's a three-to-four-hour workshop where more than fifty names are created, weighed and scored. After that, all that's left is checking domain and trademark availability.
You walk away withA shortlist of the three best names, and the reasoning that made them win.
Visual identity and art direction
Identity comes from the word, not from the taste of whoever signs off. I can lead art direction alongside your designer, or take the whole project through one of the agencies I founded, depending on scale.
You walk away withAn identity you know how to defend, and an approval meeting that takes minutes.
Team training and talks
The method, taught to your brand, marketing or product team, so they can apply the lens on their own. In companies, in schools, at events. Two thousand professionals trained since 2015.
You walk away withA team that decides with a shared criterion, instead of escalating everything to you.
Questions
Can I do just the naming?
You can, and the naming workshop stands on its own. But a name that doesn't come from the Headvalue is a pretty name the company can't defend the first time someone disagrees. On a tight budget, essence plus name beats a full identity without either.
How long does it take?
Discovery is one session with you and whoever else calls the shots. What comes after depends on scope, and I put the timeline in the proposal, with a date. I never start without that agreed.
Do I need the whole thing, or can I start with one piece?
You always start with the Headvalue, because the other four depend on it. From there it's your call: some stop at the brand heart, some go straight to naming, and some do the whole journey over a year.
Will you work with my current agency?
Yes, and it's often the best setup: I deliver the essence and the brand heart, and your agency executes with a criterion that didn't exist before. Plenty of agencies do better work once someone has settled that part.
What if we already have a visual identity?
You don't throw away what works. In most cases the identity survives and starts being used with intent; sometimes it turns out it was saying something else entirely, and then redoing it is your decision, made with an argument in hand.
Start
Your word already exists.
You just haven't found it.
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