[MUSIC] 0:00 So today I'm gonna be talking about the creation of a brand. 0:02 I'll start with a little introduction of myself in 0:04 several different brands that I have. 0:07 My name's Christy Harner. 0:10 As a person, I am a UX designer and a film maker. 0:12 I've been doing that for about ten years. 0:17 So, I love making stories, film, designing things and 0:19 my real big passion is to take somebody's story or somebody's idea and turn it into 0:23 a real product or a brand or a business and so, that is really my passion in life. 0:28 I also have another alter ego, Christina Harner. 0:34 I'm an author, and 0:37 I write young adult novels so, that's another one of my brands. 0:38 As a young adult author, I help teenagers with creative writing and 0:41 I've written [LAUGH] several books about fairies and the environment and 0:45 things like that, and I don't normally mix those brands together, but 0:49 that was just an example of another brand that I have. 0:51 My third brand is that I'm a Chinese language student, and 0:54 that's something that I do on the side, it's a passion. 0:57 And where that comes into play in my business is that I work with a lot of 1:00 development teams and some of the mare in China and so 1:03 I'm really trying to understand other cultures and other languages. 1:06 And also when the US isn't as important anymore and 1:09 the world's turned upside down I'd really like to learn some of 1:12 the major languages so that was another goal of mine. 1:15 My fourth brand is Mommy. 1:19 I'm a single mom and I was at three soccer games today so, 1:21 if I seem a little like messy, I was on the ground screaming at a five year old to 1:24 remember to look at the ball instead of at the flowers off to the side and 1:29 I also took him out to the woods to pee once so that's- 1:32 >> [LAUGH]. 1:35 This may be my real brand, [LAUGH] but this is the one that I do normally. 1:37 I am the boss, I am the co-founder of Binary Ventures, 1:42 which is actually a company in Charlotte, we've about two years, 1:46 I'll tell you a little bit more about that as I go along because that's really where 1:50 my my speech today comes to play. 1:53 So I'm the creative principal and so I, nobody calls me the boss and 1:56 my UX designers here didn't even want to come to my speech so, 2:00 who knows how important I really am, but that's another one of my brands. 2:04 Just a really, really quick background that relates to the creation of a brand. 2:08 When I was in school I actually didn't study design, 2:12 I actually studied cultural studies. 2:14 I absolutely love how people think, languages, world views, 2:17 religions, it's all fascinating to me. 2:21 And so I've traveled all over the world. 2:23 I would say I've been to 25 countries, but I think it might be 26 now with Scotland. 2:25 I'm not sure what it is. 2:30 My sister and I had a debate, and 2:31 so as of this week, I think I've beat her, because we're both at 25. 2:33 And she's never been to Scotland, so, I think I'm at 26 now. 2:36 Some of the places that I've been the most are things like West Africa, 2:39 I studied in West Africa for a Summer. 2:44 I've been to Europe many times, my sister on the top right is getting married, she, 2:46 she lives in India now, I have a little half Indian niece, so I'm really excited. 2:51 China and my parents live in Pakistan so 2:55 my cultural experience started in college and has gone throughout my life. 2:58 And now I actually run development teams all over the world which is super fun and 3:02 it's awesome because a lot of my teams, you know, 3:05 when you talk to somebody in Indian or Pakistan. 3:08 You know, usually, you, you as the project manager doesn't know them, but 3:11 I can actually say, oh, I've been to your town and it's very fun. 3:14 So, I'm very thankful for my background in that culture. 3:17 So, right now, I work at Binary Ventures and I started that company two years ago 3:20 with my business partner Steve Nolan, who is the Managing Principal. 3:25 So he told me when we started that he would take care of all of the things that 3:29 I hate. 3:32 So he manages things and does the payroll, and the sales, and 3:32 all that and my job is to work with companies and help their brands. 3:36 And so, what we do is we work with startups. 3:41 About 70% of our customers are startups. 3:44 And so what, what we do is we help these people who have this really cool idea, 3:48 whether it's a mobile app, or an online store, or 3:52 maybe it's a web application that doesn't relate to mobile, they have an idea and 3:56 they're very very excited about it and 4:00 they're very passionate about these ideas, but they haven't built anything yet. 4:01 And so what we get to do is come in and listen to that idea and it's really really 4:04 fun because instead of just working with an existing or an existing brand, 4:08 I get to actually hear them pitch this brand from the very beginning. 4:13 They've got nothing, 4:16 they have, sometimes, most of the time they don't even have a name. 4:17 And so I get to hear them pitch their idea and then I get to start with them and 4:21 build this brand for them. 4:25 And it's so exciting. 4:26 And I say for them and I really should say with them, because. 4:27 My job isn't just to take their idea and build what I think is a brand, but 4:30 I need to take their idea and make it them in the best way and 4:35 that will get results as Nora talked about before me, I know. 4:39 She talked about getting the results and not just listening to just the customer, 4:42 but making sure they're going to get results. 4:46 And I have to go back to the very beginning. 4:48 And I have to actually find out who this person is. 4:50 [COUGH] And I have to help from the very, 4:52 very beginning, finding out who they are and how we're gonna build this brand. 4:55 So, before I really get started I wanted to show you a comic that I, 4:59 it's about eight or nine years old. 5:04 But, it perfectly represents the bad parts of starting to create a brand. 5:06 How many of you have seen the How Web Design Goes Straight to Hell comic? 5:11 Okay, I know a lot of you have seen it. 5:15 Its been around for awhile and 5:17 especially when i was starting out this kind of thing happened to me all the time. 5:19 But it's a really, really amazing representation of how a brand can go. 5:22 And so you just take web design and change it to brand or 5:26 change it to anything with design it's all the same. 5:28 So I'm just gonna go over it really quick, 5:31 because it really relates to what we're doing. 5:33 First of all everything's cool in the beginning. 5:35 The client communicates their needs, you set expectations. 5:37 Everyone's like super happy. 5:39 They think you're awesome. 5:41 They haven't seen anything yet, but 5:42 they think you're great, you're a good sales person. 5:43 Then they show you the current website, and you're like, oh, 5:47 my god, that's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. 5:49 [LAUGH]. 5:50 Everybody's laughing, like this is a si, 5:51 this crime is a site to humanit, a site is a crime to humanity, it's horrible. 5:53 Our last designer was an idiot. 5:57 Note to self. 5:59 Whenever they say that, they're gonna say that about you in about five years. 6:00 So, just be really careful what you say. 6:03 We're all idiots five years, like looking back, right? 6:05 So, anyways we're all laughing. 6:08 Oh my God comic sans. 6:09 And then you redesign the website or you rebuild the brand or 6:12 you redesign the logo, whatever it is. 6:14 It looks awesome cuz you're designing it. 6:17 So it looks really amazing. 6:19 And so, that's where the best part of the whole brand comes into play. 6:20 Ta da, you've got this awesome brand. 6:24 So then they come in and they say, oh, just a few minor changes. 6:26 Because what's happened is you didn't want them design it. 6:29 So, you designed it, and now they feel like they need to design it. 6:32 So they're like I feel obligated to make changes, and so 6:36 they start adding, making pop, more edgy, doesn't feel right. 6:40 And so, this comes with these weird feelings and 6:43 they start suggesting I want the color blue here and brown here and 6:45 it's just, you have, you start making the changes for them. 6:48 So then we go switch back to the, 6:51 you know, comic sans, and then make it less liney. 6:52 I love when he writes under here that this is happened to me, 6:57 I've had the weirdest suggestions and they've all happened to everybody. 6:59 And then it gets really bad because, you know, 7:03 he gets other people involved, co-workers, pet hamster, uncle. 7:05 You know, I love, I've looped my mother to this conversation. 7:09 She designed a bake sale flyer back in '82, so 7:12 you could say she has an eye for design. 7:14 >> [LAUGH] 7:16 >> That has so happened to me, and I'll talk a little bit more about that later. 7:17 So you know, the design needs to, 7:21 you put together needs some colors, perhaps a little pink. 7:23 Throw in a kitten, everyone loves kittens. 7:25 I actually did just do a kitten in this presentation, I realized. 7:28 So anyways, throw a kitten in it, yeah, that's great. 7:30 So, then, all hope is lost. 7:33 Seriously, you begin to fantasize about other careers. 7:35 You know, you've got miffles, 7:38 the stream of consciousness dog that's going to end up on this presentation. 7:39 Just gets really, really bad. 7:43 You are no longer a web designer, now you're a mouse cursor inside a graphics 7:44 program which the client can control by speaking, emailing, and instant messaging. 7:48 It's so bad. 7:53 Finally, at the end an abomination's born and 7:54 you really do think, I think this looks like it originally did. 7:57 And you really just want to quit your job and go somewhere else, and 8:01 they're happy, which is the scary part because they don't know. 8:04 And so you've failed at your job. 8:07 They may think that you've won, or you've done a good job, and 8:09 it's just [LAUGH] everybody's sad. 8:12 So, that [LAUGH] is the intro to my presentation because I, this really, 8:14 really represents how things can go south quickly. 8:19 So because of that, my motto is, or one of my mottoes is the brand starts with 8:23 the founder, or the client, or whoever it is, that is where the brand starts. 8:29 It is in their head, especially for a new client, 8:34 a new product whether it's a new product for a company or a new product, 8:36 especially if you have more of an open table, the brand starts with the founder. 8:41 Scary thing is that the founder can be anybody. 8:46 So, I get people doing all sorts of things, I've got clients who you know, 8:50 an older lady, 75 years old, came in wants to start a new clothing line. 8:56 And she's you know in her 70's. 8:59 That's one of my challenges. 9:01 I've gotta work with her. 9:02 I've got, you know, a 50 year old guy that wants to do a Christian online store which 9:03 is there's so much competition. 9:08 You know, and I've gotta work with it. 9:10 I've got all different people, young, old, everybody. 9:11 And you've got to work with the person that you've got. 9:15 And you can't make them somebody they're not. 9:17 So, the first thing you need to do, 9:19 is make no assumptions when that person comes in. 9:21 Whether it's by looks or the crazy idea they have. 9:24 Don't make any assumptions. 9:28 And so, what I wanna do is I wanna give you some tips. 9:29 For how to make that brand session go really well. 9:32 And what I do when I first start a brand is, I'll give you an example, 9:35 the other day I had someone call me on the phone, so I, first of all, 9:40 I know no idea who this person is, I don't know how old they are, I know it's a guy. 9:44 I don't know what race they are, I know nothing. 9:49 So he calls me up and he says I want to start, this is a guy says, 9:51 I want to start an online Christian accessories and gifts store. 9:55 And I'm thinking, like, okay we're going to make it, like really hipster and 9:59 it's going to be reaching toward young adults and okay, I can do this, 10:03 'cuz I already, you know, I kinda grew up real fundamental so I, I totally went to 10:06 these Christian bookstores, but I don't want to make it like that. 10:09 I want to make it really cool and I have this whole idea in my mind, and 10:11 then I have to remember I don't know who he is. 10:15 I don't know if he's my age, I don't know if he's 50. 10:18 I don't know who he is. 10:20 And so, I have to start by, when I go and 10:22 meet with him, I have to really start from ground zero. 10:27 And, oh, yeah, here's the cat I threw in. 10:30 So. >> [LAUGH]. 10:32 >> When you start talking to your clients, 10:33 you need to remember that you're basically asking them all about themselves. 10:36 And so, what I'm gonna do is give you a bunch of questions that we can ask. 10:40 And this presentation is really going to be questions that, I ask. 10:43 And when I do, when I do meet with that client. 10:47 For example, when I talked to him on the phone, I said, let's meet in person. 10:49 And he had agreed that he wanted to have us build a website, 10:51 do his brand and do his initial marketing. 10:54 We don't do on, ongoing marketing, but we build the brand and 10:56 then give you the tools and hook you up with a marketing team. 10:59 And so, I came with an 80 slide questionnaire where we were just going to 11:02 sit down and ask questions. 11:07 And I made no assumptions whatsoever. 11:08 And that made it so that I could create a brand that he felt really good about. 11:11 So, when you go and sit down with this cat meme, you think, this guy is just 11:15 somebody that's just coming to me and he's going to tell me his whole life story. 11:19 And you gotta be really interested him, and really get to learn about him. 11:22 So, the very first question I ask is, why are you creating this brand? 11:26 What is it that you're doing? 11:30 And this is such a good question for anybody to ask, especially a start-up. 11:32 Because they may not have a really good reason for creating the brand. 11:37 It's, there may be a nugget in there somewhere but something like, 11:41 I wanna make a bunch of money isn't really a good reason. 11:44 And, although it's not my job to tell them not to build a business, 11:46 it's my job to take that idea that they have and 11:50 that reason, and turn it into a really good reason. 11:53 And a really good window a really good product that will actual have a, 11:55 a chance in the market. 12:00 So I need to know why he's doing it. 12:01 Because I don't want to veer off too far from the brand that he's done. 12:03 And I'm gonna try to focus more on the design side of things. 12:06 So the first example is this, this christian accessories and gift store. 12:10 He wanted to call it godlygiftshomedecorandmore.com and 12:16 I said that no one would ever remember that name. 12:19 So, we do have that URL and 12:22 you'll be able to check it out, but lovethelordinc is what we went with. 12:23 Because we are gonna be building some products for, 12:26 and I wanted t-shirts to look really nice and the other name was kind of long. 12:28 So, when I started and 12:32 he told me he wanted to build this I had this idea in my head that he was maybe 12:34 like 80 years old and he wanted to do like a you know Joel Osteen kind of bookstore. 12:37 And that was just a bad assumption so, I had to really sit down and 12:42 say okay, what do you actually wanna do and when I met him I found out 12:46 he pretty much looked like this guy, early 50's although he looked a lot younger. 12:50 He came from corporate America. 12:54 He had been recently married was a very strong Christian and 12:56 this was a dream that he'd always had. 12:59 And I had none of those assumptions in my head when I first started. 13:01 So, I was really excited to meet him because then I thought okay, 13:04 awesome, I've got a blank slate, I have no idea what this guy wants but 13:07 he seems really cool so that's, that's good. 13:11 Started with my like are you okay with hipster question? 13:14 The guy said it always helps me with design. 13:18 Anyways, it was really awesome to meet with him and just say oh, 13:20 okay, this is who you are now let me ask you more questions about yourself so 13:23 I found out you know how old he is. 13:26 I know that's crazy but 13:28 it helps with kind of figuring out his pop culture references, his style and taste. 13:29 And then, you know, 13:34 his, where he came from, and even his relationship, I know that's crazy, but 13:35 those are all things that really help me when I'm building a brand. 13:39 The other thing that I found out during this, 13:42 which is the answer to the why question, is this verse, and yes, 13:44 he wanted this entire verse on the homepage of the coming soon website. 13:47 So, it made it, I had, it made it so I really needed to make sure that when I 13:51 built this brand that this verse was prominent, or 13:55 at least was represented in design. 13:58 And so, we've been able to cut down the verse a little so 14:00 that it's not the entire love the Lord with all your heart commandment but 14:03 the entire design of the website is going to be represented in this verse, or 14:07 this verse will be represented in the design kind of both ways. 14:11 But basically, he really wants to make sure that every part of 14:15 this website is refle, reflection of the fact that people who 14:19 have the faith that he has will want to live God in every part of their lives. 14:23 Whether it's at home, whether it's at school, whether it's at work. 14:29 And so what we decided to do is really take all these pictures and 14:34 accessories and gifts that he's gonna be building and in the final site, 14:37 this is just the coming home site. 14:41 As you can see we still have the full verse down there. 14:42 But this the coming soon site and in the final site, 14:44 what we're gonna do is the homepage is gonna have these giant pictures 14:47 real beautiful pictures of a living room and a kid's room, and a classroom. 14:50 And throughout the page, you will see all the different gift items and 14:55 accessories and things that will really represent God in that room. 14:59 So that was his passion and so what we wanna do is make sure that the design, 15:03 that his passion comes out in that design. 15:07 And so, that was an example of a why, why are you doing this, and 15:10 there are so many different reasons why. 15:13 That was just one example that I really liked because it was a challenge, taking 15:16 that, he was a, this is why and here's my verse now make it into the design. 15:19 So now it can represent inside of the name, and inside of the homepage and 15:24 inside of all of the photography that we do. 15:27 Another question that's very important is, what is your background? 15:30 This really mostly comes into play when you're starting a new company but 15:34 it's very, very important. 15:38 So, one of the examples that that I wanna share is Paradine. 15:40 And Paradine is a new mobile app. 15:45 And what Paradine is, it's an app for businesses. 15:46 And so, let me tell you a little bit about Jake. 15:50 Jake is the owner of Paradine and he, he started this business, 15:52 he was working for Goldman-Sachs. 15:56 And he was a sales guy. 15:58 So he was travelling. 15:59 All over the world selling. 16:01 And so, he was always going to these new cities, and he would say, he 16:03 would show up in Seattle and he wouldn't really know what to eat or where to go. 16:06 And then if he had a client that he needed to meet with, 16:10 he wouldn't know where to take them for dinner. 16:12 And so, yes, there's Yelp, and there are other things like that, 16:13 but what he found was that there was no app that really said, okay, 16:16 I'm gonna pick out the best places. 16:21 And so if he goes to Seattle, he can actually click on 16:23 the different filters for a restaurant say, that he took his client to. 16:26 And then the next time somebody else from his business goes who 16:29 is linked to him from LinkedIn, they will go and 16:32 they'll see that there's a really good restaurant for taking a client to, or for 16:35 having an evening with somebody, or having, going to a coffee shop. 16:39 And so his entire goal, and 16:43 his entire reason for building this app was to solve a problem. 16:45 And that was because his background was in sales. 16:48 And so, I was very excited when we got to start working with him 16:51 because he actually was solving a problem. 16:55 And the problem was that, you know, this 97% would 16:57 rather get a recommendation from a friend or a colleague, rather than going to Yelp. 17:00 And so, when you're solving a problem and your background is in something. 17:05 Whether he had a background in you know, 17:09 technology, or a background in sales, I love that he had a background in 17:12 sales because he was passionate about solving that problem for sales people. 17:15 And so, the reason that plays into the design is that because he 17:19 knew that Paradine was a solution for sales people and there are hundreds of 17:23 thousands of sales people that travel all the time, all of our designing and 17:28 all of our branding was directed straight toward the sales people. 17:32 It wasn't directed toward everybody. 17:36 It was directed toward people just like Jake. 17:38 And so, as we went through our Twitter, and our social media, and 17:40 out videos and even you know, banners for tech crunch, and things like that. 17:44 We designed everything with the business, the business guy in mind, or 17:49 the business girl in mind. 17:52 We wanted to make sure that we represented Jake. 17:53 And that Jake's background and passion and need for an app that helped him as he 17:57 was going through his day would be represented in the design. 18:02 But I wouldn't have necessarily have know that because if I hadn't really asked Jake 18:05 why he was doing this and what his background was in. 18:09 Because honestly Paradine could be an app for people, 18:12 just anybody who wants to learn about new restaurants, and 18:15 wants to hook up with there friends and find out where friends like to eat. 18:19 That's also a solution but Jake really wanted to make it a solution for 18:22 sales people. 18:25 And so our first round in our first year campaign of design for 18:26 Paradine was specifically for those people like Jake. 18:31 A third question that is very helpful to ask and is 18:36 honestly as you all probably know one of the most important is, what is your story. 18:40 Now, you could say that it's part of that is their personal story. 18:46 Like, for example, Jake's story, pretty much anybody that I'm working with, 18:52 their personal story is very, very good for actually giving the brands some, 18:55 some some personality, right? 19:00 So the story can come out and 19:03 design through video that shows how this app works or it can come out as 19:04 simple as a logo where you've got the little tassel to show that it's for 19:08 schools because schools is spelled wrong so you have to give a hint to that one. 19:13 And [LAUGH] then there's things like a video where it just explains information, 19:16 but when I talk to a client sometimes they don't really know that their 19:21 story is important. 19:25 And so I, I want to tell them ev, even more things. 19:26 So I'll, I'll honestly spend a little more time explaining to 19:29 them that their story's really important. 19:33 And I wanna know everything about their story because there might be something in 19:35 there that's, a really interesting item to focus on. 19:38 So I tell them, I give them this list of things. 19:42 These are some of the most, the reasons why I need to know your story. 19:44 Improves the brand image and industry authority. 19:48 And then it expands added value for websites. 19:50 And it increases time on the site, 19:53 increases the social-share and cross-promotion. 19:55 Increases visits and leads, widens the competition gap and decreases cost and 19:57 intrusiveness in advertising. 20:02 And where this plays into the actual design can be very different, 20:05 whether it's a video or a website or an illustration. 20:09 And one example that I have was a company called Derwent. 20:13 Now, the name Derwent will probably be changed with the, 20:15 the website's launch, but we're still working with this company. 20:18 And when he came to me this guy Tim, he's the owner of Derwent. 20:21 He actually wants to start this company where they work, 20:26 they address the technology readiness levels. 20:30 And I'm probably not going to explain this quite right, 20:32 cuz it was a little confusing to me, too. 20:35 But basically they're, there's this arc of innovation, and 20:36 when somebody has an idea that something maybe the construction industry can use, 20:39 they have to go through various levels. 20:44 And so he sent me this dial and he's like I drew up a dial for you. 20:45 You can use it on the website. 20:49 [LAUGH] So, like okay. 20:50 So we did kind of and but I did, I did love this and this was very important 20:53 to him and he said, people don't know all of the, the different readiness levels. 20:59 But when I, 21:03 after I talked to him for a while, he didn't really want much on his website. 21:04 He really just wanted to explain what the technology readiness levels were. 21:07 And then where they fit into it. 21:12 And so that he could then talk to them in person. 21:14 And say, we fit between seven and nine. 21:17 And that's where they fit in. 21:19 Where they're going through the actual commercial application and 21:20 real world trials. 21:23 So he's the trial guy. 21:25 So I had to learn his story and that's a different kind of story where it's 21:27 an actual just kind of showing how it works. 21:30 So when we actually did the website, it's a little different than a site that I 21:34 would normally do because I did it in illustration because I didn't have 21:37 any real case studies because he was brand new. 21:40 So what I did was I just did illustrations for it and 21:43 we started by talking about bridging the gap from innovation to application. 21:45 And if you want you can just click on one of the circles like I am an investor, 21:49 I am in industry, I am an innovator, and you can go and 21:53 learn just a little about what those three different people do in this industry. 21:56 And then you're supposed to call him or you can actually read down this list and 22:01 learn about it. 22:05 And so on the website I was gonna do like a video of it but I was scared that it 22:06 might not work here so what I did was I was just gonna show you some examples. 22:09 You scroll down and you see the list of exploratory research concept development, 22:12 proof of concept, laboratory testing, laboratory validation. 22:17 And they just kind of animate it and 22:21 then you see where we can help which is six, seven, and eight. 22:22 And then why is this important and you go down and 22:25 you learn that as you scroll down these things animate in you learn that US is 22:27 actually not doing as many patents as China, and so we are really trying to 22:31 really increase our patents and increase our innovations and invention. 22:35 Especially in this industry, so that was very important to him. 22:38 So I included that as a design. 22:42 And then we went down thru the ten and so. 22:43 As you scroll down you can see number one is the basic idea. 22:45 An innovation starts with an idea, and then it goes to concept development. 22:49 And you know you can see what you know really little bits about it because I 22:53 didn't want to overwhelm anyone with the design. 22:57 But there's just that story, the proof of concept, the laboratory testing, 23:00 the laboratory validation, and then how can level seven help. 23:04 Which was the other name we were going to do for our company. 23:08 So this was kind of a test on the names. 23:10 I don't think we're going to do either of them. 23:12 We have like a, some Greek god now it's about technology, 23:13 which was a lot cooler name. 23:17 And then the initial commercial application defined. 23:18 And then you just keep scrolling down basically. 23:21 And you see this is another example of how to take someone's story and 23:24 turn it into design. 23:27 But it really requires sitting down with them and 23:29 asking all these questions, you know, what is your story and why are you doing it? 23:31 So that's part of my initial brand with somebody, is just finding that story so 23:34 that I can figure out how we're going to represent it in a design. 23:38 The next thing you do is, the next thing I address is what is your style? 23:42 So this can be a little more elusive and difficult for people. 23:47 Because you know, I kind of know my style and, well you saw all my different people, 23:52 you know, things that I am. 23:56 I'll wear like a moon lawn t-shirt and then I'll wear, you know, 23:57 nice clothes and I'll wear mommy clothes and those are different styles and 23:59 a lot of people don't really know what their style is. 24:02 So what I end up doing with this one is I start showing them different styles. 24:05 Like, for example, this is funny and witty. 24:10 And the reason that you want to ask them about their style is actually very 24:12 important, because when you start designing their logo and their website and 24:16 their videos, you don't want to go off and 24:20 do something that looks kind of like Instagram and is really cool and, and, 24:23 I don't know, young, fresh, if they really want something that's very. 24:28 For example, like, Paradigm, which is very business-y and, and elegant. 24:31 And so I have to ask these styles and I show them different designs. 24:34 And I really recommend doing this with a client when 24:38 you're working through a brand, is just showing them different types of design and 24:40 different types of style. 24:43 So I say this one's really funny cuz it says the journey of 24:44 1,000 miles sometimes ends very, very badly. 24:47 And [LAUGH] I, they love it. 24:50 If they love it, you kinda write it down like, 24:52 ooh they really liked the funny stuff. 24:54 And you go through it and then this is youthful. 24:55 And do you like bright colors and are you trying to reach out toward teens? 24:58 And we will talk about target audience. 25:01 But as far as the style itself goes, that, 25:03 you kinda need to help them along with this one. 25:05 And just show them different ideas of things that maybe they would 25:08 really like to do. 25:11 [COUGH] And hipster [LAUGH] I don't know I keep saying hipster cuz I'm. 25:11 I'm like a wannabe hipster. 25:15 I'll never hipster but like are you hipster? 25:16 Do you like this kind of stuff? 25:19 Do you like the minimalistic, whatever it is and, and then there's something like 25:21 clean and personal and that's again on the story side. 25:24 Are we really focusing on the photography and what are we focusing on? 25:28 And then, then you can start giving a list, because you know, 25:31 it's kind of just to get an idea of things that they say absolutely don't want to be 25:34 silly or friendly. 25:38 I don't know. 25:40 But you just go through and figure out what it is that they really like and 25:41 what's their style and so 25:44 this is an example that that was kind of a fun one for me which is SpendBoss. 25:45 And SpendBoss was a company that I've been working with for a couple years. 25:51 I was actually one of the founders of it. 25:53 I wasn't the, I had I was one of the founders of it and 25:56 it's this software for retail industry. 26:00 So, basically, high end ret, retail like well Coach, 26:03 Jo-Ann Fabrics big companies like that. 26:08 They, they will use this software a the highest level to adminit, 26:10 to be in charge of, all of the different stores throughout that company, and tell 26:15 each store how much money they're allowed to spend every month on everything. 26:19 So they can spend x amount on buying new refrigerators might be once a year. 26:22 They are allowed to spend x amount on toilet paper. 26:26 And it's basically anything that's not retail, so anything in their store, 26:28 the, the carpeting, the lighting, the you know, electronics, anything. 26:32 They have to regulate through the software. 26:36 And, so, we built the software and helped, we actually helped name it, SpendBoss, 26:39 because they wanted to be, kinda, kinda cool and kind of about the fact that 26:43 you are in charge and you are the boss now, and this helps you take over. 26:47 So, when I was talking to the guy who was their marketing person. 26:50 And as we were kind of starting this team, but they had some ideas, and 26:55 I had some ideas. 26:58 I was letting him come up with the ideas. 26:59 Because he was the one that after I exited the company, 27:01 he was gonna be really running the marketing department. 27:04 So, I wanted to make sure that anything we designed for 27:07 our overall concept would be something that he really owned as a person. 27:11 And so he came up, he came to me and he's a super awesome person. 27:15 He's like 55, he's crazy. 27:19 I think he's ADD. 27:20 He's probably like 10 inside and he's just 55. 27:22 He's just awesome. 27:24 And so he's like, I have this idea. 27:25 We're going to be Mad Men because it's like the boss. 27:26 And so like, okay, like I love Mad Men. 27:29 That's, that's fun. 27:32 Let's do it. And so he's like, 27:33 we're going to be Mad Men and we're going to be bossy and 27:34 snarky and professional and clever and. 27:36 So I"m thinking like, you know. 27:38 Also we'll do like cigar smoking and whiskey and 27:40 all this stuff and so we did we even went as far as doing like photo shoots. 27:43 And it got a little out of hand in some ways because started realizing first of 27:47 all it was a little chauvinistic and there were females. 27:52 I was the only female in the company. 27:56 It's like so you need to wear a bright red dress Christie and 27:58 like be standing there and I'm like, is this kind of like sexual harassment. 28:00 I'm doing it to myself, I'm not sure what's going on. 28:04 So I'm cool with it, but then you started really thinking about it 28:06 because you have that first crazy idea right? 28:08 So kind of had to reign it in. 28:11 But that allowed him to have the idea and then it was my job to 28:14 make it actually marketable because I didn't want to get in trouble. 28:17 And so my job is to make sure that, that guy owns the brand, owns the idea, 28:21 but I'm actually managing the brand and making sure that we stay on track. 28:25 So, we kind of pulled back a little and went very classy and elegant, but 28:30 still with the boss name. 28:35 And I think the tagline is get bossy and take control of your spend. 28:36 So. 28:41 I did a couple of things. 28:42 We started with the logo and just kinda picked some really classy clean colors. 28:43 Made it real simple. 28:48 And then started with this whole suit thing. 28:48 So everything's got the suit on it. 28:51 And, and that worked a lot better because there wasn't the whole 28:53 cigar whiskey thing anymore. 28:56 It was really just about like I'm the boss, real classy, clean. 28:57 And everybody loved the business cards because every single person on the, 29:02 on the C level execs has like a different suit. 29:06 So like I got a little necklace instead and somebody else got like a little 29:09 girl's scarf thing and then they had pockets and everything was very unique. 29:13 So this was a way to represent that Mad Men idea without going too far into it. 29:18 And representing a brand that could, could transcend some time. 29:23 It would just be you know while AMC was still running Mad Men. 29:26 And then we also brought in girls so you know, we have a little bit more, 29:29 the girl was actually doing boxing gloves and she's the boss. 29:33 So that was very, that was a way to balance the, the cool idea of 29:36 using Mad Men and bring in the less chauvinistic, more modern times design. 29:39 So, as an example of knowing your style. 29:45 And this was very much a style piece where everything was style. 29:48 And in fact, the CEO, even today, when he goes and does a sales pitch, so 29:51 if he travels to another country, I mean another state. 29:56 He will actually wear his black suit and 29:58 his little you know, whatever that thing is in his pocket. 30:00 And he looks just like the guy in the business card. 30:04 So then he gets to hand out his business cards and its, it's very styled. 30:07 So that was a really fun brand to create and so that's an example of 30:11 going a little too far but letting them come up with the idea and the style. 30:16 That was their style and then I kind of made it more mainstream. 30:20 Another thing that I, you only really have to deal with when you're a new company, 30:24 but it's really fun and 30:28 a little nerve-wracking to do is come up with a name. 30:30 And so, everybody has a name when they start. 30:34 One of our companies I'll talk about a little bit later was called Mobile Money. 30:36 And it was about local merchants and 30:40 so, we really didn't like the name Mobile Money, so we changed it to Localtopia, and 30:43 that's an example of changing a name. 30:47 And it's very important to do at the very beginning if you have something where you 30:49 feel the name isn't a good example. 30:52 Fit Race is one of ours. 30:54 When they came to us they were Sociercise. 30:55 And I'm not even sure if I spelled it right, to be honest, just now, 30:58 even though they're one of my clients. 31:01 And you know, the, 31:03 the dot-com is available, so it was really awesome for them. 31:04 But, we, you know, I met them and they said, oh, our name's Sociercise and 31:07 they really didn't have like a game plan exactly, but they had built an app, and 31:11 I couldn't find a, a screenshot of it cuz they took the website down, and 31:16 I forgot to screenshot their original app. 31:19 But basically the, this is a applica-, 31:20 we application mobile app for 31:23 people who want to have you ever heard of Charity Miles? 31:25 Where you can run and every mile you go you're donating? 31:28 Well what they wanted to do was one step further where instead of just a company 31:31 that already had basically allotted money to to people who wanted to run for 31:35 charity miles. 31:40 And then you would basically be giving that money that they had already allotted. 31:41 It was you actually going out and 31:44 finding sponsors from around your friends, online, Facebook, social media. 31:45 And then and then every time you ran they would sponsor you. 31:50 And then it would show up on your Facebook and show how, how many miles you'd run or 31:54 how much you'd bike. 31:57 So the name Sociercise was nice because it was social and exercise, but 31:58 we really didn't. 32:02 It just didn't work. 32:04 Because no one remembered how to spell it, and what the name was. 32:05 So we had to change the name. 32:08 And so, when we were working on the design itself and 32:09 really asked them what else is the point? 32:11 What's the purpose? 32:13 He said we really want people to get fit. 32:14 We want people to be healthy and we want to raise money. 32:16 So, to be honest, they came up with the name fitRaise after we 32:18 helped them come up with the idea and the brand and the words fit and raise. 32:23 And so they came up with this. 32:28 And the exciting part about that is that, 32:29 we were able to guide them toward that name but they came up with it. 32:31 So they felt very much like, been team effort. 32:35 And they had that, the idea themselves. 32:38 And that's the best, that's a win because we helped them get there, but 32:40 they really owned the brand. 32:43 So our job was really just to design it. 32:45 But we, and to guide them toward getting the right name and 32:48 the right look and the right feel for their company. 32:50 we, we rename probably half the companies that come to us because it's very, 32:54 very important, as part of your brand, to, to come up with the right name. 32:58 And then your logo's gonna be easier to figure out, and 33:01 your design, and all of that. 33:04 So, asking them about their name is part of branding something and 33:05 don't be afraid to ask them. 33:09 Cuz to be honest I've talked to companies who, if they're maybe six months old or 33:10 a year old and they have some customers or they're in beta. 33:14 And you say do you like your name? 33:16 Do you think you need some help with your name? 33:19 They're, they're very willing to look at it, 33:22 because they want to make, they want results. 33:24 They wanna get more customers. 33:26 And if they haven't had customers. 33:27 And changing the name is not always a bad idea. 33:29 So that's something that I ask at the first meeting, 33:30 is just throwing it out there do you like your name and if they like it and 33:33 that's you know, godly gift to [INAUDIBLE] home to [INAUDIBLE] or more. 33:37 You know, sometimes you fight it a little more cuz you wanna make sure that they 33:39 make, they make money and they, they get results that they want. 33:43 So it's important thing to do. 33:46 Who do you listen to? 33:49 This is basically who are the people that are going to be in, 33:51 influencing this brand. 33:54 Now it can widely vary from the uncle and pet hamster that we mentioned on the comic 33:55 to you know, a spouse because that one is actually more common than you think. 34:01 One example I have, and I don't have any like, visuals for 34:07 this, but I had a customer who I started working with the brand and design and 34:10 I showed him, you know, went through do you like this kind of design or this, 34:14 do you like these kind of illustrations, this, what colors do you want? 34:17 We went through this whole exercise. 34:20 And he got back and showed his girlfriend what he decided and 34:22 she was like, oh hell no, and then she started Skyping me and 34:25 saying, I think I wanna do this and I wanna do that. 34:28 And it's like, oh my God, we were halfway through designing. 34:30 And so, what you have to do and what I do now up, up front is, do, are you married? 34:33 So always ask like, what's your wife like? 34:38 Is she going to be part of this? 34:41 And if they say, oh, 34:43 she's, she wants nothing to do with it, you're like, okay are you sure? 34:43 or, you know, if she, oh, yeah, she's super excited about this brand. 34:47 If she says that. 34:51 [LAUGH] Anytime you send them a design just ask them to run it by the person. 34:52 [LAUGH] Because it's gonna really matter in the end. 34:57 You know, and, and even include them. 34:59 If there's other people, and, and wife is just one example. 35:00 But if there are other people that are like you know, another boss or 35:03 a partner or something like that, 35:07 make sure they're there when you're making decisions about that brand. 35:09 Because otherwise they're not gonna listen. 35:12 And also remind them that you were the expert in this and so 35:14 you need to have everybody that's gonna be part of that brand to make decisions, but 35:17 also be able to establish with all of those people that this guy or 35:22 this girl hired you to design this brand. 35:25 So they need to be part of that as well. 35:28 Another thing that you need to talk about is what are your unique factors, and. 35:31 So one example of this would be a company that's called Dance for Good and Dance for 35:35 Good was a unique factor because what they did was they had an online online music. 35:40 It was like American Idol on the Internet and that's a little more common now. 35:46 This was several years ago when they came up with this idea. 35:49 It's crazy how things change. 35:51 And so we had this idea where, well, they had the idea and 35:53 we were supposed to design this for them. 35:56 So we designed their logo and their website. 35:58 And the goal was that every time that a new musician came on, 36:00 there'd be a contest every six months or so. 36:03 And there'd be about 30 to 50 musicians and 36:05 they would all perform songs online and then you could vote once everyday. 36:07 And if you voted more than once, you would buy votes. 36:11 And so you would actually be buying votes and the votes though, and 36:13 I know that sounds kind of weird, but the votes would actually go toward a charity. 36:16 And so because that was their unique factor, no one was doing that where you 36:19 could donate to a charity in order to help your artist get get more votes for 36:23 the contest and so we really focused on that. 36:28 Every, every design that we did, everything that we did we 36:30 focused on the charity and the fact that hey you can add more votes and 36:33 this is really about the about veterans. 36:37 The first one was veterans. 36:39 So we really focused on that. 36:40 And our branding and our designing was that, that was you were doing good and 36:41 the doing good network was what they were kinda their overarching company. 36:46 And so we focused on that do good and that this is for charities. 36:49 So it's important to find that unique factor and 36:53 everybody has a very different one. 36:56 So as, as important as that goes there's also the fact that 36:59 the brand continues with the audience. 37:05 And we all know that, because as you know the, the founder, the client is important. 37:07 And their style, and their tastes, and their desire, and their naming. 37:12 Their passions are very important. 37:15 But they obviously, it actually continues with the audience. 37:17 So, I know you know all this about target audiences and ROI and 37:21 the people that you're reaching out to. 37:24 So, I'm not really gonna go into that. 37:25 What I'm gonna go into is more talking about how you would talk to your 37:26 client about this. 37:29 [APPLAUSE] And so when you, when I, 37:31 when I go through all these things with the style and the ideas and the passions. 37:34 I have to tell them as well, especially with a new person. 37:38 But remind them even if they're, they've been around doing branding for a while, or 37:40 new products for a while is that you need to remember who your audience is, 37:44 because this plays into the design as well. 37:48 And as I mentioned Localtopia before. 37:50 Localtopia is kind of like Groupon but or an entertainment book. 37:53 Basically what it is, is that any local merchants in a city that are on 37:58 Localtopia, they will give maybe $2 or 38:02 $5 a month to anybody who's subscribed to this Localtopia app. 38:04 So I will have a, I will have a Localtopia app for $5 and 38:09 I will pay $5 a month and then 100 local merchants will give me discounts. 38:12 Not buy one get one, but like an actual genuine discount every month. 38:17 And so it's, it's not a unique, but 38:21 it is a unique thing because it focuses on local merchants. 38:22 And so the real question was when we started this brand and 38:27 we started our marketing, were we reaching out to the end consumer or the merchants? 38:30 And the real answer was this first launch is really all about the merchant. 38:35 Because the merchant is the one that's going to actually make the brand 38:39 happen because they need to be on this platform in order to get consumers. 38:42 So who is that merchant? 38:46 And we began to talk about who the merchant how is this gonna be 38:47 played into the design of the website and the brochures, and the print materials. 38:51 And so everything we designed and 38:55 everything that we built was around that merchant. 38:57 And even the actual app itself, we wanted it to be very pleasant for merchants. 39:00 So they felt like. 39:04 Great. I want to get my name on this platform 39:05 because I think this is a quality platform that encourages local use and 39:07 that's why we had to change that name from Mobile Money to Localtopia and 39:12 we said it's all about local. 39:15 And so that's very important is just figuring who your audience is so 39:17 that when you design, your designing with those people in mind. 39:20 And we're almost done, I promise. 39:23 So one of the last things is who's the competition? 39:25 People often when their starting a new product are like, oh, I'm a lone wolf. 39:28 I am the only person doing this app in the entire world. 39:32 And so one of the things you have to remind them when you're working on 39:35 that initial branding and design is you say no you're not. 39:38 These are all the people that I looked up on Google in like the first two seconds. 39:42 That are doing exactly what you're doing, And then here are like 13 award 39:46 winning e-commerce sites that are doing exactly what you're doing. 39:49 And then I go through and explain these people are doing it and 39:53 these people are doing it, these people are doing it, these people are doing it. 39:56 Amazon's doing it, you're screwed. 40:00 And so they say. 40:03 >> [LAUGH]. 40:04 >> And you know, it's kind of cuz I'm almost at the end of my presentation and 40:06 I never really had like, a good answer exactly, but how can I compete? 40:09 And the answer is, and so when I do talk about the audience and 40:13 like, this is who you're gonna be competing against, the answer really, 40:17 really is all the things we just went through. 40:21 If you, you know, you, you know who you are, and you know what your name is and 40:24 you know your message and you've got that design down, you know what your story is, 40:29 and what you're trying to do, and why you're doing this. 40:33 And then you have us help you create that brand directly around that, you know, 40:37 that idea and that passion and that love and we figure out your style. 40:42 Then you're actually going to do a good job and 40:46 you're going to be able to compete, because I've been able to listen to 40:49 you tell me all about yourself and all about your brand of what you want. 40:54 And now I'm going to be able to, if I'm a good designer, listen to all of that and 40:57 create something that really is unique in the marketplace and 41:01 actually has a chance and is, is personal and awesome. 41:06 So, that's kind of the answer. 41:09 I mean, it's the very beginning of the whole process of building a brand, but 41:11 if you can go through those steps and learn all about the client and 41:15 figure out all those different parts of the brand you won't have that, 41:18 you know web design goes to hell experience because you will 41:21 know everything about this client and when you come back to them. 41:25 And you say here's your logo and here's your web design and here are your colors. 41:29 They are going to be, like, oh my God, you perfectly understood me. 41:33 And I'm telling you when I've gone through this process and 41:37 I listen that hard to a client, they are just blown away. 41:39 And they trust you now, 41:42 because they know that you know just as much about them as they do. 41:44 And I also say to them, this is your baby. 41:47 This brand is your baby and I'm gonna take care of your baby. 41:49 And I said that to someone the other day and they were like, oh my god well 41:51 you're like the mommy and I hope that you can get that baby out really well and 41:54 take care of it and love it. 41:58 And I'm like, okay, this is weird but yes. 41:59 We'll do this together and 42:03 so that is the way to make a brand that really makes that client happy and 42:04 actually has the chance of being a real honest, awesome brand in the marketplace. 42:08 So, thank you very much. 42:13 [APPLAUSE] 42:14