Insights
Strategy, naming, identity, motion and launch — written for the people who actually have to make the decisions. No listicles, no filler, no "in today’s fast-paced world".
AI can draft the sentence. It cannot decide which sentence you actually meant. Here is the edit that fixes it — and the studio in Kansas City that has built a business on getting it right.
Read articleA name is a permanent, non-negotiable piece of your brand. Choosing well is a strategic act, not a creative one.
Read articleBrand equity is built over years and spent in an afternoon. Here is how to budget for that reality instead of fighting it.
Read articleAttica, Athens, and a phrase for wit so sharp it was said to be seasoning. The origin of our name, and why it still governs how we work.
Read articleA mission describes what you do today. A vision describes the world you are trying to create. Confusing the two is why most mission statements are useless.
Read articleHow to write a mission statement your team will actually use, and the seven words that quietly kill most of them.
Read articleArchetypes give you a shared vocabulary and a false confidence. Here is the difference, and how to get the first without the second.
Read articleFour phases, each with a clear deliverable set. Here is what each one does and why the order is not negotiable.
Read articleBuilding a brand and changing one are different disciplines. The second one is mostly organisational, and mostly gets skipped.
Read articleColour is the fastest thing a customer processes and the fastest thing a brand gets wrong. Here is how to build a palette that survives production.
Read articleYou cannot manufacture a cult following. You can build the conditions for one, and most of those conditions are uncomfortable.
Read articleCandidates do not apply to companies. They apply to a specific version of a company they have imagined. Employer branding is about closing that gap.
Read articleBrand architecture is the decision about how many names you have to manage — and it constrains every rebrand you will ever do.
Read articleBudgets get cut. Brand equity does not have to go with them. Six things that keep a brand strong when the market gets hard.
Read articleMotion is the fastest signal your audience will ever process. Left undesigned, it defaults to whatever the platform decided.
Read articleEverything we write about, we do. Tell us where you are and we will tell you what we would tackle first.
