What is a design-led brand ID?

DESIGN LED

The term ‘design-led’ is growing in popularity, but what vital creative ingredients set it apart, and what does it really mean?

I guess that the great majority of people would like their company to look far better than just ‘good’ or ‘cool’. Most want the extra. For design-led businesses, however, design is not simply a decorative add on or a tweak, it is an integral part of their proposition… and those involved in the core creative processes have to mean it.

Creating a stand-out logo, producing attractive packaging, and starting an Instagram account does not make your business ‘design-led.’ It’s a good start though but it doesn’t necessarily deliver your message beyond the competition.

There must be a strategic decision about the whole, evocative, visual approach. A trend defining part of the product: one giving power to the other. Often it starts and ends with an emotion… and in that way it becomes psychological.

Nick Garrett

For more than 30 years, we’ve been at the forefront of creating and evolving brands across all commercial sectors and it’s our belief that the best brand experiences are rooted in clear thinking and rich storytelling typefaces.

Great design starts with great branding and great brands stand out in a crowded market space. Think NGS, our team of experienced design and branding specialists know exactly what makes a great brand, delivering both on time and on budget.

VALUE AND APPEAL – FINDING THE SIMPLE TRUTH

Nearly everyone responds warmly to truth and genuity.

Whilst there is no one accepted definition of ‘design-led,’ we understand that for starters it must involve giving design the primary position in the value creation process and appropriate visual consideration in order to increase value, expand our markets and appeal deeply to the end user.

Above all else, for us in the studio NGS, it must include absolute belief, 360 integrity and a whole lot of love.

Nabarro Wall | For Dana Robertson of Neon brand design | No Ordinary Type

PRODUCT SUCCESS LINKED TO ORIGINALITY

If your design is overly beige, then you emphasise nothing and risk failing to establish your passionate target audience.

NGS

Design-led businesses deliberately use design thinking and psychology to solve problems. They always distinguish themselves early on, visually ‘above’ immediate competition, as opposed to simply chasing a slice of over fed, partially consumed consumer cake.

The visual aesthetic could be classically distinctive or strikingly minimalist simple, but it must be appropriate to the brand’s personality, be new, consistent, and beautifully set-up in appearance.

Thinking here of our handling of Le Labo storefront lettering treatment, one can hardly call it out as beautiful. But it ticks so many head spinning Must-Have consumer boxes, that it instantly became Go To cool, irresistible for new and established customers.

Powerful brand-ID success does not need to slavishly follow trends but expresses a central innovative creative idea.

BREAKING THE MOULD: DESIGNING HEAD-SPIN ICONS

An elegant identity design system is crucial, but the giving design a fundamental place in the brand strategy reaches beyond the boundaries of graphic design and often tests the mould. The overarching goal is often led by choice of Typography, a stimulating visual experience that communicates an unforgettable iconic presence, and delights all customers and newcomers alike.

A design led product launches an experience that many will afford a premium for. And it’s usually done fearlessly.

AN APPLE IS LIKE NO OTHER FRUIT IN THE GARDEN

In a design-led product business, there is no battle between form and function, but a pleasing relationship that brings joy to the user.

Apple are the obvious contemporary example. Every aspect of the consumer’s journey from research, to purchase, to packaging, to the product itself is the result of careful editing and attention to detail. Apple include free stickers with their products because people use them. Samsung and Dell are very successful companies, but would you put their sticker on your journal or skateboard?

Another example Bang & Olufsen built a reputation in the 1990s with radically different design treatments to their audio-visual products.

Their marketplace was characterised by the generic ‘black boxes’ that their competitors were offering.

BIG BANG

As one of the companies considered to represent the pride of Danish manufacturing, B&O has emerged over the decades as a firm that’s synonymous with luxury, authenticity, and style. While you might pay a little more cash to get your hands on the Bang and Olufsen design, you’re paying for the chance to own something truly unique.

As famous Danish brands go, Bang and Olufsen are one of the best-known around the globe. They’ve earned their reputation not just for their incredible focus on quality, but also their unique approach to branding, based on a combination of impeccable design, emotional consumer focus, and innovation.

Apple doesn’t need to compete on processor speed alone, and B&O don’t need to compete on the power rating of their amplifiers. Both are able to charge a premium.

B&O Beogram 4000c – Recreated Limited Edition. A bargain at £9000 per turntable.

---

Service businesses can also make use of this approach by developing a proven process that solves problems, adds value, and that clients actually enjoy. Behind all of this is a belief that we can truly make the world better, by design.

There are of course many profitable enterprises pursuing different strategies. Competing on features or price, for example. The exacting standards required at every level of a design-led operation are not for everyone, and the approach that delights some is derided by others.

NGS FREE FONTS

Our latest NGS freebie Typeface offer ”CHLOE” came out of not just a passion for fine Whisky but for expressive typographic modernism and classics combined.

A design-led brand deliberately differentiates itself by unique aesthetics and customer-experience.

To such a degree that this strategy becomes bound up to the offer.

If you’d like us to look at building and clarifying your design-led brand, then call us today

RECENT POSTS