Our Process + Approach

Why points the way.

No two clients or projects are the same. But the one constant, no matter where the path leads, is the need to think and move intentionally toward a singular goal.

Our process begins with discussions to clarify your brand’s purpose, values, and business objectives, for both the immediate and long-term. Why is this so critical? Because when we outline your company’s reason for being, what we’re really articulating is your audience’s objective — the northstar of creating a successful user experience.

Empathy is everything.

You can’t learn to swim unless you’re in the water. So we’re gluttons for research, combing through everything from company history to sales data, from user interviews to blog mentions, from product reviews to usage patterns and analytics.

We study your brand’s personality, your history, your stakeholders and, of course, your competition. Our entire team — not just some strategy director — dives in until we know and love your brand, market, and audiences (almost) as much as you do.

It’s all about tuning in to people’s emotions. Discovering insights to gain a deeper understanding. Experiencing the world through their eyes, feeling what they feel as they sit there on the other side of the screen or page. It’s the only way to create work that hits squarely between the eyes, but resonates deep in their core.

Make it meaningful.

So in the vast market landscape, how do you attract those audiences? How do you draw them to the warmth of your campfire, and get them to stay?

It takes a creative spark, of course, as well as adding wood to fuel the flames. Because for people to make a real connection, every touchpoint must be relevant to the larger idea — your brand’s reason for existing.

This is what we do, taking pen to paper to screen, over and over again. We craft meaningful visual ideas, not just designs. Because designs without concept, no matter how pretty, are interchangeable and by definition meaningless to your business. But ideas can grow and evolve, inspire action, and engage audiences in a conversation. Ideas turn a positioning statement into a unique personality that people can relate to.

Nothing is sacred.

Yet when the pens and styluses come out, so do the scalpels. We question everything. Every aspect and assumption. Every idea. Every single choice. Nothing is sacred as we dissect every stroke & nuance, pulling apart fibers to uncover the nuclei of great solutions. And there’s no room for ego as we pour our hearts and souls into the work.

Thankfully, it’s all made much easier by our unrelenting commitment to partnership. And the fact that we really like and respect each other. You will, too. Meet the warm, brilliant people you’ll work with.

Stay obsessed.

So what is “great”? It’s a piece of communication that makes you feel something: happy, sad, shocked, angry, delighted, curious, enlightened, excited, surprised. Especially that last one. We are continuously aware of — obsessed with, really — how design shapes emotion.

Our work makes purposeful connections that resonate with customers, employees, and even the casual observer, inspiring them to be a part of your brand’s unique journey, and moving them to action. Your brand is “not what you say it is—it’s what THEY say it is. The best you can do is influence it.”