Let's talk branding

We talk about: The study of language and how it relates to brand strategy. The ways to communicate besides words. The evolution of messaging and tone of voice. Developing and defining your own personality. What a typical brand strategy project looks like. What is a good insight? The overlap between strategy and creativity. Getting clients involved. Form a good relationship with your clients, and e...

We talk about: The convincing that needs to be done to help your client see the solution. The three important moments in a brand strategy process: The first is the brand workshop. It is the essential starting point for each project. The second is the truth session. Challenge all of the assumptions made in the workshop with your research. The third is the brand strategy presentation. Involve the cl...

Bio: Calle Stenqvist is the co-founder of Plan8- a design agency for music and sound. What they do is they look for different ways to make a product, experience, or brand more engaging and ultimately more human through the use of sound and music. We talk about: The combination of the music and design worlds. What clients are looking for from Plan8. What has changed since the start of Plan8. People...

We talk about: Doing “story sessions” in order to learn more about the client, his story, and why he started his business. That was really brand strategy in the workshop, so it became the brand workshop. After implementing the brand workshop, clients trusted us more. Doing your brand workshop physically. You need to see them and talk to them and feel the interactions. Being physically there is an...

Bio: Wouter Sel started out as an animation director, until his ambition took over and Volstok was founded with Thijs De Cloedt. Pretty soon the studio was producing intriguing animated content for TV and advertising. Today, Volstok is translating bold ideas into creative animations, producing memorable impact frame by frame. We talk about: How Wouter’s studio grew from nothing to a success. His b...

We talk about: Ideal client persona and market positioning as a designer. Should you do something you don’t believe in just for more business? Find where you strengths connect to what your clients want. Customer research. What kind of questions are you asking your clients? You need to dig deeper with your questions. See the deeper truth behind their answers. Do you need to adapt your services comp...

SHOW NOTES In this episode I talk with Mackey Saturday, he created some iconic visual identities such as Instagram, Oculus and Luxe. We talk about how he creates visual identities with his studio, what he learned from working with design legends Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv and much more. Bio:Mackey Saturday (born 1985) is an American designer and typographer whose work includes logos for...

In this episode I talk with Fredrik Öst, founder of Snask , one of my favorite branding agencies. We talk about creating brands that make enemies and gain fans. Bio: "Freddie" was adopted to Sweden after being found outside a police station where he lived for 6 months. In the army they found out his heart is twisted backwards and an EKG will read it as if he’s dead. His love for design b...

In this episode I answer some of the questions I receive weekly. I talk about the value of design, how to facilitate and build authority with your design clients. Thank you Jeffrey, Ruben and Juliane for the great questions! What is the value of design without strategy? How can you facilitate a workshop with your clients. How can you do a workshop with a company of one. How to translate attributes...

In this episode I talk with one of my branding heroes, Michael Johnson, founder of Johnson Banks, author of Branding in five and a half steps and thought leader on brand strategy and design. We take a deep dive into brand strategy, design and how to bridge that gap. Michael's latest book: Now try something weirder is coming out by the end of may but you can get a chance to win an exclusive hand-si...

I talk about: Business language and how it is used to 'fake' expertise Learning the fundamentals of brand strategy before you can break the rules How I started using my designer skills in the strategy phase How we are different from business strategists If you have any questions about strategy, branding or design, feel free to answer your question here . I will try to answer all your questions in...

If you would like to get a chance at winning the book, join the give-away on letstalkbranding.be/douglas In this episode, we talk about: Douglas his story, working at multiple advertising agencies The end of the DOT.com bubble Douglas plays the role as my therapist, where we talk about my dilemma being a designer that becomes more and more of a strategist Features, benefits, insights The article D...

If you are interested in learning more about the business of expertise, I'm giving away a free copy of the book, signed by David. You can visit letstalkbranding.be/david We talk about: Positioning your creative business The 2bobs podcast Pricing Entrepreneurship Strategy vs execution Taking risks David's book: the business of expertise (affiliate link) David also recommended 4 sources on positioni...

We talk about: Eli's studio: a hundred monkeys Naming mistakes The importance of naming for logo design How to protect your name, legally How to work with clients on naming Eli's book : Don't call it that If you are interested in winning a free copy of the book, signed by Eli, visit letstalkbranding.be/eli This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get ac...

Some of the topics we discuss: A purpose is not a message The difference between marketing and branding Twentyfirstcenturybrand Customer research The competitive value of branding in Neil's whitepaper I would really appreciate it if your rate the show on Itunes. If you are looking for more weekly insights on brand strategy, please subscribe to the newsletter here . This is a public episode. If you...

We talk about: storytelling branding and marketing internal branding repeating the same message, over and over again listening to your customers how to be innovative finding your why the role of designers identity design You can check out Wim's brand, Balls & Glory, here . If you wish to reach out to Wim, you can find him on LinkedIn This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this...

> Geoff was a former student of my online course on brand strategy: Activate your strategic brain . After he did the course we started talking and it was inspiring to me how Geoff started transforming his own business Studio Alumni and applying it in his own way. In this episode we take a deep dive into the challenges and benefits of transforming your business from a graphic design studio to a...

In this episode I talk with Leland Maschmeyer, chief creative officer at Chobani and co-founder at Collins. Leland is a widely celebrated designer, recognized as most influential designer by HOW magazine, he has worked with brands such as Chobani, Spotify, Instagram and much more. We talk about Leland's experiences when founding Collins, working in house at Chobani and Leland's vision on Systems t...

In this episode, I talk with Adrian Belina, Partner & Executive Creative Director at Jam3, a studio that creates groundbreaking digital experiences. We talk about how to create work that is 'cutting-edge' and how to stay ahead, the recent Fyre festival doc, where he gets inspired, how to create immersive brand experiences and much more. Here are some of the topics and links: Jam3 , Adrian's st...

In this episode I talk with Allen Adamson, co-founder of marketing agency Metaforce, writer of Shift Ahead and Brand Simple. We talk about how brands can stay relevant in this fast-changing world. It's a nice conversation and Allen brings some great examples and ideas to the table. We talk about: When it's time for a brand to shift Brands that did not shift in time How we as designers can help cli...

In this episode I talk with Jefferson Perky, founder and creative director at, you guessed it, Perkybros. Perkybros is one of my favorite studios and me and Jeff have a wonderfull conversation about finding inspiration, working with clients, choosing the right typefaces, Perkybros weird fascination with animal mascots and much more. Find out more about Jeff and his awesome team at Perkybros . We t...

In this episode, I talk with the amazing Chris Do. We have a meaningful conversation about, well... conversations. I asked Chris how he was able to develop his skills as a conversationalist, how he developed 'the art of conversation'. We talk about 'how to prepare' for conversations, how to get in the right mindset, how to shift conversations and much more. In the end, we go on a bit of tangent an...

In this episode, I walk you through some of my key takeaways from season 2. This season was jam-packed with great people; from Marty Neumeier to Steve Wolf, Camille Baldwin and much more. In this lesson, I take you through some of the most valuable lessons learned. At the end I drop in a big spoiler for the first episode of season 3. I talk about my conversations with Marty Neumeier, Camille Baldw...

“Brands, Put your money where your mouth is.” In this episode I talk with Camille Baldwin. Camille is a really interesting woman, as director of brand development at Gin Lane, she has created some amazing brands with her team. We talk about launching brands, strategy and much more. You can find the full excerpt below the sponsored message. We talk about: How Camille ended up at Gin Lane , an aweso...

Strategy is the identification of context. In this episode I talk with Mark Kingsley. Having directed at companies such as Collins , Landor and Ogilvy he has a lot of experience. He also did a lot of design work for Blue Note, Atlantic and the Guggenheim museum. We talk about the history and future of strategy and design, Mark’s strategic work for Ogilvy and some really fun anecdotes. You can find...