Say brand design to a lay person and it is likely to conjure up thoughts of art directors, computer design programs and logos. Say brand design in a corporate marketing environment and you are apt to hear discussions about customer journey, retail experience, digital content, advertising and user permissions. In either case you wouldn’t be wrong.

But brand design has to start somewhere. There have to be inputs. There has to be a direction. And that must start with words. Words on paper. Words on a PowerPoint deck. Words on a Canva print out. Words in the cloud.

Just words..no need for pictures or other embellishments.

At What’s The Idea? brand design is simple: 1 claim, 3 proof planks. Three discrete supports for the claim, under which are arrayed existential evidence of the claim. Claim it…and prove it daily.

With a claim and proof array in hand, art directors, makers of marketing content, and consumers are all enculturated as to a product or service’s key values. Sharing that value is the first job. Creating the art that surrounds it comes second. (Most Supeb0wl ads invert that notion.)

This is how you build a brand. It starts with words.

Peace.