This is your hub for everything I write—whether you’re growing a brand with The Creative Brief or navigating the business-of-one life with Solo(ish). Explore by topic or follow the content stream that fits where you are now. Both are here to help you work smarter, show up stronger, and stay aligned with what matters most.
We all understand how important brands can be. There are brands that are significant all over the world. Nike. Harley Davidson. Starbucks. These are companies that are more than just the products they sell. They’re lifestyles. They’re statements, both about the...
In the first part of this two-part series, I talked about brand cultures that focus on performance, those that are restless for change, freeform cultures and those that learn fast and continue to evolve.Understanding the type of branded culture you are trying to...
The more your brand enables entices, and enriches customers, evoking their positive emotions and building their trust, love, and respect, the more highly admired it will be. An admired brand offers the greatest opportunity for enduring and profitable growth. When your...
Everybody wants a brand that’s different. The irony of that statement is intentional. It belies the conservative manner in which most brands approach competitive difference. They say they want to be distinctive to consumers but often, in their heart of hearts, they...
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a name, term, symbol, and/or design that’s intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of the competition. However, we argue that a brand is...
To provide a comprehensive user experience across multiple mediums, a true responsive design isn’t limited to context or shrinking content on a page. Subtle design considerations, such as the icons and logos should also be flexible enough to follow similar contextual responsive principles.
Brand culture is the culture that a company cultivates in order to powerfully, consistently and competitively deliver its brand to market. It’s how people work together to bring the brand alive for customers. But brand cultures are more than an expression of the brand itself; they are, by necessity, an expression of the people who work for that brand and the decisions and ways of working and behaving that they agree to work within.
While the branding and marketing are undoubtedly connected, there are minute differences between the two. As a business owner it is essential that you understand branding and marketing in detail, so that you can effectively utilize them together. Below is a closer look at the differences between branding and marketing.
I often talk about how your logo is not your brand, nor is it your identity. Logo design, identity design and branding all have different roles, that together, form a perceived image for a business or product. Here is some clarification of the differences between...
An advantage of marketing a small business is the flexibility to try new strategies to grow your business.
Though you may be flexible enough to try new marketing tactics to grow your business is your logo?
When you think about great branding, Coca Cola’s distinctive red and white lettering, Nike’s swoosh and Adidas’s three stripes likely come to mind. But as a small business, imagining the level of investment that’s gone into these iconic images can make the thought of...
FREELANCE VERSUS THE SALARIED (IN-HOUSE) JOB. When I was just starting out, the thought of a designer going in-house was almost unheard of. We were educated to believe that the best work was being done by ad agencies and design studios, and your best bet starting out was to get a freelance gig starting at the bottom and proving yourself to move up to the juicy client work.
It’s hard for me to believe I’ve been at this—being a design professional—for nearly 25 years, since I’m the first one not to go into some more traditional (for my family, at least) field of study or business. I grew up around relatives who worked on Wall Street, in...
You’ve likely seen the meme below on LinkedIn and thought to yourself “Yes, this is so true. But what can I do about it. I don’t have a budget for training and development”. Or maybe you see that meme and think about yourself and wish your boss could break with a...
We’ve all heard the old saying that it’s “not what you know, but who you know” when it comes to getting a new job. Look, lets be honest with ourselves for a moment shall we? We’re all talented, creative, and experienced to one degree or another. And we have great...
Andy Brenits to present “Your Logo Is Not Your Brand: Strategies and Tactics for Taking Your Brand to the Next Level”.
Congratulations business owner! Your small, or start-up, company is doing well…and after all of that hard work you’re finally getting noticed by colleagues, potential employees, and of course the competition. Now it’s time to take your brand to the next level so that...
I’m one of those lucky people who knew early on what I wanted to do when I grew up, and my parents always encouraged me to develop my talent. Growing up in a family full of business professionals I was encouraged to “do more art” rather than persuaded to focus on...
Andy Brenits to teach at Columbia University Beginning in August.
Andy Brenits presented “Influencing The ‘Buy’ Decision” at the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce on June 14th.
Andy Brenits presented “Influencing The ‘Buy’ Decision” at the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce on June 14th.
Very happy to have been a contributor to the new white paper just released: Collaboration in the Workplace: How to Overcome 7 Common Challenges. Check it out here.
Andy Brenits will return to the QC Chamber of Commerce beginning June 14, 2016 to give a 2-part talk about marketing and branding strategy for small business. Mr. Brenits spoke previously about personal branding in August of 2015.
HOW recently asked me and Ed Roberts about how we approached creating the 2015 lineup of speakers and sessions for the In-House Management Program at the HOW Design Conference. See more at.