Most designers take a brief, create a few different design ideas, then give them to the client to choose which one they’d prefer. From logo design and brand design through to advertising campaigns and online marketing strategies, this age-old process means the client is getting what they need from their chosen designer. Well…no, it doesn’t!
At LemonTop we do things a little differently. Our creativity is what makes us different. But being creative isn’t about being artistic. We don’t simply make something look good without considering the job it has to do.
We take a brief, create one design idea, (that’s right, one design idea) then look at it. We then ask ourselves “How could this be better?” Then we create a better design. Normally, the first idea you create is your brain sorting out the information and putting it onto the page in a structured and readable format. Which is great and is exactly what the client wants. But we don’t give the client what they want, we give them what they need. We know that the first design we created will give the customer the information they need, but we need it to do more.
We need to create a design that is going to stop them in their tracks, to create a desire to read more, to influence the reader to buy a product, visit a particular place, or even pick up the phone and make a call.
We do this by creating an emotional connection between the brand and the customer. We try to understand our audience on a personal level. What are their strongest desires, deepest fears, and motivations? We try to tell a story they can relate to. But most of all we try to be authentic because an audience can tell instantly if you’re trying to fake it.
When we have our second design, we tick all the boxes mentioned above, but still, we stop and ask ourselves these 3 questions:-
Is it memorable?
Is it shareable?
Is it influential?
Hopefully, we have already answered these 3 questions in our second design, but then we stop and think again… “How could this be better?”. It’s that third design that is the hardest to do but normally the one that wins out over the others, because this is the one where we fine-tune that emotional connection to win over both the heart and mind of the customer.
The client might like the first one you’ve done. They might go for the third one you’ve done. But at the end of the day, you can proudly say to yourself, I did the best I could do. And tomorrow, we improve again.
