You know that box in the hall? That ugly couch in the living room? Your stack of New Yorkers that’s been sitting there for a year?
Fill in the blank. Because you know you have something. Something you pass by every day.
Something you’ve stopped seeing.
You probably don’t see it again until someone “intrudes” from the outside and points out the clutter in your living room.
That’s a familiar phenomenon for us as brand consultants. As outsiders who haven’t lost the chance at a first impression, we are invited to enter into a client’s brand and perceive it with fresh eyes. And inevitably, as outsiders will, we notice things. We see confusing or off-putting names, impossibly dense web copy, inconsistent experiences, or unclear mission. The difference between what exists now and what could be.
Because outsiders can more easily see the boxes in the hallways.
This should be a good thing. Okay, maybe it’s awkward when people come into your house in June and point out the Christmas potholder still hanging on your doorknob. But when it comes to a brand — a mission — it’s important to hear what other people see. Why? Because it’s hard to see what you’re so close to every day.
It’s hard to see what you’re so close to every day.
Blind spots come with time. When it comes to your brand, often the things you’ve stopped seeing are the very things you used to see most. Somewhere in the tug-of-war between wanting to overhaul everything and needing to meet a deadline, between being new and hitting a routine, you get used to things — until you don’t notice them anymore.
When a friendly intruder partners with you, there’s joy in discovery — not just the misses, but the opportunities. The stories, the big picture, the narrative thread that’s running through your pursuits — all the things ready to be brought to the surface.
And this isn’t a one-sided thing. As designers, creatives, and writers, we need to be on both sides of this dynamic. We need intruders, too. It’s impossible not to lose some objectivity while we’re absorbed in the work — and it’s tempting to get precious with the things we’ve made. So when someone who hasn’t been a part of the arduous thinking-and-making process waltzes in and gives their candid first impression, we’ve got to let it influence how we see our product.
In branding and creative work, we crave the intrusion. Because it helps us see things more truly.
Outsiders notice the flaws. They also notice the possibilities. Welcome the intrusion.
