experience design is the new branding

My second job as a web developer, way back in 1998, was working for a company that probably taught me more about how to do my job than any other place has. Ove Design is a branding and strategic design firm. It was there that I learned the concept of branding and what a companies brand is worth.

I also learned a lot about what makes a good company. 14 years later and I still rank Ove as one of the best places I have ever worked. The fact that they have been around for over 30 years is a testament to this.

To this day I always think about the value of branding and brand thinking. Every job I work on (now as an IA), I try to look at the bigger picture, how all of the parts fit together and what the overall voice of the client is and check those things against what I am doing to make sure they align.

Back when I was working at Ove, many companies had only a small website (which was probably their first website) and digital was really an afterthought. However today, the digital face of a company is often it’s most visible and visited. And so the connection between the online world and the offline world has never been more important. If the only thing you know about an online retailer, for example, is what you find out about them online, then that experience needs to extend to and connect with the products and services you receive from them offline.

To me experience design is not just about designing the experience of one facet of a connection or transaction, but about ensuring that the entire channel from start to finish is thought through. This makes experience designers ideal for creating brand experiences that really connect and resonate with people.

The biggest challenge experience design agencies face today is being given the keys to the kingdom, being allowed to suggest changes to a business beyond their domain. Someone who is doing this with great success today is Crispin Porter + Bogusky who convinced Domino’s that improving their product was vital to increasing sales. What ad agency could ever tell their client the reason sales suck is because their product sucks?

Branding agencies are asked all the time to consult beyond their domain of expertise. They might be asked to advise how the interior of a store looks or how a customer service team should respond to customers.

For experience designers the trust isn’t there yet. People don’t really know what an experience designer is. But with most experience designers working in digital, it’s a very natural place for end-to-end thinking to start.