
And so it begins…
Hello world,
I guess I should probably introduce myself. My name is JOHN BLACK, and I am a Brand Strategist / Creative Director in an agency named KRĒDO.
My story begins in Brooklyn, NY in the 80’s as a hispanic male in a rough neighborhood. I survived the difficult times by diving headfirst into the world of Video Games, Movies & Computers.
We didn’t have much growing up so my first PC was a hand-me-down I actually fixed myself with some trial and error.
I began my love for design accidently as I started playing with MS Paint and I drew abstract gibberish. (doesn’t everybody?)
Fast forward 30 some odd years and after teaching myself design and eventually some schooling I became a graphic designer.
I’m not where I want to be quite yet, but slowly I climb my mountain…
I have evolved over the last couple of years learning from such books as “the win without pitching manifesto” and Brand Strategists such as “Chris Do” from “BLIND” and “The Futur”.
This brought my run of the mill graphic design business into the world of Brand Strategy! (Tune in to learn more about this subject in a future post)
What’s Brand Strategy you ask? Simply put, the art of digging deep into the essence of a Brand and representing said core beliefs in a clear and simple manner to the public.
How does that benefit you? Well if you want to keep the lights on and grow your Brand, your going to have to gain the trust of your customers/clients. To do so you need to be transparent, consistent and relatable.
As an agency, when we perform Brand Strategy, we use a process of Q&A sessions, (interviews) template filling, (premade time saving forms) category study (customer persona, competitor analysis, brand archetyping, timeline design and a brand anatomy diagram.)
This all boils down to a clear statement that can be presented quickly and potently.
Well for the sake of not rambling on, I leave you with this thought fellow designers and future clients:
“The designer profits when designed based on a client’s wishes. But the designer, client and the client’s customers all profit from designing based on strategy!”
-John Black
