"Can you design our brand?" I get this request constantly. And 90% of the time, they're not ready...

"Can you design our brand?" I get this request constantly. And 90% of the time, they're not ready..."Can you design our brand?" I get this request constantly. And 90% of the time, they're not ready...

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Hammad Aslam

• Jan 6

"Can you design our brand?" I get this request constantly. And 90% of the time, they're not ready. Not because they don't have a budget. Because they don't have clarity. Here's what I do: Before I even look at moodboards or color palettes, I ask three questions: 1. Who do you serve? If they say "businesses" or "everyone," we stop right there. 2. What problem do you solve? If they say "help companies grow" or "make things more efficient," we're not ready. 3. Why you, not competitors? If they say "we're better" or "higher quality," we have nothing to design around. Set a timer. 10 seconds per question. Comment below: Can you answer all three questions in one sentence each? Let's test your clarity.

Ismel Figueroa

max

• Mar 11

I framed every section around one question: What does a high-intent buyer need to see, feel, and understand to take the next step? This is where my growth background came in. I didn't just picking layouts, I designed a funnel that matches how the ICP actually make decisions. marketing is my love language lol, can you tell? 🤣

Ismel Figueroa

max

• Mar 10

new thumbnail exploration for recent project. Which one do you like better?

40 voted

24%

127 voted

76%

167 votes

Closed

Chris Atkins

• Mar 10

⚡️ New Work⚡️How do you build a gallery brand that feels as personal, thoughtful, and refined as the art itself? That was the challenge at the heart of this brand refresh for Goetze Art & Design. I partnered with the experts at Variate to help this Memphis-based gallery and art curation business create an identity that better reflects the warmth, trust, and sophistication they offer every day. See the process and learn how the new brand helped Goetze grow 300% after the launch. View the full case study.

branding logo visualidentity

Evan White

pro

• Mar 11

Really clean work Chris, great job!

Daniel G Bright

max

• Mar 10

I keep seeing founders use AI brand generators and walk away thinking they have a brand. You don't. You have a logo and a color palette. A brand is the reason someone picks you over the 11 other companies that do roughly the same thing. No AI tool figures that out for you. That's a positioning decision. It's messy. It requires knowing your market, your buyer, and what you're actually willing to own. The logo comes after. The ones that look "inevitable" didn't start with design. They started with a decision about what they stand for. Then they built a system that says it everywhere. AI tools are great for production. I use them too. But they skip the part that actually matters. If you can't explain why your company exists in one sentence that a buyer would repeat back to their boss you have a clarity problem.

opinion brand aitools