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The fastest way to read a company is to find out what it says no to.
Refusal is the only claim that costs טםו something. I turn down work every month that I could technically do but every yes is a public statement about what the studio is for.
Do too many of these and you'll move away from what you truly love.
How did you figure out which things to say no to? was that a deliberate niching down process?
what you say “no” to is often a stronger signal of your positioning than what you say yes to.
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I have a slightly unprofessional website test.
I open the homepage and ask myself:
Could I swap their copy+design with a competitor's and notice?
It's RUDE how often the answer is no.
And usually these aren't bad websites either.
They're beautiful.
The typography is doing its job. The animations are animating. There is almost certainly a gradient somewhere living its best life.
But then I actually read it...
"Transforming the way businesses..."
"Empowering teams to..."
"Building the future of..."
And suddenly I could be looking at 14 different companies.
I've started doing this little swap test almost instinctively now because it tells me something design alone can't.
Does this company actually have a point of view?
Because looking professional is easier than it's ever been.
Looking unmistakably like YOURSELF is still annoyingly difficult.
PS: Please don't actually start swapping copies on client websites. I have enough problems.
That swap test is such a good way to catch generic design dressed up as strategy. Now I'm curious, was there a recent site that completely failed it for you, one where the copy and visuals felt totally interchangeable with a competitor's?