I’ve been associated with brand for a very long time now so it shocks people to find out that I’m not a designer or really any kind of creative by trade. My path towards leading brands and creative came through engineering and being a talent agent before that. I think that’s helped with building brands that are scalable and approachable because I’ve always had to approach the work as an outsider.

I don't pretend to know what I don't know so I approach it through both an engineering mindset and my taste because those are two things that I do know. It’s an advantage in my opinion because you get to ask dumb questions and you get to learn about the different disciplines from the pros. That said in a leadership role you also need to have opinions and ways to evaluate things you won’t always understand so here’s how I approach brand as a non-designer. 

Here’s what I look for as a non-designer when working with a brand

I’ve narrowed it down to four things: the whoa factor, scale, do I want to, and can I share? These are the things that I think matter with any brand regardless of skillset.

Does the work make me say "whoa"?

When I look at branding in particular I want to have a smile on my face. I want to get excited by the work. That won’t always mean the work is unique but it does mean that there's something unique going on. It could be colors, graphics, typography. It’s not something specific but it’s one of those things that “you know it when you see it.”

Is that repeatable? Absolutely not and it definitely aligns with your own taste (which you should be confident in) but I don’t understand things like ascenders and descenders or have strong opinions on how animations should be built—that’s for the experts—so for me if it makes me say “whoa” I wanna see more.

I’ve always preferred a Bill & Ted whoa to The Matrix whoa

Will it scale?

This is always the big question and the one that most people get stuck on when designing something super unique. It may look good in your PDF but can it actually be brought to life across different channels and mediums? If the comps aren't there I'm comfortable using my imagination for this part and I think about what it’ll look like across web, social, video, print, OOH, and in different languages.

If you’re looking to set up self-service systems, automation, or outsourcing this is critical because this is how you start thinking about the different tools and systems that you’ll need to actually go-to-market. Ultimately, if the brand looks cool but is bottlenecked by design or specific resources it’s never going to scale and if you don’t scale, you’re never actually going to create the conditions for your designers to push the envelope.

Would I want to work with that brand?

This one is so underrated and I've now seen it in-house and in the agency world. A brand could look, feel, and sound incredibly cool but if it's hard to work with then it's not gonna succeed. You need to think about usability.

Are the guidelines laws or directional? Is there room to flex? As a non-designer can I do my job or am I going to be reliant on creative for everything?

This is maybe a sub-point to “will it scale?” but the difference for me is that I look at scale through the eyes of a marketing leader that’s concerned with building something that will work. I look at this one through the eyes of a marketer who has to do the work and if it’s a pain to work with then I’m either not gonna use it or do the bare minimum—both are huge Ls—so the brand needs be to something your teammates are excited to bring to life.

Do I feel comfortable sharing my opinions?

I went back and forth on this one, not because it’s not important but because it has less to do with the actual work. That said, it’s critical for the growth of a brand. If the brand is something that people want to work with but then are afraid to report back on, it’s going to fail. Brands need to evolve and the only way that happens is with feedback. If you can't provide it (the reason why doesn’t matter) then you're brand is already out of date. So this is more of a reflection on the team and the people stewarding the brand work. If they’re not receptive then that’s a no go for me.

What about the actual design work or video work or copy work or dev work?

This is the easiest one of all. Trust your creatives. That doesn’t mean don’t ask questions or push on certain decisions but give them the space to do the work you hired them to do. This is even more true if they’re doing work you may have once done (this comes from a recovering developer). They’re still doing it, you’re not. Let them cook!

The good news for everyone is that the brands we get to build and work on now get both my non-design eyes and Jenn’s very talented design eyes so you get not just a brand that scales with but one that looks good too (remember that whoa factor?). It’s officially H2, you may be thinking about a rebrand, refresh, or evolution. Whether it’s a full on build from scratch or using your existing brand to build systems for scale, we got you.