There are a lot of brands in the world. Some good, some just okay, and many that are just downright bad. Several have stood the test of time, others have just begun their journey, and a few have ... well, fallen as flat as a pancake.
How brands reach the mountain top or hit rock bottom is up for debate. Many successful brands do their due diligence to understand and research their consumer first, identify a brand positioning, and then prototype a product to test, validate, refine and ship. A smaller group of successful brands fall into a bit of luck — which happens once in a blue moon — and strike gold without doing the work. If that’s you, we tip our hats, give you a nice pat on the back, and say three cheers for [INSERT BRAND NAME]!
The brands that don’t do so well are often affected by economic conditions, shifts in consumer behavior, bad product or service quality, and/or shortcuts taken in their businesses. A lot of these brands don’t understand their target audiences or consumer bases. Many prioritize feature development over strong brand positioning. It’s often hard to say exactly the specific single reason a brand fails, but the general ingredients of a broken brand are almost aways 1) wrong promise, 2) wrong delivery, and importantly, 3) wrong order of operations.
So, how does this all relate to placemaking? Trust us, it does.
We see many placemaking companies go in the wrong order — and against common sense and best practices — when developing a property, programming the spaces, designing the interiors and defining a brand. A majority, unfortunately, place Design Development (DD) and interiors months if not years ahead of developing a brand. This is less than ideal and ultimately leads to very messy and disjointed experiences for your partners and customers.
Imagine if Steve Jobs built his entire collection of products — iMac, iPod, iPhone, etc. — and towards the tail end of the product development lifecycle was like, “Ok, now let's think of a name of the company, what our brand stands for, and who our target audience is.” Simply put, Apple would not be what it is today. If anything, it might not even exist — right into the compost bin!
Or, if Walt Disney programmed, designed and constructed his empire of theme parks, hotels, and restaurants without a north star to guide his decisions. Without that initial brand foundation of “the most magical place on earth,” Disney would be a fraction of what it is today. Every single element of the Disney experience, from the Mickey Mouse shaped waffles and power lines, to the flamboyant census-designated place (CDP) and master-planned community in Celebration, Florida, are purpose built extensions of the Disney brand.
Or, what if Uber wasn’t the Uber brand? A ride share app, sure. But without their brand, the company wouldn’t have super fans and die-hard loyalty. So often in the design world we reference how special and unique Uber is (both aesthetically and as a utility)— in reality, the foundation of their success lies in the execution of their promise: to move the world in the most innovative ways possible. They understand their end users perfectly and built products like “eats” and “packages” that live up to their “move the world” positioning.
And lastly, what if Belmond, Ace Hotel, Four Seasons, Freehand, Soho House, One&Only, you name it, decided to identify markets, and program and design their spaces and experiences without any understanding of who they were as brands? Made expensive decisions based on what “looked good” or “felt right.” Programmed elaborate amenities without getting to know their consumer’s needs and wants. Hired staff that had a good hospitality background, but little to no understanding of who they were in the overall landscape of the brand. Our guess: they’d be a dime a dozen.
To put it simply, we recommend looking at placemaking like building your house. You wouldn’t build it first, and then identify your needs and wants. Your personal lifestyle and beliefs — ahem, your brand — should be baked in from the onset.
Ok, so, what does this mean for development?
A lot.
More often than not we come into a development project and everything that should hypothetically fall after brand has already been written in stone. Interior palettes have been approved and locked in. Colors, accents, and decorations are chosen purely out of look or cost. Brand touchpoints have been boiled down to a Vistaprint high-gloss tri-fold brochure or some cheesy magnet or keychain of the property management or development company’s logo. Takeaways (or leave behinds) are nothing short of trade-show promotional items produced to be thrown out and forgotten. Entire wayfinding systems have been designed without an inkling of brand personality. And, creative expressions of the brand both inside and outside the building are reduced to a poorly-lit monument sign planted on the front lawn. Sad, but true.
What’s the right way to do this?
Brand should come first. And it should be at the center of EVERYTHING. It’s what dictates meaning, value, tone, texture, color, scent, style, voice, look, feel, sound, partnerships, events, touchpoints, etc… It shapes how your staff speaks to your tenants. How your consumers communicate and interact with one another. It defines how prospective customers, investors, and community members view your position in the market. It provides a clear and confident decision making process for programming your spaces and amenities, designing the interiors, and sourcing and producing legit, on-brand ideas and concepts.
Brand takes a lot of work and time, don’t get us wrong. But, understanding its value from the very beginning of a project — right at concept — will make every decision, big or little, easy as pie.
🚨 WHO IS NO WALLS STUDIO (AND WHAT DO WE DO)?
No Walls Studio is a design and brand consultancy that helps placemakers create spaces that people love.
Our mission is to make sameness extinct in real estate, which means that everything we do comes with new ideas and unique angles — all, grounded in a deep understanding of culture and consumers.
We do three things for our clients (often, all in the same project):
Research
Brand Development
Spatial Experience Design
Want to work with us or learn more?