Start from why

Brand, Marketing, and Sales each plays an integral yet codependent role in a successful business. They are different yet interconnected. How are they different and how are they connected?

In the insurance industry, Sales would be classified as the interaction between front end salespeople and customers; salespeople hold the responsibility of directly conveying information and promoting products to the customers; they are usually the first to induct customers to the brand. The insurance plans offered by salespeople are the results of Marketing. Marketing calculates cost and profit to generate product execution plans that are profitable to the business, these product execution plans are then turned into marketing plans with catchy names before they are presented to the customers. Brand symbolizes the outfits, dispositions, and charismata of the salespeople; the embodiment is consistent with the brand image in the eyes of the customer, and should impart corporate beliefs or raise awareness of social issues. A Brand is packaged by Marketing then promoted by Sales; it is upon the synergy of these three factors a Product is created.

If brand is to a company as character is to a person, a company’s core value would be an organism’s DNA in this analogy.

DNA is the biological unit that contains genetic information and provides directions that are vital for the growth and development of a being; much like the basics of biology, “brand DNA” and “core DNA” is the foundation of a company’s corporate philosophy that constructs its genetic makeup and maintains its growth. DNA consists of four types of nitrogen bases: A, G, T, and C, serendipitously coinciding with the four core values of Able Studio:

The success of Apple perfectly portrays the A, G, T, C principles. The greatest attribute of Apple products are quality, convenience, and aesthetics, or simply put, Art. The hundreds of Apple Store and their respective employees are an indication of Apple’s commercial Growth. Apple’s innovations in Technology are arguably the best in class of the industry. Apple Watch, green facilities, and the current CEO’s advocacy to LGBT rights are a few examples of Conscience.

The four elements can also be considered the four criteria of a company’s performance and sustainability. With systematic management, even a mom and pop store could flourish into an indie shop of sixty years. Able studio bases its design on these four elements, helping clients break down a brand’s core belief while simultaneously improving the brand to create a holistic design for the purpose of maximizing user experience.

In biology, DNA goes through a complex process of translation and conversion before turning into proteins that sustain what’s required of body functions. The designing process can also be summarized into the four following words:

Take dating for example, at the beginning of a courtship one would actively seek common ground with the other party: Do you like smoothies? Do you like movies? Do you play Animal Crossing? Once the connection is established, one finds possible means of extending the connection: How about we play together? However, to create an attractive offer one must provide incentives; for example going to an Animal Crossing activity together might lead to new friendships with residents, and the benefits that follow include turnip trades, help with level advancement, and sharing items. These incentives are evidence why playing together is a good idea, invoking interest in the offer. When the other party accepts the invitation, details on destination and transportation are then offered, thus entering the “execution” stage.

Interestingly, C, O, R, E not only represent the defining stages of the design process, the word CORE also stands for core values. When collaborating with clients, Able Studio goes above and beyond “designing,” we evaluate the brand to its core, brainstorm with clients for the best solution, and reinforce the connection between brand and core value before creating a proposal for our clients. “Design” should not only be defined as inspiration, to be more precise, the forming of inspiration is the byproduct of extensive discussions, to Able Studio, design represents “possibility”, because it during the design process where the impossible becomes the possible.