There was a certain straightforward purity and joy that came from absorbing the excitement of the product directly from the woman who got up at 3 a.m. every day to actually make the donuts or from the guy who had invested his retirement savings into a tool he truly believed couldn't be beat.

Today, there are meetings and conference calls and intranet sites and faxes and far, far too many chefs in the kitchen, each earnestly offering effusive insights into their version of the B-word. Clients either know too much or not nearly enough about branding—it's hard to know which. Where has the excitement gone?

Scott Mires, principal of mires > design for brands (San Diego), would tell you that it's still there—but perhaps in a different place.

“When we got started in 1985, we did lots of onesie-twosie logos for clients. But clients feel that it is not just about a logo anymore,” Mires explains. “Now it's positioning and strategy, what's unique about a product's story, and how everything comes together. Logo design has become really heavy, time-consuming work. Even when we come up with the perfect solution on the first day, we will still have to spend two more months proving that it is actually the perfect solution.”

So even though there is still joy for Mires and his designers in the “aha” moment, today they also derive pleasure from seeing a logo played out in the marketplace—that is, played out as part of a brand. In addition, they have found ways of making certain that their creativity and enthusiasm doesn't get “committee-ed” out an identity project.

Be realistic
It's healthy to start any identity project by acknowledging to oneself that while a graphically-applied brand certainly isn't just so much wallpaper, nor is it brain surgery, Mires says. The graphics are only part of a brand experience; they are not the experience itself.

“Of course, you have to have a conscious about your work, but at certain points, you have to let go of it,” he notes.

Believe in the work
Having a conscious about the work requires commitment, and commitment requires believing in the client's offering, another important component of any identity project. Even the best logo will never compel a poorly thought-out service or shoddy product to succeed. What you are promoting must be the real deal, Mires says. It has to resonate with you in a soulful and very real way, or else you are wasting your life promoting false things.

Have a defined process
Since branding has become nearly a scientific process, it's crucial to be methodical, at least in tracking the creativity process. Mires and his group begin identity projects by conducting multi-phase interviews with key people within the client's organization. This is accompanied by a thorough research of the competition and of ancillary markets, and a presentation of a formal platform.

“We give the platform at this stage to get agreement on what the true understanding of the product is before we move on to creative,” Mires explains.

Once agreement has been reached, his team starts producing roughs. Mires prefers to work with a thick marker on paper. “This stage is a lot less about rendering than it is problem-solving. If you can tell by my noodling where a project is going, that is a good thing,” the designer says.
The team will present 30 to 40 sketchy marker roughs to its client, and together, work the pile back down to about seven with real possibilities. Those are taken back to the shop and worked back up to 35 additional roughs. Again, the group is worked down to a select few, and these two or three are finally moved onto actual execution in color, typography, and application.

This process prevents the Mires team from getting into the execution stage too soon, when problem-solving may not be complete.

Find the core
Mires' early interview process, in addition to gathering needed information, has a second purpose: It helps him figure out who the real decision-makers are in the company. With that knowledge, he can begin to address those people directly, pre-limiting any unwieldy committees that might spring up, ready to sit on and squash the creative process.

“We want to assemble what you might call an empowered hit squad who is able to make the decisions. The smaller the group, the better,” Mires explains. “These have to be people who are looking for you to be the brains in the process, not just a pair or hands.”

His goal is not to eliminate parameters on a project: In fact, Mires believes that the completely blank or free slate is often the toughest one to handle. But the people issuing the parameters must be having a conversation with the designer, not just talking at him or her. The real decision-makers are also the best conversationalists, he finds.

It's still OK to have fun
You've got your market studies. The job envelope is bursting with focus group findings. Your brain is stuffed with gritty details. Finally, says Mires, it's time to cut loose.
“This work is still fun for me,” he says. “But instead of just using my intuition, I now use my 'informed intuition.' There is still creativity and excitement there. And there is joy in seeing the work in the marketplace and in having your work showcased in the CA Design Annual. There is still a lot to feel really good about.”