Author: idiadmin

Invest in design, because better design leads to clearer promises, which are easier to keep. Seth Godin

There’s a difference between design and art. Design is functional. Art is more expressive. Both need creativity. Both serve a separate purpose.

When done well, functional design holds the ability to clearly communicate a message.

If your business’ aim is to communicate a promise to your customer, good design is essential.

Next time you’re considering how to put your work out into the world. Consider your message and the clarity of your communication.

Remember: Trends fade. Good design is timeless. Why? – Because it’s functional. Functionality works.

Your business is an idea.

Every idea is a seed. It needs to be planted. Once planted, it needs to be watered and cared for. It’s a process. It takes time. Effort. Patience. And most importantly, trust.

So who do you trust?

Firstly: Your idea and the belief you have in it.
Secondly: The process.

It’s not easy to do but it’s easy to understand. It’s also completely doable, with some effort and hard work.

Let’s break it down a little more.

When you first plant a seed, more often than not it’s in a temporary pot. It’s not perfect and it’s far from ideal but it works. It does what it needs to do. Then, once the plant has grown enough, you repot it. You begin to take a little more pride in your choice of pot. Why? Because the plant has grown and developed into something you want to show off a little more.

The secret:
Understand that the shiny new pot phase wont come until you have completed the fast and loose (temporary pot) process.

Trust the process. Your idea needs time. The world moves fast but a good idea is worth slowing down for.

If you need assistance with your fast and loose stage, check out our Brand System 1 Product here.

A problem is not always a negative matter or situation. It’s often just a point in the work process.

The best way to solve a problem is to explore it. If we accept or ignore it, we’re merely putting it on hold. Another option is to protest. This is also unhelpful.

Here’s a simple but helpful breakdown on how to approach problem solving. The process is flawless.

1. Identify – Identify the problem you’re faced with.
2. Define – Define the problems position and what it’s effecting.
3. Explore – Explore possible solutions. How they will work and how they wont.
4. Action – Take action on the appropriate ideas and solutions.
5. Implement – Implement the effective concepts into your process.
6. Analyse – Analyse how they’re working and the level of effectiveness.

Next time you find yourself faced with a problem, in either work or life, take the time to use this process.

For access to our community area, where we provide concepts topics and perspectives on business and brand building, you can sign up here.

Social media platforms are fantastic tools for business.

They offer global opportunities from local check points. But they should be used with caution.

To position a business that depends solely on social media as a market connector is an ill-advised strategy.

As useful as these platforms are, at any given moment they can be switched off. Years of your marketing, engagement, audience building and public growth can be snatched from you, with no guarantee of any return. We call this platform risk.

It’s only then do we realise, how little control we have over something so essential to our business.

A tool that isn’t as trendy but is completely reliable to us is email.

It’s technically been around since 1965. The functionality has changed very little since then. We compose. We type. We press send. And the best part – No one actually controls it.

Of course, there are dos and don’ts with email.

As with everything professional, there’s etiquette. But there are no ‘platform rules’ with a big boss monitoring us. There’s no final say on whether your online connections exist or not.

Brand Connection Hack 1

When it comes to creating authentic and trust worth connections with your customers, don’t avoid the boring. An email newsletter might not be as trendy as TikTok, or as in-vogue as instagram, but the direct connection that’s created when a new email is delivered to an inbox, can be powerful… When done correctly.

Brand Connection Hack 2

Don’t rushing off to start a newsletter without consideration.

These type of techniques always result in spam like outcomes and are always motivated by a selfish filter.

Plan your content. Consider your audience. Design it well. Use strategies that concentrate less on “How can I?… (get you to spend your money on my stuff)” and more on “What can I do for you?… (as a company)”.

Be generous. When you’re ready to sell, sell it with transparency.

For access to our community area, where we provide concepts topics and perspectives on business and brand building, you can sign up here.

When it comes to social media, System 540 loses followers everyday.

We celebrate each person that decides to unfollow and unsubscribe too. Why? It provides us with good data. We learn who our work is for and who it isn’t for.

The uncomfortable truth

If what you do is for everyone it isn’t actually for anyone. It’s the uncomfortable truth that online culture disregards.

There’s too much emphasis on online status signalling and not enough emphasis on the importance of good specific work.

Good specific work attracts a specific audience. There might not be 20k of these individuals to begin with, but each and everyone one of them will matter.

Why? – Because they’ll have an authentic interest in your work.

This is what you call a small but valuable audience.

Excellent Brand Hack

Next time you find yourself worrying over the number of likes an instagram post has, transfer that energy into your work.

It’s the age old strategy of timeless business and excellent brand building.

The more you concentrate on the work you produce (and share), the more it will capture specific people’s attention. These people are the ones that matter.

This is often ignored because it consists of a continuous effort and hard work.

The key to producing your best work is to remain specific with your approach. Remember, consistency is key but specificity is underrated.

Good work isn’t about high follow count on social media. That stuff comes in time.

After all, there was no such thing as Instagram when Nike first started. Just well designed trainers for a specific group of track and field athletes at the University of Oregon.

For access to our community area, where we provide concepts topics and perspectives on business and brand building, you can sign up here.

When it comes to business there are no straight lines towards success.

Dips, curves, climbs and stalls happen. Why? Because business is real life. It’s difficult.

The solution: Adapt.

We can create a full proof plan for the building process of our brand, and we can consider a vast selection of scenarios along with it. But there will always be something we didn’t consider and the likelihood is, that’s what we’ll be faced with.

Look at the above visual. There’s a significant climb. The reason for this? We’re looking at the bigger picture.

Before each positive incline, there’s a negative plunge.

These plunges could last days, weeks or months. Definitely long enough to consider giving up on what you’re working on. However, this is where we adapt.

There is no such thing as over-night success. Success is created from publishing work, examining the data and refining your approach. The adapting phases of your brand building journey are the most important ones. It’s where we learn the most about, not only our business but also ourselves.

Next time you’re at the bottom of the drop and the climb looks steep, treat it as an opportunity to refine. Forced creative thinking works best for this.

For access to our community area, where we provide concepts topics and perspectives on business and brand building, you can sign up here.