Stokefire Chief Creative, Tate Linden (@Thingnamer) fielded questions from HOW (@HOWbrand) via Twitter last week as a follow up to Tate’s presentation Three. Word. Taglines. (And Other Horrible Branding Practices). The 140 character limit didn’t provide much of a hurdle at all and a lot of good insight came from both HOW and Tate. Maybe a Facebook interview that is limited to only “likes” is on the horizon?
Read the full Twitterview in all of its glory after the jump.
HOWbrand
- First, tell us a bit about yourself and the work you do.
Thingnamer
- I like the softballs. President/Chief Creative of @stokefire – a brand/ad agency in Alexandria, VA
- Home: Married, two young kids, dog, cat, bliss. Office: 12 Staff working on stuff for tech, assoc, gov’t
HOWbrand
- Sweet! So, the 3-word tagline is a branding no-no. For #HOWConf, we used Create. Connect. Community. (oops)Bad idea? Why?
Thingnamer
- Would it make you happy if I said it wasn’t actually all that bad in this case?
HOWbrand
- Why yes, yes it would … but seriously, feel free to pick it apart or say why it didn’t suck.
Thingnamer
- Where they don’t work is in situations where you need to create a PERMANENT connection
- At #HOWconf you had the tagline everywhere so it demanded people acknowledge what you wanted to convey.
- And it made for a wonderful intro to my session!
HOWbrand
- So, maybe for an event or a usage that’s very concentrated like at the #HOWconf, it was OK. (We did that for U on purpose!
Thingnamer
- for a short term thing it’s fine. Why invest in a tagline that’s going to evaporate after four days?
HOWbrand
- So, a designer’s working on a branding project. What’s a better approach than the 3-word tag?
Thingnamer
- Alright… we’re getting into secret sauce territory, but I’ll give a taste…
- Instead of telling people what to think try to find ways to get them to come to the conclusion on their own.
- So for #HOWconf – instead of telling us to connect and the other two ‘c’ words… what could you say to get us to actually do it?
- It’s cheesy, but trying to figure out the motivation is really important.
HOWbrand
- Aah … I get it. It’s much harder to tell someone than to get them to feel it and act accordingly.
Thingnamer
- When advertising tells you to do something the natural reaction is to resist. So make them decide to do it themselves.
HOWbrand
- Your #HOWConf presentation noted that, on a brand project, your opinion doesn’t matter but your instinct does. Explain, please?
Thingnamer
- Opinion doesn’t matter. It’s interesting, and perhaps even entertaining, but without facts and experience to back it up
- it’s entirely useless. Who cares what I think unless it has basis in fact – or in shared experience?
- Some smart guy said “Instinct … is memory in disguise” and that seems to be the case with me.
- Often when a design feels ‘right’ to me it’s because it is derivative of something else I’ve seen or done.
- The challenge is to figure out where instinct came from and ensure that the inspiration doesn’t conflict with your idea
HOWbrand
- So instinct can feed into an idea, but opinion can steer you in a wrong/irrelevant direction?
- You talked at #HOWConf about using consensus to SET goals but not to ACHIEVE them. Could you elaborate?
Thingnamer
- Perhaps. I guess it is a fine line between the two. I’d not actually seen them as so similar before.
- If you don’t have agreement as to where you’re headed chances are good you’ll never get there
HOWbrand
- Can we get an ‘amen’ for that?
- You cool to hang in for a few more questions sparked by your #HOWConf session?
Thingnamer
- Sure!
HOWbrand
- I jotted this in your #HOWConfpres: It’s not your talent that’s holding you back. It’s your ability to influence my decisions.
- Why do creatives have a hard time with influence/persuasion?
Thingnamer
- Yeah. I can be a SOB sometimes. To all designers everywhere… I apologize for my bluntness…
- because designers are often taught technique rather than storytelling, perhaps? I’m battling this daily. Still.
HOWbrand
- Someone suggested to me that designers learn to present through crits in school. They’re pitching to other designers.
- Design-school critiques are all about type, color, layout. Not what clients care about.
Thingnamer
- because designers are often taught technique rather than storytelling, perhaps? I’m battling this daily. Still.
- I’m not a designer so I don’t have exposure to this. But I’ve interviewed hundreds and only 1 was a natural storyteller
HOWbrand
- You said, Beauty is easy; meaning is hard; adding value is harder. Designers are good @beauty. How can they add value?
Thingnamer
- So many see design as the summing up of everything else. It is so much more. It’s a chance to say something new
- Stop drawing green tree logos for sustainable causes, and sunsets for retirement homes. Get people to think & act.
- Find what is different and powerful – and just revel in it.
- Great branding looks simple. It is incredibly difficult – not just the idea, but convincing the client to use it, too
HOWbrand
- That’s the point (and the challenge), right? Making the solution look simple, inevitable, obvious, natural?
Thingnamer
- This has been a lot of fun – and I must admit you’ve taught me a couple things in the process.#HOWconf
HOWbrand
- A great exchange of ideas … thanks a million for your time! #HOWConf
Thingnamer
- Yep. I must admit I think, hard as it is, that I freaking love my job. And I think it even on the bad days.
- An honor to participate. Great questions and redirects. Thanks for your time. Bye all!
