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Design A Better Brand Experience

A brand is more than just a ubiquitous logo and a catchy slogan. The most successful brands don't merely denote people, places or things, they create an experience. The quality of the experience people have interacting with your company, products and services is the most influential factor in determining whether or not they'll be repeat customers and recommend you to others.

Design gives form, function and character to that brand experience. According to author and business management guru, Tom Peters, "The dumbest mistake is viewing design as something you do at the end of the process as opposed to understanding it's a day-one issue and part of everything." Why? Because design is inherent in all facets of business. Design is the common denominator that shapes the physical space of your office or retail environment as well as establishes the dependability of your products and services. Design takes form in the pleasing tactile sensation of a marketing brochure or the thoughtful functionality of a user-friendly web site interface. Design is the tangible appearance of attractive packaging and the intangible ease of filling out a logically formatted order form. Design is the impetus of the branded experience, and no detail should be overlooked.

You're Never Too Small To Think Big

On the surface, Starbucks coffee and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles may seem far removed from your business. Their stories are relevant to entrepreneurs because though each started small, both leveraged the power of design to create unique consumer experiences that have become indelibly branded into our culture.

Starbucks: Brewing A Brand

Not long ago coffee was simple; 99¢ in any diner or café could buy a bottomless cup - straight black or cream and sugar. Today it's a $5 Venti, foamy, ristretto, doppio expresso con panna cappuccino in the cozy confines of the neighborhood Starbucks. Suddenly a mundane everyday item is hip and new again. So, how did this modest start-up from Seattle grow to become North America's leading retail coffee purveyor? By making design a part of everything - from the shapes, colors, and textures of their stores, to the presentation of their products and employees. Starbucks isn't simply coffee, it's a carefully designed coffee experience.

"Retail is detail," says chairman and CEO Howard Schultz. "All our design, whether it's a packaged food or a new mug, needs to make sense and tell what we're about." And, what Starbucks is about is coffee, community, and quality. Starbucks realized long before their imitators that design plays a decisive role in creating experiences for consumers seeking to identify themselves via brands. Across the board, the experience at Starbucks is in the design. All consumer touchpoints from coffee labels, shopping bags, product displays, gift cards, and shareholder communications, to retail lighting, seating, fixtures, building materials, and even the ordering process, are thoughtfully designed to convey casual, artsy comfort with an approachable sophistication.

Recent setbacks brought about by overly-aggressive expansion during a turbulent global economy have slowed Starbucks quest for world domination. But through it all the company's ability to leverage the power of design has kept consumer communications focused and brand equity robust.

Harley-Davidson: Living The Brand

As one of the most revered American icons of the 20th century, Harley-Davidson Motorcycles are the rumbling, ground-shaking epitome of branded experience.

Founded in Milwaukee, in 1901, Harley-Davidson rode a wave of innovation and success to become the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world by 1920. But, by the mid 1980s the company was suffering from the lowest product quality rating in the industry, corporate disarray, and an outlaw biker stigma that didn't appeal to mainstream consumers. That's when a group of marketing-savvy investors came on board and revved up to reinvent the brand.

This pragmatic team understood that just as when engineering a motorcycle you must consider the rider, when designing a brand you must consider the consumer. So, they put the rubber to the road, so to speak, and attended rallies where they took photos, listened to stories, and began to develop a full-dimensional picture of the brand heritage as articulated directly by the consumers. Immediately, a new premium was placed on design. From the time-honored bikes themselves to internal corporate communications, to advertising, and the plethora of merchandising spin-offs, everything was re-designed to emphasize the rugged individualism and free-spiritedness that now defines the Harley mystique.

In the ensuing years the company has successfully rebranded the Harely experience for everyone, including middle-aged, white-collar professionals looking to get in touch with their inner "easy rider." These RUBs, or Rich Urban Bikers, (and you know who you are), are buying into the (weekend) lifestyle and buying everything from motorcycles to branded infant MotorClothesTM. Owning a Harley has always meant being part of a brotherhood, but no longer the once perceived fraternal order of beer drinkers and hell raisers. Joining the Harley Owners Group (otherwise known as becoming a H.O.G.) is less about buying a bike and more about embracing a unique reality. Consumers continue to play an important part in shaping that reality and evolving the brand by perpetuating and redefining the experience. Few brands evoke such passion and loyalty - or have resulted in so many logo tattoos. Focusing on design – in both product and branding – and directly connecting and evolving with their consumer are how the Harley brand has endured for more than 100 years.

Experiencing The Rewards

Starbucks and Harley Davidson each started out as small, local businesses and have grown into globally recognized cultural icons. Take a cue from them and some of the other most successful brands in the world who have made design an integral part of their core business model. Use design to connect with consumers and provide them with a rewarding brand experience, and they'll reward you in return.

About the Author

Ken Peters is the owner and Creative Director of nationally acclaimed Nocturnal Graphic Design Studio LLC, a Phoenix-based strategic design firm specializing in brand development and brand launch. Samples from Nocturnal's portfolio can be viewed at www.nocturnaldesign.com.

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