Stage one and two
One idea wey get edge, name, and reason why e suppose exist
Most ideas dey come as feeling wey one noun follow am. The first thing castoMIND dey do na to turn am into something wey get edge — name, mark, colour palette, and written description wey clear well well make six other systems fit build from am without asking follow-up question.
You go describe the idea the way you go describe am to colleague wey no too care and wey dey doubt small. Wetin e be. Who e dey for, roughly. Why you think say e fit worth am to build am. Two paragraph dey enough; one page sef dey okay; formal brief no dey needed and e no dey help.
Wetin go come back no be summary of wetin you write. Na document wey don make decisions — because description wey dey dodge every choice no fit be foundation for building, and na dodging dey kill most ideas quietly.
Wetin the curation dey produce
Four things, and dem dey produce dem together on purpose: name wey dey available, visual identity wey fit wetin the thing really be, positioning wey talk who e no dey for, and written case wey dey argue why dem suppose build am. If you do dem one by one, each one na workshop. Together, from one description, na minutes e take.
One name
Dem check am for availability, no be just to admire am alone. Name wey nobody fit register na naming exercise, no be name.
One mark and one palette
Wordmark, one mark wey fit survive when e reach 16 pixels wide, and colour ramp wey dey work for light, dark and high contrast — because the site, the dashboard and the campaign go soon use am.
The written case
Wetin e be, who e dey serve, wetin e dey charge, wetin e dey replace, and the honest reason why somebody go switch. Dem write am as prose, because bulleted idea fit hide hole wey paragraph no fit hide.
Di shape of di offer
Plans, prices, wetin dey inside each one, wetin the first customer really dey buy. This one suppose exist before the site, or the site go end up dey say "contact us" where price suppose dey.
The name, the voice, the colours. Dem decide am before lunch.
Where the material come from
The starting material na body of brand essences — thirty-five of dem, each one na one coherent way for product to look, sound and behave, from the simple one to the loud one. Dem go match the idea to the essence wey suit am, no be to whatever style dey trend the week wey dem write the generator.
Na deliberate limit be that. Brand generator wey no get constraint go produce thirty-five variation of the same year; curated set go produce something wey fit sit near competitor without e look like template wey dem just pick different colour for.
The part wey people dey underestimate: the written case na the expensive artefact, no be the logo. Every downstream system dey read am. If you get the description right, the site, the dashboard, the workflows and the campaign go correct. If e vague, you go get six vague things instead of one.
- 1Read am backWetin you describe, dem talk am again inside one paragraph, so misunderstanding go show now instead of at minute forty.
- 2PositioningWho e dey for. And just as important, who e no dey for.
- 3Name and markThree candidates, dem check availability, dem recommend one with reason.
- 4Palette and voiceDem match am to one essence. Dem check contrast for all four themes.
- 5The written caseRoughly one thousand words, e go end with the offer and the price.
- ·Your turnYou go read am and change wetin no correct. Correction here dey free; correction at stage four na rebuild.
Dem no publish anything yetOne document, six customers
The stage where ideas dey die, cheaply
Plenty ideas no dey survive when dem write dem up. No be because anything reject dem — na because to read clear description of your own idea na stronger test than e sound. The offer get hole inside. The person wey e dey for turn out to be two people wey want opposite things. The price no fit cover wetin e promise.
To find am out at minute six na the cheapest version of finding am out. Everybody go eventually find am out; the usual schedule na after the logo, the domain, the incorporation and quarter of evenings.
And if e survive, you don get the document wey the next four stages build from — na why nothing after this point need ask you wetin the product be.