YES; BRANDING IS AN ART. :)

Hi there,

Normally, one would like to say thanks for a 5-Taco review, but in this case, I am having a hard time doing so. What happened between the 5-Tacos and the rest?

It would have been okay and more helpful for others to say, "Hey, I love the functionality. It's super helpful, but the look and feel are not 100% my cup of tea." The tonality here is one that one should reflect on once more.

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For one, and as is shared widely, this tool has been built by the brand-building agency OVERW8 (my main business since 2017, also built on over 20 years of marketing expertise) based on our very real real-life use cases for our clients. And yes: we know a thing or two about branding. That means there is not only "a brand kit chosen", but the whole brand idea goes far beyond and much deeper than just choosing a colour. This depth of understanding and experience is what guides our branding choices. ;)
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Good branding indeed differentiates.

It is not intended to work for everyone ("if you build for everyone, you build for no one").

It should work for the target group one has in mind: here, creative brand builders around the globe and across industries. We know for a fact that this works for their delighted reactions.

To quote some recent ones such as:
- "what a beautiful piece of software this is" or
- "so happy to have stumbled over a tool that is so different and enjoyable to work with throughout the week."
=> So many people love it because of the slightly different take on software design compared to just using black and white. ;)

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Ref. the tonality and taking 'feedback' about the branding:

Imagine this to be a little bit like a French bistro.

It was built based on the vision of its owner, who has been an experienced gastronomy person for many years. When it opened its doors, it did so with an amazing offering of a taster menu. Now, a person comes in, savours the menu, mentions nothing negative, and leaves again. Then leaves a 5* star review with the caption that "while some of the food was kind of okay, the whole look and feel of the bistro must be changed, the playlist awful, the pasta a nice hobby cooking endeavour" etc.

Now, one could wonder, isn't that

a) clearly a story of that person not liking it there and also probably would raise the question: why would you want to go there again? and

b) why should the owner have a table for that person again?

Also: What would happen if anyone who mentioned they did not like this or that detail of the interior would always be adapted to? I do not want to visualize the disastrous effect of such a place that completely loses its vision and character.

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Ref. the "art project" aspect: That bit is especially interesting as it seems to be intended to downplay what we have created here.

Let me clear about this:

Oh yes, this IS about art.

Great branding IS an art.

Art is creative. Business is creative.

Richard Branson once said: "Business is creative. It's like painting. You start with a blank canvas. You can paint anything - anything!"

In my brand agency, we have been honoured to work on real 'art projects' and their branding. This kind of project is truly challenging as that context is very discerning in quality and taste (feel free to check out our showcases on Kunsträume and Echolot on our website).

Well, some of Richard Bransons 'art projects' worked out just fine for him - it would be good enough for us here, too. ;)

That is why we loved to invest in creating such a tool. Now that it exists, we want to make sure that anyone aligned with that or striving for it is safe from such belittling narratives.

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Back to what my vision as the 'patron' of this "bistro" here is:

Ägile Ässets is intended to be a lightfooted, friendly space where the creative process behind building a brand on social media is eased as much as possible.
It is also informed by my years-long know-how in designing and facilitating creative processes, and it does and will continue to support right-brain thinking. Yes, this can include colour, fun, and humour (! hohoho! ;).

It's supposed to be an enjoyable environment, not just code, not just for some users, but for everyone, including ourselves. That's what we'll happily continue to work on here. :)

If that's your cup of tea….

come on in, bienvenue, welcome!

Kristin,

CEO OVERW8 Brand Agency,
Creator of Ägile Ässets,
Author of "Magic Innovation Leadership"