The phrase “Strategic thinking and design doing” is a good starting point to define how strategy and design sit together, but it’s not enough.
Strategy and design are not just relational — they rely on one another in brand creation. Strategic thinking needs design to come to life and every design execution needs a strategy behind it.
Understanding strategy
‘Strategy’ can be defined in many ways. Corporate strategy is separate from brand strategy which is different to marketing strategy. The Unknown Creative offers a range of strategic brand services but, for this article, let’s focus on the concept of strategic thinking rather than a particular strategic program.
Strategic thinking is the continued generation, and application, of insight to achieve competitive advantage. It requires rising above detail to see the bigger picture, looking at trends internal and external to the organisation, and asking curious questions to move beyond the obvious and expected. Strategic thinking also demands that you slow down and never rush to execution (design). If you do, exciting opportunities could be missed.
Once a meaningful strategy has been set, though, design absolutely comes into its own. Design is needed to give a strategy life; to get it noticed by the right people and have it cut through in a busy competitive environment.
Try to deliver a strategy with unsubstantial or inadequate design, and you’ll only have wasted time and resources in creating that strategy in the first place. Even the best strategy will fall flat without successful design.
Understanding design
Every piece of design has a purpose — whether it’s to lay out information for readability, generate demand, showcase a product’s features, and so on. But more than what a piece of design has to do, you need to know the why behind it (the strategic intent) and how design can best be used to deliver the brief.
What should the design achieve commercially, for the business, in the wider strategic context? Ask yourself: is the design doing enough to deliver this? Has the design thinking been pushed far enough or are there opportunities left on the table?
Will the format carry the message? Where and how your brand is seen says something. Brands with sustainability as a core part of their strategy should avoid heavy use of paper-based collateral or data-heavy web experiences and switch to sustainable marketing practices instead, for example.
Is the design speaking to the right audience and saying the right thing? Not just rationally, but emotionally. Will it reinforce and resonate, or does it risk eroding the brand story?
Strategy and design together: Urbanscape
Brussels-based Knauf Insulation was an early mover in developing sustainable, green roofing systems for urban areas. The Unknown Creative won a competitive pitch to name, brand, and launch Knauf’s off-shoot venture in 2012.
Insights gathered via stakeholder meetings, strategic positioning workshops, and Q&A helped inspire the brand’s name — Urbanscape — and tagline, ‘Above and Beyond’.
From there, a brand identity was crafted to deliver the positioning visually. Green hit all the right notes semiotically, but the shape of the U icon carries meaning too. It evokes urban lifestyle and development. But it’s also a nod to a core part of the innovative roofing system that Knauf Insulation deploys — creating an ownable and unique mark in a fast-growing sector.
The Unknown Creative team supported Urbanscape on a full roll-out of launch materials (website, brochure, campaign assets) and brand guidelines.
We then partnered with Urbanscape for a further three years to raise brand awareness and traction in the US, Middle East, and Europe.
The same Urbanscape brand is still going strong today.
Your strategic design partner
At The Unknown Creative, we build brands that set a new standard; meaningful, memorable, and ready for the future. Delivering fresh, strategic ideas and outstanding design, we use originality to create your competitive advantage.
Get in touch today to discuss your next strategy or design project.