Ashleigh HansbergerCo-founder and Chief of Strategy at Motto
Bio

Entrepreneur, branding expert and co-founder of Motto, a branding & design agency that partners with innovative B2B companies, consumer brands, and ambitious startups to create strong brands. Inc. 30 Under 30.


Recent Answers


My company Motto is well versed in brand development, web development and app design. I'd love to chat to learn more about your app and see how we could help.

Set up a free call with me on Clarity or send me a DM to discuss further. https://clarity.fm/ashleighhansberger/wearemotto

Thanks!

Ashleigh
www.wearemotto.com


When we design brands for clients, we typically present the 2 (rarely 3, sometimes only 1) directions that are the most appropriate ideas to align with the strategy goals. The point of directionals is to explore different ways of thinking and push the team toward the best path for the final design. Sometimes there is a favored or stronger direction and it is typically the one that appears to be more fleshed out, polished and explored, or seems to have more legs. I hope you're not looking at more than 2-3 directions, because that is way too many and can be paralyzing. I also hope that each direction you were presented with was fully explored, so you can get a very sound grasp and visualize how the identity would live in the real world - not just logo ideas on a piece of paper. You need to rely on your designer to help guide you, and work closely together to discuss the thinking/meaning behind the design directions, and weigh the benefits and tradeoffs against the brand strategy to refine a single direction. Throw away the feedback you've gotten from others who aren't involved in the process - that will just be subjective and useless and can lead to diluted results. Clients do that all the time (poll their friends, families and social circles) and it rarely ever leads to good design. This process should not involve the opinions of everyone you know. Respect and trust the expertise of your designer - that's how the best direction will arise. Then you guys can spend your time making the best idea even better.


Don't make the mistake of thinking that casting a wide net will increase the probability of success. This is so not true. “Everyone" is not a target market. Having a niche vs. mass strategy is really important, more efficient and more profitable. In fact, anything other than getting super narrow with what you do and who you do if for isn’t a strategy at all. Serving a niche allows you to focus on meeting the needs of a smaller group of people without risking your chance to increase the appeal to a broader market as you grow. When you go narrow, you get a deep understanding of your customer and their needs. Your message is more focused, your efforts are more fruitful, and overall you have a more effective brand strategy.

Hope that helps! Would be happy to have a call with you to discuss further.


Hello! I'm the co-founder and brand strategist of Motto, a brand strategy and design firm. We help companies launch, grow and reinvent their brands and build CMS, responsive websites using ExpressionEngine and Wordpress for our clients. I'm wondering if you could provide a bit more detail for me regarding your question so I can best help you. With regards to best technology to design a website, can you elaborate on what the purpose of the site is and are you looking for a platform to build it on or primarily a way to design the site itself? That will help me determine how to give you the best recommendations. Look forward to hearing from you!


Contact on Clarity

$ 5.00/ min

4.92 Rating
Schedule a Call

Send Message

Stats

4

Answers

19

Calls


Access Startup Experts

Connect with over 20,000 Startup Experts to answer your questions.

Learn More

Copyright © 2024 Startups.com LLC. All rights reserved.