Category: Branding

Powerful Brands and the Women Responsible

Posted on by Camille Robins

Rapt exists to leverage the power that brands have to forge meaningful connections, touch us on a personal level, and even shape the way we live. We all know the brands that touch us, and that resonate in a way that defies description – brands that create memorable experiences and emotional connections. Behind many of those brands are thoughtful women who are deepening and expanding the way we experience them. All around us, women are orchestrating compelling moments and environments that vividly engage with their customers, employees, and the greater community.

We wanted to hear from a few of them who are based in San Francisco – so we invited them to share their stories. To an engaged audience, they talked about what they’ve learned during their careers in branding, strategy, and design – touching on the successes they’ve earned and the challenges they’ve faced along the way. Peppered throughout were personal anecdotes that resonated with all in attendance.

“There are no better stories than your own, and the stories that came before you,” Ashara reminded the audience. “Creating opportunities for us to see each other is important, because there isn’t one way in which one way of being, one way of storytelling will thrive.” Jen added, “At the end of the day, I think it’s about really specific, authentic stories.”

Among the most meaningful questions we asked the panelists were the following: How do you help people connect authentically with your brand’s story? How do you keep your eyes on your goal while staying flexible enough to shift course when circumstances demand it? How might being a woman have influenced your process – and your brand? Their answers illuminated a few key truths about branding – that The Why lies at the heart of any successful endeavor, for instance.

“What I always think about as a brand builder is, at the end of the day, what is the one thing you want to be the best at — whether on your block, in your city, in the country, in the world?” asked Jen. “Doing all you can to limit your vision and stay laser-focused is important.” Sound advice, we think.

We’re thrilled to have heard from the group and been inspired by the morning, and we can’t wait to experience what they create next.

A very special thanks to everyone who attended, as well as members of the panel itself:

Moderator: Rachel Newell, Account Director and Head of Strategy, Rapt Studio

Panelists:

  • Ashara Ekundayo, CEO of AECreative and Co-Founder of Impact Hub Oakland
  • Paige Grossman, VP of Design at Ancestry
  • Kate Kittridge, Head of Brand at ThirdLove
  • Jen Pelka, Owner of The Riddler and CEO of Magnum PR
  • Robyn Sue Fisher, Founder and CEO of Smitten Ice Cream

An Interactive Morning with WIRED25

Posted on by Camille Robins

“We used the morning to share our approach to branding and workplace strategy,” says Account Director Rachel Newell, “and what makes it unique.”

Key takeaways? “To be successful in this day and age, brands must be able to be fully experienced,” says Newell. “That’s why Rapt takes a holistic approach to designing them. We know that continued engagement is spurred by meaningful, connected experiences that can be fully felt.”

While Newell and Senior Strategist Michelle Lee talked strategy in the age of connected, integrated brands, our Creative and Account Director Louis Schump highlighted our agile approach — which tends to be more common in software design than space design. At the other end of the studio, Design Director Daniel Epperson took visitors through a few current projects that recruit the talent of graphic designers, interior designers, and architects alike.

“The spaces we design are always informed by the company’s mission, values, and purpose — which drive a company’s culture,” adds Newell. “Our branding work always takes those things into account.”

Visitors left the studio with not just a more comprehensive understanding of what we at Rapt do each day, but also — and even more importantly — with a sense that design, strategy, branding, and space can all connect to create really meaningful experiences.

Image credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for WIRED.

Holding space for being human

Posted on by rapteditor

McKinsey’s study, Culture for a Digital Age, said “Culture is the most significant self-reported barrier to digital effectiveness”. The business implications are clear.

“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” Anonymous

Like integrity, culture is reflected not in what people say — but in how they act. For companies, this differs between departments, offices and geography.

Building a healthy corporate culture, as any relationship, is complicated. Brand strategy provides a foundation of values and signposts. It can also frame a purposeful narrative. But building organizational alignment around vision is critical (and beyond complicated).

I recently joined Rapt Studio’s leadership team — attracted by their approach to space…the ultimate experiential medium. The steps applied to successful design are remarkably similar to tackling cultural change.

Observe. Listen. Question. Understand. Connect.

What separates wallpaper from substance is the strategy behind design. Probing deeply into an organization to turn abstract ideas (such as brand and business values) into “something you can touch, see, smell, sound and feel”. Then creating real-world ways to deepen human connection.

 

 

The permanence of space make the design brief just as important as the final build. Good design starts with asking the right questions, challenging assumptions and examining the elements which make human connection work. At a minimum the result should:

  1. Tell an authentic story
  2. Instill a sense of pride and belief
  3. Break down silos to enable diverse collaboration and communication

Key tenets for experiential design. And being human.