BRANDING

We believe a strong brand communicates a sense of purpose. An effective brand must express its mission, understand its position in the marketplace, and speak with one voice. The brand identity—its name and graphic representation—establishes your company’s visible presence while setting crucial expectations for the brand experience.

As founders, we all experienced what it’s like to spend precious money on a brand identity only to discard it, starting over fresh every time we pivoted or designed a new user interface. We’ve wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on brands that couldn’t grow with us, weren’t well executed, or didn’t stand up to competitive pressure. The stress of stepping up through successively better wordmarks and brand bibles is a distraction and a cash drain.

When we set out to design a branding service line, we knew outcomes like that would be unacceptable for our clients, so we turned to Michael Donovan and Nancye Green. Their group, Donovan/Green, has been the design powerhouse behind disruptive and household brands alike – from Barney’s to AmEx to American Girl. We’ve put our heads together to develop a 6-week program delivering a brand that will work as hard as you do.

OUR PROCESS

1. DISCOVERY

We begin by listening. It is imperative that we understand our clients’ needs and help them define what success would look like. We collaborate to identify what makes our client’s offerings unique. We craft the narrative that articulates that vision. Finally, we create a road-map to guarantee that we deliver on the goals we’ve established together.

2. DESIGN

We deploy conceptualization, design thinking, and problem solving to shape the message and brand visuals. We iterate, refine and bring a laser focus to satisfy the objectives we’ve established with our clients. We leverage our decades of experience to arrive at solutions proven to have impact.

3. EXECUTION

A brand mark and its supporting messaging are only as effective as its reach. We link discovery to design innovation with a comprehensive brand bible. We identify the right channels to effectively promote your brand to the audience we have defined. We test execution against our shared objectives to measure our success.

Michael Donovan

CEO, Donovan/Green

Decades-long career as a pioneer in American graphic arts. Vice-Chairman, Parsons School of Design. Board member, American Institute of Graphic Arts. Advisor @ Aspen Design Conference. NEA Fellow.

Nancye Green

Chief Strategist, Donovan/Green

Designed and produced experiences in multiple media for diverse clientele including the American Museum of Natural history, IBM, GM, P&G, Sony, and American Girl. Formerly CEO & Chairman, Waterworks.

Heather Furman

Executive Creative Director

Extensive experience developing, deploying, and managing in-depth brand and communication strategies for demanding clients. American Graphic Design Award winner. BFA, MD Institute College of Art.