Brand Strategists vs. Brand Designers: Who the fuck are these people? a Thread #girllemmetellyou

In the age of everyone needing a title on the Internet, in the space that I’m in I find a lot of people describing the work that they do as strategy or design related. Within branding, and without being too there are two main components: what you see and what you don’t see.

Branding is what you 1) see and 2) feel about and associate with said brand, personal or professional. The visual is what the brand designer is responsible for. Let’s talk about their position a bit.

Brand designers often times are what many web and graphic designers graduate into. They’re all encompassing in the sense that they aren’t interested in mere logo design. They are here to bring your visual identity together with full brand suites that provide cohesion.

They are the visual communicators of emotion or feeling that is associated with whatever brand you’re building. Brand designers are the glue. They are the also the paint. They bring and keep it all together.

Brand designers are calculated, seasoned and more intuitive versions of graphic designers. Brand designers can ALSO be strategists. Which brings me to them....

Brand strategists are the dot connectors and sense makers. They develop the map that you follow to build recognition and trust. They create the plans, well strategies, filled with research, market analysis, to understand who you are, where you are and what you want to be.

Brand Strategists simply (despite it not being simple at all) help define the way that consumers think about a company's goods or services and can also develop the name, slogans, value propositions, pitches, and develop positioning plans. They marry marketing expertise as well.

Brand strategists define and refine so that the vision is clear and the visual is impactful. They help define how you want to be perceived, how to organize your business based on this promise, communicate your promise, and to be consistent in maintaining that.

Brand designers can be strategists as well, and strategists can be designers but they don’t have to be. I know designers who don’t design at all. I’m not a designer at all

I hope this provides clarity for you. Let me know if you have any questions in the replies!