You Can’t Innovate If You Ignore Real Problems by Sohrab Vossoughi for fastcodesign.com.

i’ve seen this time and again both in-house and out, and i think it’s an important topic for any business facing a brand overhaul, evolution or innovation. many thanks to sohrab vossoughi for writing about it! the dilemma, as it comes to the designer: a business is experiencing a dip in brand loyalty or otherwise tough times, wants to shift the focus of previous perceptions and tell everyone how great they are, but doesn’t want to change how they operate, what they offer, or do the real work of aligning this message with who they truly are.

it’s tough to really look at ourselves and our businesses objectively and find out if our actions or corporate culture really reflect what we say about ourselves. sometimes we’re too close to the matter, and it helps to get an outside perspective. the fact is, though, branding is not about creating an external façade. it’s not between you and your customer, it’s the very articulation of what you stand for and what you do—it IS you. many of your potential customers have been advertised to, rather loudly, their entire lives at this point, and are discerning about messages that don’t align with a business’ actions or services. if you’re realizing there’s a problem that’s not working for you, re-evaluating your brand is a good idea, but first it’s time to take that look.

read on & have a great weekend!