I’m very excited to introduce you to our new edition of the Word Cards. This set of ideation cards enables you to define all aspects of a brand’s personality: brand’s archetype, tone of voice, personality traits, and style characteristics.
Word Cards come in both digital and print formats so you can use them to facilitate your brand workshops online and offline.
What is the best way to use these cards, you might ask?
If you are running a brand workshop online, it’s best to have an online collaboration space that becomes the “meeting spot” for your team and your client. It brings everyone around the same table for discussion. You can ask the right questions as well as drag and drop your cards into the space when doing the brainstorming. We suggest using the Brand Canvas for such a space as it’s a proven-to-work tool that will help you consolidate the brand’s essence.
If you are running a workshop offline, then use a print version of the Brand Canvas which is included in the Brand Strategy Kit, and the print version of the Word Cards. The steps for how to facilitate a discussion in both cases are the same.
A good brainstorming session starts with a good set of questions. As you ask the questions, drag and drop the cards onto the Brand Canvas in the pertinent locations.
Here are some questions we suggest asking when articulating a brand’s personality:
What would be the closest brand archetype or a set of two/three that best reflects your brand’s personality?
Use the Brand Archetype cards to generate ideas. It’s not your goal to find an exact archetype for the brand within the cards. In fact, you should discourage a client from fitting themselves into a defined category. Instead, use the Brand Archetype cards for inspiration to trigger new ideas and you will either come up with your own category or a derivative of one. Make sure to articulate this to your client and set the right expectations.
Which of the brand archetypes are the furthest from the truth?
Select 2-3 cards. It’s good to select those which are on the other side of the spectrum as that helps to visualize the brand’s personality even better.
Which tone of voice reflects the brand’s communication style the best?
Use the Tone of Voice cards to generate ideas. Select 2-3 definitions and 2-3 brand quotes that represent your brand. If you come up with your own versions inspired by the cards, even better!
Which tone of voice is the furthest from the brand’s communication style?
Select 2-3 definitions and 2-3 brand quotes that don’t represent your brand.
Which personality traits best embody your brand’s personality?
Use the Personality Traits cards to generate ideas. Identify upto 6 personality traits.
Which personality traits are the furthest from what your brand is all about?
Identify upto 6 personality traits.
What kind of visual style best reflects your brand’s personality?
Using your own researched images, brand cards, style cards, and the style characteristics cards that you’ll find in the Word Cards create a moodboard that combines images and words. The purpose of the moodboard is to visually showcase your brand’s future visual style. It will set the visual direction for your brand and jumpstart the design process.
Here are some good examples:
I hope this short guide will help you to get started when defining a brand’s personality. Don’t forget to have fun along the way! It’s a playful and experimental process after all.
