A key aspect of any brand is its values, which reveal to people what the brand stands for and enable them to develop an affinity with the brand. I already had a strong idea of what the brand values should be for this project, formulated during the research I had completed up until this point. I decided the best way to start was to write down the values I had as single words and then build from there by writing down what, in practice, my product would need to deliver to fulfil these values.
At this stage, these are draft values, and I will likely need to refine them to finalise a set of values that truly reflect what my brand stands for. However, by having not just words but also practical requirements, I am in a good place to continue development of my brand and product.
Here is what I created:
Using this work, I drafted an early-stage brand vision and mission. These two pieces will help me to create designs and work in a way that ensures my brand and product align truthfully by the end of the project.
Draft Brand Vision
“To innovate using the latest technology alongside human expertise to offer timely diagnosis and support for Autistic adults.”
Draft Brand Mission
"To bring together the best of human expertise and technology within a single service that supports autistic adults from initial concerns through diagnosis to their lives beyond. Treating people as individuals, providing support in ways that work for them, and removing the hurdles to accessing this support are key facets of the service. Collaborative design and iteration based on user feedback are essential aspects from the beginning and will ensure accessibility across all aspects of the service. Ensuring people can understand and question how our technology is used will keep us on track and lead us to maximise our positive impact for everyone.”
While the wording and structure still require work, I am happy that I have covered all of the main aspects I need within these two short statements. I will continue to revisit these, as well as my values and update them until I am completely happy with the final result.
My final brand values, covered in more detail within my brand guidelines document have stayed pretty consistent throughout the project, I have made some changes with transparency morphing into honest, but innovate and collaborate have stayed.
The major adds have been to bring in empower and empathy to the values and this has been as the product developed I realised how important making people feel empowered to be in control of their own diagnosis journey and my own personal understanding of the process played a huge part in the overall brand. I therefore wanted to ensure I had this formally included within the brand as they both play a huge part.
My brand mission and vision have stayed consistent throughout, with only minor changes to reflect some changes to the final project scope as project has developed. The final versions are part of my brand guidelines document.
Brand values and developing the story behind the brand are aspects of brand design I really enjoy, as they shape often not just the brand but the whole project. I always feel like they ground a brand so are worth getting in place prior to looking at other elements of the brand.
I am happy that the final brand values, mission and vision accurately represent my brand and that my initial values were strong enough to remain consistent and shape the overall project.