28/01/2026
Thereās something about the Value of Design..
That Iāve struggled with my entire career..
On one side of the table Iāve had many conversations with hot-shot execs at very wealthy companies who struggle to stack fiscal value next to the output of Design, yet dropped millions on stupid sales tactics that drove pennies on the dollar.
In those conversations I weirdly found myself pushing back on the chair, ready for a fight, defending the value of critical thinking and the continually researched impact that smart, commercial design decisions have on the balance sheet.
On the other side, Iāve had conversations with clients who have opened up their business and given me an insight under the hood of the true commercial value our work at .co has had on their business.
..real tangible value its brought through the door (aka money!)..WAY better employee engagement which led to more deals closed...a more cohesive understanding of the company, which led to more aligned, more qualified business interactions.
One of our clients earlier this week shared lots on the impact weāve had on their business... but one small job stood out.
We worked on a branded internal culture piece about 3 or 4 years ago for them and it completely shifted how they onboarded new employees. That little project which we worked on for all of about a week (if that) gave new hires a clear understanding of what they were there to achieve together, a very clear objective, and a collective vision to buy into. Over a few short years they scaled to around 50 on-site staff with a dedicated team working toward a single goal.
I donāt think I need to mention how critical aligned team members are in any business, no matter the size.
But the truth is... we rarely get to see behind the curtain.
Branding is such a big component of business. The way communication, strategy, creative, design all interconnects with each other to streamline ops, align team members, and provide a platform for clarity is absolutely critical. Especially for businesses in any sort of growth phase.
Itās always been way more about heart and soul, than art and copy.