| Using Design to Signify and Clarify Change
By Aaron Keller, Managing Principal, Capsule
August 2002
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Aaron Keller
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Should a category leader change? More specifically, if you manage
a market-leading gourmet retailer with an exquisite reputation for
premium service, would you change anything? If you have experience
working with a leading brand you probably know that change is not
only a good idea, it is often imperative. In addition, if you’re
in charge of the second, third or even the fourth place brand, you
are probably considering changes that will sneak up on the category
leader.
Change is constant and it will find you. If you don’t create
change your competitors will. If we trust that change will happen,
then the best option we have is to embrace and create change that
will improve our situation. Much easier said than actually done?
Maybe, maybe not.
Founded in 1968, Byerly’s is a gourmet retailer located in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Byerly’s offers its customers an unparalleled
shopping experience, with wide, carpeted aisles; elegant lighting;
an outstanding selection of gourmet and specialty foods; and attentive,
personal service. This heritage of excellence was embodied in the
original Byerly’s script logo, symbolizing Don Byerly’s
original signature of quality.
Byerly’s new identity uses another symbol of quality, a monogram
“B.” A more contemporary color blue is used to reflect
the importance of Byerly’s successful history. The result is
a visible change symbolizing the investments being made in the Byerly’s
brand. The identity launch in January of 2002 brought local news
coverage on five television stations, along with daily newspapers
and numerous periodicals writing in-depth stories over the following
months.
Now, how does this kind of change happen with a management committee
of four people? Was this just an anomaly or were there methods to
the madness? Yes to methods; no to madness. Qualitative research,
visualization, and rapid prototyping were vital parts to creating
this kind of historical change.
It all started with Byerly’s defining their brand in robust
academic terms. Then ethnographic research provided insights for
how the brand strategy was going to manifest itself in the marketplace.
Because the most influential touch point in the Byerly’s brand
is the store experience, research took place in the stores. Byerly’s
used observation and 121 interviews to gather insights into the
current brand experience.
Then, benchmark retailers like William-Sonoma, Old Navy, Barnes
& Noble, and Volkswagon were studied using ethnographic research
and analysis methods. The results were used to better visualize
how the Byerly’s experience was changing to be more contemporary
and relevant to current shoppers. This knowledge became the foundation
for creating a new brand identity reflecting where Byerly’s
is going instead of where it had been.
Visualization as a design method helped everyone get their eyes
and thoughts around this change. In the case of Byerly’s, visualization
meant opening the creative process and looking inside to show how
design decisions were being made. While this may seem simple, it
requires tools that respect and clearly communicate the process
in order to gain consensus. At first this kind of openness isn’t
comfortable to most designers, but the results are what anyone craves:
decisions.
Some members of the design community might just ask: Was the design
watered down to the lowest common denominator? Did you have to please
all committee members to get a decision on something? Emphatically,
no.
The Byerly’s team set up decision-making criteria and made
sure that “everyone liking it” was not the final objective.
Then, within the process of working together, visual tools were
used to help everyone see things from the consumer’s point
of view. They included prototypes of private label products, building
signage and many other visible examples of the identity.
Rapid prototyping was not only inexpensive, it also provided tremendous
insight into understanding how consumers would interact with the
identity. Although these prototypes couldn’t be tested in-store
due to confidentiality reasons, they were tested with outside observers,
other consultants, and trusted consumer groups. The reassurance
this type of prototype testing brought to the decision-making process
was critically important.
Yes, but how much time does this take, and how can this process
be inexpensive?
We all know that expense and time are both relative to the task,
but using these methods is less expensive and faster than many would
expect. The reason is that this approach provides a way to actually
do something, versus merely talking about doing something. Which,
in our current economy, is going to have a better chance of getting
the results you require.
Resisting change or finding a place to hide will not work. Seeking
ways to manage and even lead change is the interstate highway to
market leadership. The key we’ve found is having the gumption
to open the process up, using smart design methods to gain consensus,
and doing all you can to help people see the change. It doesn’t
matter if you’re the powerhouse category leader or the third
place brand with everything to prove; it works.
It should be made clear that the process we went through with Byerly’s
wasn’t the brilliance of one person or of one design firm.
It was the energy of an entire group—both client and firm—of
people who were willing to take a new approach and engage in the
idea and the manifestation of change. This process was rigorous
and challenging, but it was also rewarding.
Sources:
Mirror, Mirror, by Peter Laundy, Communication Arts (CA),
August, 1995
Collective Creativity, Liz Sanders, LOOP.aiga.org
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, by Paco Underhill
(Touchstone Books, 2000)
Aaron Keller is the Managing Principal of
Capsule.
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