What is Versa's approach to coming up with creative cut-through ideas?

Whether you are a designer creating a new identity or a manager writing a marketing plan, a blank page can be very intimidating. As creative designers we see blank pages every day. And because we are running to critical time deadlines, we can't just sit and wait for inspiration.

That's where the business of creativity comes into effect. The need to focus our attention on the problem at hand, break-out of current patterns and ways of thinking and invite the right side of our collective brain to come up with ideas that can be expressed without fear of judgement or criticism. We then start building upon these ideas and tinker with them to create new ones.

Being creative is a means to meet business and communication objectives, and to connect with the target audience. With respect to our visuals we might start with a blank page, but this is always preceded by the client brief. In essence, the client brief outlines the problem to be solved. An understanding of the problem is just a essential as its solution.

At Versa our creative approach comes from being inspired, being passionate about what we do, from having fun and from injecting a lot of energy into our work. Vital to this mix is an enormous amount of collaboration.

We invest a lot of our time brainstorming ideas and only after we have exhausted these ideas do we start dismissing ideas that won't work, won't distinguish our client from the competition, or just miss the mark with the target audience. We expose ourselves to a wide range of influences - locally and from overseas. Inspiration can come from art or literature, science or media, a walk in the park or from watching people hustle through city streets at peak hour. Whatever the source, we are always on the look out for new ways of looking at things, new approaches to communication, new ideas and new ways to play with existing ideas

We have one rule and that is to put our egos aside when we brainstorm ideas. Our credo is that there is no such thing as failure when it comes to generating ideas. You could say that our objective is to fail in order for us to succeed. When the fear of failing is put aside, we have the freedom to start coming out with potentially workable solutions. It‚s all a learning opportunity, a time to expand our thinking. It's then a matter of bring those ideas to life.

How do you view design and communication?

I see them as an interplay that comes together to form a relationship with the audience. Ultimately, our aim is to enable whatever we design to engage in a conversation with the target market, to appeal to them on all sorts of levels: visual, tactile, mood, tone and feel.

It's easy to think of design in terms of brochures or websites, but design is all around us: traffic signals, the big yellow "M"‚ of McDonalds, the sign directing you to the emergency ward at a hospital, a restaurant menu, your daily newspaper, the Sydney Swans jerseys, packaging on your breakfast cereal, the instruction leaflets for medications, a clothing label, your ATM receipt. All these things are designed to communicate specific messages.

Everything we see affects us in some way. With most of what we assimilate coming through our visual sense, it is important that communications appeal first and foremost to our visual nature. Design helps to organise messages, to emphasise areas of key importance, to illustrate ideas, to form opinions and perceptions, to accentuate consumer benefits and to create a desired image. It provides a structure that facilitates desired communication. Design is the glue that binds together the brand, the information, the benefits, the consumer and other key stakeholders.

Can designers make a difference to business?

Every company has a brand promise to communicate, a differentiation from their competition, something they do well or something that their customers value. Those who can clearly communicate that advantage are the ones who are noticed and get heard. Great communications design can help an organisation amplify their message, showcase their competitive advantage and help to create a particular perception in the minds of consumers to help them differentiate one offering from another. This translates into more customers and more sales.

There is no doubt that a strong brand is a valuable business asset. Brands influence perception and buying behaviour, can provide consumers with a short-cut to decision making about product choice, they can also influence an organisation's reputation and share market value. A designers role is to ensure that an organisations brand is safeguarded, is featured strongly, is consistently applied throughout all marketing communications and works flexibly with the full range of conventional and digital media. It is also important that design reflects the values of the organisation, and that it helps promote the organisational vision.

Design influences corporate reputations. Design helps to shape an organisations personality. It affects emotional appeal, perceptions of quality, reliability, trust and value. It can convey financial strength and performance, leadership ability, how well a company is managed and what it stands for, its values and purpose, its relationship with its community and its staff. It conveys its competitive positioning, its history and its promise for the future.

Are the customers always the focal point of your designs?

Yes, absolutely. When we start the creative design process we are engaging in a relationship with the target audience. We need to speak their language, appeal to their needs, grab and sustain their attention. You can have the most visually stunning brochure or website imaginable, but if it doesn't appeal to the target audience for whom it is intended, it is all for naught. So everything comes back to the target audience. You have to remove your own tastes and biases, and immerse yourself fully in the mind of the consumer.

You also have to remind yourself that a brand doesn't live in the product or service, it lives in the mind of the consumer. So our focal point is always on getting our designs to form a favourable impression in consumers minds. In order to inform them, persuade and then entice them by appealing to their aspirations, establish trust and ultimately build a relationship.

What is your view on creativity and visual messages in the ever changing global economy?

More than ever before, your message needs to be clear, distinct, and communicate very loudly. There are so many messages out there, so much information, so much noise.

Our attention spans are getting shorter, the amount of discretionary time we have available is decreasing - therefore if you have something to say, you need to say it in a way that really seizes the customers' attention and quickly communicates your key message - much like a loud-speaker. This is very important. If you don't do this, then potential customers won't hear what you have to say.

A lot of clients are so afraid of doing something differently to grab attention. What they should be more concerned about is the opportunity cost of not getting a customers' attention. There's no room for mediocrity and blandness in the global economy. If you're not prepared to stand out and be noticed, there's always someone else that is.

You need to engage your audience. This doesn't mean you have to be brash but what it does mean is that your design has to appeal to the specific target audience in mind, and in a way that visually creates the desired image you are trying to form. The colours, shape, type-style and overall look and feel all have to be analysed and selected carefully in order to push the right buttons with the target audiences known profile and preferences.

Equally important is the ability to be true to your brand promise and to integrate all of your communications in a consistent and seamless manner. This is even more relevant in the global village. There are an ever increasing amount of options available for consumers in terms of products and services available, accessible from multiple access points.

Consumers are becoming fragmented and are more informed. There is an over abundance of choice and less predicability in the ways consumers behave.

It's becoming more difficult to distinguish one brand from the next. Therefore, it is important design works hard to reinforce the brand, to appeal to consumers' motivations and is tailored to the specific type of media used.

For instance, the Internet demands a new way of thinking about creativity and communication, providing new ways to interact. It is not a passive medium so you can't rely on old methods of design to work in what is a very different environment. You have to design for the specific character of the media you are using in order to connect with your stakeholders and engage in a relationship, and once you've managed to capture their attention you still have to be able to hold it.

And that's where change comes in. It's the only constant. You have to be constantly evolving to reflect the changes in society, technology, global culture, the competitive environment, media and consumers. You need to evolve in tandem with the customer. So it's more a cooperative evolution of change rather than change for the sake of change. Again, it's the consumer who is the focal point and who is the driver of the continual need for change and growth. Your marketing communications are a mirror of what is happening in the environment, and also a shaper of what can be.