Who else loves a renovation show?
I recall my first time, back in the 90’s with Home Front – the birth place of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and his flouncy sleeves, Dairmuid Gavin’s tight curls giving us girls something to swoon over and, the legend that is Kevin McCloud.
I was fascinated even then by the passion people extolled on every detail of everything in the home, nothing was left untouched, considered or designed.
I was hooked.
In fact, fast forward to 12 years later and I was working in that same industry, creating beautiful spaces, designing every aspect.
I loved it.
The most recent discovery has been Your House Made Perfect.
I LOVE how they have really taken on technology to create spaces that allow those that can’t envisage and SEE it, to actually feel it, walk in it and interact with the space- it’s incredible. A far cry from the endless magazine ripping, swatches and photoshopping methods I knew.
And as outlandish as Robert Jamieson (the award-winning, worldly architect) is, he said something that truly struck me:
When speaking with the clients about where to spend money in a build, he described the importance of not just spending a pretty environment, but more importantly on the ‘Pretty Bones’ of the space.
So – it got me thinking, again, about brand.
If architectural structures are the Pretty Bones of the space, then brand basics/roots/foundations, are the same.
The structure of your brand, your idea, strategy, purpose, principles, positioning and personality have to be strong, have to work together, make sense of each other, be sound enough to to hold a lot of weight, weather storms and be built to last.
From this everything is built on – the exterior, the interior, the lighting, the grounds, the decor.
If the structure is flawed, wobbly or weak, there’s no amount of dressing up that’s going to help it.
I often use the analogy of a home as a brand in terms of rebrand vs refresh – the difference between knocking it down and rebuilding it or a fresh decor. (You can read that here: https://box-creative.co.uk/refresh-or-rebrand/)
To steal the old Vitruvian ideology – there must be 3 elements to architecture:
- Strength.
- Function.
- Delight.
And I think this is where Jamieson was going in his ‘Pretty Bones’ comment. A brand needs to be stand-out and strong, marketable, stand for something; it needs to have a function in the market, against competition, be necessary for its audience, meet needs; and it needs to entice, surprise and hook our customers in a way that keeps them coming back for more.
So when we are building our brand strategy or idea, spend time and invest in those bones- make them work, test them against bad weathers, make sure it fits the environment (or build your own), make sure there’s room to grow and make it delightful, ‘Pretty’, stand out.
The success and longevity of the rest will rise or fall to the ground by this structure.
Don’t just be concerned with the decoration and finishing touches.
Make sure you have Pretty Bones.
We are master Vitruvians, Jamiesons and builders of brand.
Get in touch today.
Lauren 🌱
