Chicago-based design and technology studio Simple.Honest.Work recently debuted a stunning minimalist card deck, designed as a simple branding tool for companies to streamline the adjectives they are and are not.
Originator of the brainstorm and studio proprietor is Scott Thomas, the lead designer of the 2008 Obama campaign. “The Brand Deck,” as it is named, consists of 100 adjectives, with black and white contrasting terms like “simple” and “complex” on reverse faces of a card. To “play,” each card is placed into one of three stacks: You Are, You are Not, or Not Applicable. At the end of the thought exercise, a company is left with the adjectives that best represent its core beliefs.
The simple branding tool has already raised $14,000 of its $45,000 goal on Kickstarter, with 25 days remaining in the campaign. In addition, Simple.Honest.Work has partnered with the talented card folks at Cards Against Humanity to assist in printing and production, whose cards share a similar black-and-white design vein.
The initial experiments for the deck were motivated internally through the studio’s experience working with budding and rebranding businesses. Over time, Thomas and his creative team have streamlined a process that allows them to successfully execute creative projects.
“If we're reimagining a brand, we need to take them from a blank canvas to a completed brand identity,” he says. From his design consulting work, recently collaborating with Fast Company and Nike to create a sleek, modern experience for their respective websites, Thomas thinks identifying the core characteristics that define a company and communicating those attributes is one of the most important things.
Thomas is also offering brand chats and workshops for those that pledge over $500. But the deck itself is for anyone and everyone, he says.
“Whether you are designing, writing, directing, building, or planning, a simple set of adjectives can be your North Star, guiding difficult decisions through the process,” Thomas says. It’s for “entrepreneurs, writers, strategists, designers, directors, marketers, makers, actors, realtors, builders, interior designers, architects, planners, anyone needing to create or build something.”
(Image via Kickstarter.com)
