Every creative task must first be truly defined and properly understood. Mixdesign's tiered process allows the team to fully engage and discover your brand’s unique needs, perspective and story. When your leaders embark on a brand journey with mixdesign, we will navigate your team thoughtfully through our 5 common project steps. Each project takes a brand journey through Discovery, Dot Connecting, Design, Rollout and Cementing.
1. Discovery
The discovery process allows our team to understand your brand and full needs. This important step allows our team to step into your shoes, listen and learn. The goal in this phase is to understand your mindset, discover the non-obvious opportunities and prep the soil for great dot connecting. Working side by side with your team we will help us all further define the scope, the project goals and the guest expectations together. Ideally, our team will visit your establishment, talk one on one and perform brand audits or focus groups.Understanding your goals, brand assets and vision of success is at every project kickoff. It’s time to fully engage. Let's roll up our sleeves.
2. Dot Connecting
It is imperative to take the valuable time to connect the dots before design begins. The dot connecting process has become the creative catalyst for the entire vision. A properly dot connected vision will allow us to set the tone for success, create project scope, define the details of the deliverables and help all involved parties define success. It allows the client to reaffirm our direction toward the mood, goals, deliverables and wow factor. This step is the most valuable contributor to project, team and guest success. Dot connecting successfully will also help your team to wrap heads around the full project before details are underway. This imperative phase becomes the storyboard, blueprint or visual schematic for the entire project. Let’s plant the seed for a solid brand vision.
3. Design
The heart of our operation, root of our name and the passion for why we started mixdesign in the first place is design. Design is at the center of each day but only one step to our five step process. Although we are passionate about design, it is most important that we are creating for you and not for us. Thus, design comes in only after the discovery and dot connecting. This important nucleus is also broken into two very important parts. Design for concept and design for production. Design for concept exists to achieve the goals defined clearly in your discovery phase in order to provide approval before details emerge. Your team can clearly see our unique perspective. Once approved and loved by your brand ambassadors, design for production becomes the next phase of achievement. This two part step requires much attention to detail. The seeds have been planted, let’s grow your brand!
4. Rollout
Nothing is more exciting in the world of design than when ideas and vision start to become real. Once "design for production" is complete, concepts are accepted, storyboards and renderings are approved, design quickly turns into rollout. Our highly energetic team of designers, programmers, artisans and builders go into action. The term “Rollout” speaks for itself but the true value comes in the diligent attention to details, project management and quality control.
5. Cementing
As rollout deliverables are met and each project comes to fruition it is important to consider the "wrap up”. This final “walk thru” is anything but final. Beyond the lists being checked and the project being topped with sprinkles it is imperative that we set your team up for ongoing success. Proper maintenance discussions, future improvement ideas and a solid project High-five are all part of great cementing. This last stage of the client cycle sets the tone for a strong lasting creative relationship.