The Big Idea

Help me help you, help them...

How do you determine the ground truth? Ask the client to describe, outline, or enact their typical customer’s experience.

This is a helpful way to reveal the client’s perceptions of their customer and provide an informative contrast to actual customer experiences.

Which one is not like the other?

How do you truly understand our differences? Use personal or published accounts to reveal differences in behaviors and artifacts between nationals or other cultural groups.

This helps teams to understand various cultural factors and the implications for their projects when designing for unfamiliar or global markets.

Why? I mean really - why...

Want to get the the bottom of customer behavior? Ask "Why" questions in response to five consecutive answers.

Doing this is an important exercice that forces people to examine and express the underlying reasons for their behavior and attitudes.

WHO is your dream customer?

Once you can answer this question you are way ahead of your competition. I am not talking about your current customers or your biggest customer, who is your DREAM customer.

HOW do you go about doing this... Based on researching real people, develop a character profile that represents your ideal and provide as many details about their behavior and lifestyle as possible.

WHY is this so powerful... It is the best way to bring your dream customer to life and to communicate the value of different concepts to various target groups.

EXAMPLE... we developed the dream customer for a soap company wanting to reach the young adult beauty-product market.

Cover-More NZ Airport Kiosk

Cover-More wanted to explore selling travel insurance directly to consumers at the airport. Together we piloted a POS kiosk in the departure area of the Christchurch, NZ international airport.

Travel insurance is an emotional financial purchase. We wanted to test if travelers would be interested in buying coverage for things such as; lost luggage or stolen travel documents, right before their flights.

By placing the kiosk in the departure lounge we were looking to understand if travelers would have increased concerns about their exposure to loss and disruption while waiting for their flight to depart. By creating a compelling location to educate and sell travel insurance products we wanted to capture that last possible transaction prior to their trip.

We created the Expect the Unexpected campaign to communicate that you never know what might happen while on travel and far away from home. To further communicate this message we created a fantastical environment where a Kraken causes havoc and destruction. This over the top approach allowed us to broach the subject of - bad things can happen - without being overly dark and scary. The kiosk allowed for an engaging interface to quote and sell the products as well as educate those interested on the benefits of travel insurance.

The pilot project was a success and led to increased sales in this dynamic environment. Additionally the entire installation provided Cover-More a unique way to build brand awareness and equality with the New Zealand public.

Getting Hired

Getting Hired is a company dedicated to offering equal employment opportunities for all, regardless of physical or mental abilities. We leveraged our extensive experience working with the American Foundation for the Blind to inform our effort.

Regardless of an applicant's abilities we were tasked with creating a site that would accommodate a wide range of needs that applicants may have, from a myriad of physical limits to cognitive challenges as well.

The site needed to work for a broad spectrum of users. We planned to implement tools and design schemas that would provide for a high level of usability. From button size, to font color to clarity of task. The site would work equally well for a visually challenged physicist to a store greater with cognitive limitations.

We implemented design principles and advanced site coding to allow for the site to change in response to the user needs. All colors and fonts can be modified to accommodate for visual challenges, buttons and calls to action are easy to use and set clear expectations, and if necessary additional help text can be displayed to assist the step-by-step all the way to completing their application.

The end results were very well received with the target audience and the general marketplace. Our efforts lead to increased employment among a diverse community that frequently faces unnecessary challenges in fulfilling their highest potential.

Cover-More Travel Assistance Apps

Cover-More is dedicated to provide travelers around the world with superior support while on travel. In addition to their industry leading insurance products they wanted to create mobile assets that would enhance the travel experience for all travelers.

In an expansive suite of interactive mobile apps we created tools that spanned the needs of the international traveler. From daily targeted insurance products to combating jet lag our goal was to make being far from home easy and comfortable.

Each app is targeted to resolve specific issues with traveling. We conducted detailed traveler surveys and interviews to identify areas of need and concern and then we went about developing targeted solutions to resolve the stated challenge.

We developed these solutions via the app ecosystem to ensure that all travelers would have access to the tools all around the world. In addition to creating and utilizing real time data and resources we leverage the inherent features of the phones to capture location and regional information to better aid the traveler, all while protecting their privacy and security.

Utilization of the apps increased exponentially over time and helped aid in an overall positive brand impression of Cover-More insurance products.

GEICO Insurance

GEICO partnered with Apple to pioneer the gamification of mobile advertising. We were charged with creating fun and engaging ways to share GEICO’s message of savings.

In a series of interactive mobile campaigns we were tasked with capturing the attention, and engagement, of prospective customers with messages that reinforced GEOCO’s value proposition.

For the latest campaign we leverage the idea of a hypothetical money grubbing creature that wanted to steal all of your money. The Money Badger was the perfect foil in this epic battle.
Previous campaigns we created took advantage of the phones innate properties. From tapping to flicking, shaking to strumming and interacting with the camera - we pushed the boundaries of the device and the users expectations of mobile advertising.

User engagement for all of these campaigns far exceeded expectations and led the entire iAd platform for time spent by the user. The campaign was celebrated as an innovative and creative way to push the iAd platform forward by Apple and GEICO.

Union Kitchen Grocery

Union Kitchen is the lead provider of shared commercial kitchen space in Washington DC. As UK and their members continued to grow they wanted to expand into the retail space selling its members goods.

The goal was to extend the growing Union Kitchen brand into a local food and beverage destination, in the spirit of the corner bodega offering unique and special goods.

We looked to leverage the growing familiarity of the core brand alongside a classic and established look. With each corner establishment we wanted to honor the past and celebrate a fresh and vibrant future.

To evoke the energy and excitement of this unique environment we tweaked their existing typography and added a script element to the core brand. Additionally we create an entire brand language to be used throughout the stores, reinforcing the products that are offered.

Union Kitchen Grocery is established across Washington DC as the premier location to find the best local products. As additional outlets continue to open we are excited to see where they will expand to next.

Communi-T

Communi-T is a non-profit created by Untold, early in the COVID crisis, to provide immediate and direct financial support to local businesses around the country.

The goal was to create custom designed items that local restaurants and cafes could sell directly to their loyal customers online. The businesses only had to register their interest and we did all the rest from design to production and shipping.

Untold recruited fellow designers to contribute to the effort. With an all volunteer “staff” we were able to rapidly create custom designs for each business based on their online and social profiles.

Each design was unique, reflecting the designers style and the businesses personality. We utilized print-on-demand vendors to create the fulfillment loop.

With all of the work being generously volunteered we were able to donate all proceeds generated back to each business. In the first month alone we sold over 500 shirts and delivered more than $8,000 to small local businesses.

Mikko Nordic Fine Foods

The Mythical Mikko brand and its associated line of packaging was created for a Scandinavian focused eatery and retail outlet in trendy Dupont Circle, Washington DC.

The goal behind the concept was to merge the norse gods of the nordic region alongside traditional Scandinavian folk art.

By building a larger platform for the Mikko brand we could bridge together the restaurant, catering and home goods all under one whimsical and engaging brand. One that allows everyone to enjoy and embrace the nordic ideal of Hygee.

The color palette represents all of the countries in the region and the art features objects from nature; animals, birds, trees, plants, and flowers along with geometric shapes that have significance in nordic cultures.

The project has significantly aided in solidifying Mikko Fine Nordic Food as the premier provider of Scandinavian food and goods in the Washington DC area.

YouGo Travel Insurance

YouGo Travel Insurance is a youthful brand that provides a personalized approach to purchasing affordable travel-related coverage.

The goal behind YouGo was to be upfront and clear on the challenges that travel can present and how specific coverage could help to mitigate those potential financial pitfalls.

By allowing the customer to build their own coverage packages they would understand the end product. This would also allow them to control the end costs by limiting the coverage levels to only what they needed.

Hugo, our friendly traveler greets you at the very start and walks you through the entire process. This approach takes a confusing and cumbersome process and turns it into a fun and exploratory purchase flow.

The project has increased YouGo’s parent company market share in the industry, especially with the coveted 18-26 age group that typically declines purchasing travel insurance.