The process
behind my work
Your brand has a story.
And I want to help you tell it.
After 30 years of working with clients, I’ve found that certain patterns keep repeating. How you move through them, though that’s always individual.
Which is why my process isn’t dogmatic. It’s a guide to help simplify what often feels overcomplicated.
This isn’t the method. Ask twelve brand strategists, and you’ll get twelve different answers and that’s a good thing.
This one is mine: R I S E 🚀
It stands for Reveal, Intend, Shape, Evolve.
Yes, it’s an acronym. And while those can feel a bit much at times, this one has proven helpful – for me, and for the people I work with.
It’s shaped by those I’ve learned from, refined through practice, and built on what I’ve found to work, whether you’re running a global brand or a small local team.
It’s not complicated.
But it can go deep.
It’s simply a way to make the complex more tangible.
It turns gut feeling into direction, clear enough for others to follow.
The four modules build on each other, but they also work on their own.
Each step helps you move closer to what truly matters – and how to make it real, inside and out.
Reveal
Before we talk form, we talk drive.
What brought you – or your brand – to this point?
What does it stand for? What does it want to spark in others?
And what’s the deeper reason to become visible in the first place?
In this first module, we ignore the market.
We focus on what’s already there – what wants to grow from the inside out. The stuff that holds when things get foggy.
Intrinsic motivation.
Or simply: what keeps you going when the work gets hard?
By the end, you’ll have:
✓ A first draft of your brand persona
✓ A sense of how the brand thinks, speaks, and feels
✓ A picture of your “ideal customer”
✓ No templated answers – just real insights from the core
Intend
Vision is nice. Reality checks are better.
This is where you start making decisions.
Not everything that sounds inspiring works in the real world.
And not everything that works fits your brand.
What you’ve uncovered in Reveal still holds true – but now it gets tested.
What carries outward? What needs to adapt?
And where is a detour actually the smarter move?
Because detours are only a problem when you don’t know where you stand – or where you’re headed.
Strong brands don’t adapt blindly.
They choose – with clarity, with intent, with backbone.
So here, we sort. We sharpen. We cut.
What’s negotiable – and what’s not?
What can evolve – and what stays sacred?
What does it take to be not just relevant, but unmistakably you?
By the end, you’ll know:
✓ What your brand stands for – and what it doesn’t
✓ How to define your position in the market
✓ What principles set your direction
Shape
Now it gets real.
This is where the brand gets a face – and a voice.
What do all those insights actually mean for communication, language, design? How does the brand sound? How does it show up – outside, but also inside?
We translate intent into expression.
Not with fluffy word clouds, but with working principles: for your team, your design, your copy, your decisions.
This isn’t about the big brand launch. It’s about recognizability – through clarity and substance.
By the end, you’ll walk away with:
✓ A tone of voice that fits
✓ First visual guardrails – from logo to image style
✓ A foundation for consistent, aligned communication, internally and externally
Evolve
Brands don’t break because of a bad Instagram post.
They break when no one knows what they’re standing for anymore.
That’s why the process doesn’t end with a logo, a deck, or a few slides.
Because identity isn’t a project. It’s a practice.
It needs to be nurtured, discussed, challenged – and continuously refined.
This module is about what that looks like. How to keep identity alive and kicking. How to onboard new team members. Sense-check decisions.
Build routines. Create feedback loops – without bending yourself out of shape.
Evolve is the part many companies skip.
It’s also where brands either thrive – or quietly fall apart.
By the end, it’s clear:
✓ How to anchor identity in daily practice
✓ Which tools and rituals keep the brand on course
✓ What it takes for others to join in – not because they have to, but because they want to
Let’s make your brand make sense.
from the inside out.
RISE doesn’t end with deliverables.
It begins with alignment – and continues as culture.
The outcome isn’t just a deck. It’s a brand identity that runs deep enough to inform decisions, guide teams, and grow with you.
If you’re building something that’s meant to last you don’t need noise.
You need resonance.
Let’s work from the inside out.
Free call. No strings attached.