Not a digital agency

Ten years ago most of the projects we undertook were print led. These days almost everything we do is ‘digital first’. This is a shift that has required a little adaptation but essentially, designing for digital pathways simply introduces additional considerations. Some limiting, some expansive. All interesting. But we don’t think of ourselves as a ‘digital agency’.

It’s taken Graphical House quite a while to arrive at the point where we have absolute confidence in the integration of our digital offer. There are a number of reasons for this. 

First and foremost, perhaps the simple adaptation to new ways of thinking about design and having confidence that we understand this in the digital realm as well as any other. 

Secondly it’s been about finding the right technical process. In actual fact this has taken much longer and involved at least a couple of different approaches that have each required significant investment and time.

What’s interesting and perhaps sometimes frustrating about the digital side of any brand is that it’s never finished. Ever. Everything in the digital world evolves at such a rate it’s more or less a full time job for someone just to keep on top of it. It’s this that makes it most different to what we consider ‘traditional’ methods of communication. And of course there is a constant thirst for content that simply didn’t exist when you produced a brochure once or twice a year. So in addition to the exponential technological expansion there is this need to make more of everything. 

I’m sure we all have mixed feelings about this but it’s where we are. Primarily because we want it. We lap it up. 

This constant cycle of creation and evolution presents real issues for brands. How do we stay on top of what technologies are relevant to us? How do we develop strategies for how we use these technologies? How do we feed the constant content in a sustainable and meaningful way? How do we stand out amongst all the noise? How can we build real connections that mean something to our business? The list goes on.

At Graphical House we have embraced these issues and brought the considerations into our process from the start of any project that will have a digital requirement. If we begin thinking about these questions in the early stages, alongside ideas around personality and tone for example, then they gradually become part of the overall attitude of a brand. Then decisions about platforms or content types can be based very much on the defined attitude and approach of the framework that has been created in order to reach the specific goals of the project.

This approach can also be applied to the digital expression of the brand. We used to agonsise over how someone would unfold a leaflet, or flick through a book. What did that book feel like? What was the paper? What did it weigh? More often now we think about how someone will interact with a website. How elements will appear on a page as they scroll? What will happen when a button is clicked? What is the journey through the site? All of this is basically user experience. It’s not a new concept. It is us, thinking about that person at the other end of whatever it is we have made and how we connect with them.

This is often where the digital gimmicks and tricks come into play. Some people have developed a dislike for certain types of interactions, scroll-jacking for example, a lack of control and free will (this is the catch-all aversion to anything digital isn’t it)? But certainly digital platforms can sometimes try way too hard and feel contrived in terms of the level of ‘bells and whistles’. Too much going on, the function is lost. The need to learn new ways to navigate.

A lot of websites are basically all the same, structurally at least. Companies mimic success and are often risk averse. If a competitor has success with a particular approach then why not just do the same thing? You’ll often find whole sectors where the websites of the leading players are almost impossible to tell apart. Perhaps these are sectors that are less engaged digitally, or have yet to really rely on a digital approach. However in general this has put further pressure onto content. If three sites look the same then only the content will separate them. 

Strategies around content are as important as any other element of a brand. At the end of the day it is the content that speaks directly to your audience. It is your voice in their ear. It will help them understand you as you understand them (you hope). It will help them connect with you and find a place in their life for what you have to offer. This is a whole other article!

So really this is one huge balancing act. Just the right amount of this and of that. And that’s why we think it’s better for it all to be overseen by one organisation. Digital expands the brand palette exponentially and each facet of that palette is best used to express a certain aspect of a brand. Everything doesn’t need to say everything. If each component does just one thing well, collectively the message will be clearer, better defined, more easily understood.

It’s incredibly difficult to be an out-and-out expert in all of this but that isn’t what we aim to do. Any project of scale is a collaboration. We work with you, the client, and you with us. Together we define the parameters. Only then we can build the right team to pull all the elements together, to get them working in harmony to deliver differentiation and clarity at all touchpoints under our watchful eye. Call it custodianship.

‘Digital first’ isn’t the right term though. A digital platform is simply a connection to a user. It’s very easy to forget, with all the data and analytics, that a ‘user’ is a real live person with feelings, emotions, needs and desires. Just like you and I.