A few months ago i was having a good discussion on design with a good friend (Paul Birkelo). For those who know me “I am a sucker for all things design”. To add on to the discussion we were in the wild ? watching souped-up offload trucks go up and down steep terrain, take down trees and cross rivers at the Rhino Charge. And yes, some ice cold beers ? were involved to top it all off. Perfect setting to unplug from the busy city life (Nairobi) and let your creative juices run wild.
Just for reference, Paul heads the Gearbox International foundation as the Managing Director. At some point, the discussions gravitated towards ways brands are build to create certain emotions eg. Trust, control or security.
People are ruled by emotion, so the brand symbol, fonts and colors all play a major role on how a brand communicates to it’s clientele. A good brand strategy that focuses on building an intentional emotion is very core to an organizations mission and vision.
At some point, the discussions were on ways Gearbox International Foundation can improve on it’s brand strategy and things that could be done to grow the brand in the right direction. In between the chat Paul asked if i would be interested in joining the organization in the capacity of an Advisor. My role would be advising on the direction the brand should take. There is nothing i love more like seeing a brand being developed and watch it grow. It only took me a few minutes to accept the challenge. I thought of it as an opportunity to help steer a brand towards it’s mission. From the October 2018 i officially joined the Advisory board of Gearbox foundation. Below is a snippet on the organization’s brand development.
Concept behind the the brand
The Brand
The symbol
I am really pleased to be part of the board of Advisors of Gearbox International Foundation. Can’t wait to see what the brand becomes in the next few years.
For more information on what the organization does, you can read more on their site. https://www.gearboxfoundation.org/