QuA Working Process
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QuA ASSOCIATES Location : Amsterdam Established : 1985 Employees : 20 Nationalities : 8 Weather : Variable
The Crab. “Chuang-tzu was an expert artist and when the Emperor asked him to draw a crab he replied saying that he needed five years, a country house and twelve servants. The Emperor agreed. Five years later he asked for yet more time. The Emperor agreed again and gave him a further five years. At the end of the ten years Chuang-tzu took up his brush and in a single stroke drew a crab. The most perfect crab ever seen. The Emperor was delighted.� Alan Fletcher, Pentagram.
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WHY CHOOSE QUA? At QuA we aim to provide customised solutions to fit the needs of our clients. We have 22 years of experience ranging from architecture to websites and print. We specialise in ‘Brand Environment Design’. This is a process which relies on close cooperation with our clients, to ensure that all items, whatever the scale, meet your expectations. This booklet gives an insight into our process, and aims to take some of the mystery out of working with a creative agency.
A workshop with managers of the Dutch railway networks.
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Over the years we have worked for a wide variety of clients, from heavy industry to high fashion.
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Brand Environment Design
Brand Environment Design ensures that all brand items originate from the core values of the organisation. Every item produced is an outcome of this process.
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INITIATE PHASE
IN THE BEGINNING The initial phase of a piece of work is to set the objectives of the project. This includes budgeting, timetables and deliverables. It also includes the strategic targets of the project. What are we trying to achieve, and how does the project contribute to the overall goals of the company. Anything in the public domain with your logo on it, from t-shirt to offices, is contributing to your reputation. All the work on your office design is undone with one powerpoint.
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Time planning, budgets and deliverables are agreed upon at the initiation of the project.
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RESEARCH PHASE
WHAT DOES RESEARCH INVOLVE? The reason to do any type of research is to gain understanding and insight into a market or product segment. We are looking not only for dry marketing figures, but for the ‘gut reaction’ of the project drivers. The reason ‘why’. Therefore we collect existing material, look at what your clients expect, and what competitors are doing. Then we simply talk about it.
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Notes and quotations taken during interviews are translated into a short film to provoke discussion within the group.
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RESEARCH PHASE
BENCHMARKING Collecting a wide variety of material helps form a picture of both taste and functionality. Recently we have toured the latest retail environments in Paris with UPC, and 5th avenue flagship stores with Orange. We are looking for that ‘X-factor’. What makes this a success? And success is more often smart thinking than big budgets.
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Visiting New York and Paris to research the latest trends in retail environments.
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RESEARCH PHASE
UNDERSTANDING THE PROMISE Your client is going to pay for your product or services. There is a moment when you are selected above your competitors. This evaluation process is important to understand. What are you offering your clients? When required we visit production facilities or product demonstrations. We talk to the people ‘on the ground’ who often have advice for the project.
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Visiting the Porsche production line. Offshore in a Caterpillar powered lifeboat.
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RESEARCH PHASE
UNDERSTANDING STRATEGY Understanding the core reasons for the initiation of a project is of prime importance. It is often the vision of one person that leads to large scale developments within the company. Understanding the goals of this person is to understand the goals of the project.
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Understanding brand positioning.
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CONCEPT PHASE
HOW DO WE REACH A CONCEPT? Depending on the scale of the project, workshops are held to visualise the core values and offerings of the project. These key messages form the core of the concept. This is the origin to which all future material relates. It defines the tone of voice for copy-writers, to the construction materials for architects.
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A typical example of a client-workshop in which we visualise the core values of their business offerings.
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CONCEPT PHASE
WORKSHOPS Workshops are held to discuss the goals of the project. We begin with a variety of material translated from the research phase. There follows a process of elimination to reach a distilled message. This message is then translated into atmospheres and designs. Each person in the workshop is important to the process and has opinions about the goals of the project.
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Workshop discussing tone-of-voice for press communications.
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CONCEPT PHASE
INSPIRATION In the beginning of a project, anything is possible. To initate discussion, we may talk about a wide variety of existing things such as films, or buildings etc. Sometimes we produce short films directly relating to the client to promote or provoke discussion within the group.
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The first workshop-sessions are geared towards discussion on a wide variety of topics. Here for example, ‘what makes James Bond a successful brand’.
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CONCEPT PHASE
VALUEBOARD A ‘valueboard’ is nothing more than a board with your values on it! But whereas many companies have a list of their corporate values in a frame on the wall, it needs to have relevance for employees and your clients. It needs to be brought to life and form the basis of what you do, and what you stand for.
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Section of the valueboard for PonCat.
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CONCEPT PHASE
INITIAL SKETCHES Initial ‘rough’ sketches quickly provide feedback on ideas discussed in the workshops. Changes can quickly be made, and clients feel more comfortable and able to comment. Finding direction is often a case of “I’m not sure what I want, but I know what I don’t like”.
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Many initial sketches are made quickly to discuss various ideas and possibilities with the client.
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EXPLORE PHASE
TOWARDS A DESIGN SOLUTION A process of development and feedback leads to improvements in the design and closer involvement with clients. Proposals are presented, along with print or material samples, colour schemes and alternative solutions.
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Developing designs for discussion and review with the client.
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Working things out...
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FINALISE PHASE
GO / NO GO The goal of the final design phase is to have a clear understanding of all aspects of the design before production begins. This may include highly detailed visualisations, print samples, or rough animations. Planning is finalised, and third parties chosen for production.
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A highly finished computer visualisation for MTV.
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Final perspectives and plans provide visualisations of the designs before production.
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PRODUCTION PHASE
REALISATION OF THE DESIGN Over the years we have built-up a network of third parties to realise projects. This ranges from copy-writers, to product designers, website builders, photographers, architects etc. Your reputation is our reputation, and we take care to check the quality of the work that is produced, attend production meetings, and generally keep things running smoothly.
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QuA monitors third parties to ensure the quality of the work produced.
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From website to wineglass, the level of quality remains the same, and all items relate to the original concept.
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Our work ranges from graphic design, to architecture, retail environments and multimedia.
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POST PRODUCTION PHASE
PRESS We have experience in producing promotional material for projects. We use experienced photographers, copy-writers and translators to provide a press-kit for publication. We can also give internal presentations to inform staff about the ambitions and results of the project.
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Magazine article, with photography and copy provided by QuA.
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POST PRODUCTION PHASE
EXTRA “The proof of the pudding is in the eating�. Visits and samples of our work can be arranged, and it may also be helpful to talk to one of our clients who has completed a project of similar scale. Our goal is to make the design process as smooth as possible, with strong client involvement, to make things on time and on budget of which everybody involved can feel proud.
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Caterpillar management are given a tour through the new MTV building by the head of MTV.
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For more information please contact: QuA Associates Grasweg 61 1031 HX Amsterdam The Netherlands P: +31(0)20 494 6565 F: +31(0)20 494 6500 E: info@qua.nl www.qua.nl