At the core of every business lies the concept of brand, a term that is often misunderstood and misused. A brand is not just what a company claims it to be, or what its employees define as its values. Instead, it is a representation of the collective perception of the business by those who interact with it - customers, clients, and members of the community. These individuals have a unique perspective on the business and their voice should be heard and considered when defining a brand.

The idea of using design as a tool for solving practical and societal problems is not new and can be traced back to the work of artists and thinkers like László Moholy-Nagy, who believed in the interrelatedness of art and life. This idea has been expanded upon by other great minds like Buckminster Fuller, Grand Fury, and Willem Sandberg, who believed that design could be an inventive resource for addressing the big challenges facing society. Our aim is to do justice to their work by asking simple questions that will help us uncover the smart answers we need to define a brand.

The balance between people, planet, and profit, commonly referred to as the Triple Bottom Line, was introduced by John Elkington as a tool for auditing the impact of a business. However, we use this framework not just to audit what a brand has done in the past, but as a lens to define what it should do in the future. We believe that a brand should prioritize the balance between people, planet, and profit and that this should be reflected in its actions and decisions. This is our top line, and we believe that it is crucial in defining a successful and sustainable brand.

I've written all this up in this book that I hope you'll find valuable.

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