An often undervalued aspect of the startup world is the importance of building a brand. How you represent your company and its values visually can really add value to your company. Our guest today is Sarah Dobson, founder of Design of Brand (affectionately known as D.O.B.), a specialized brand consultancy for Entrepreneurs. She is both a strategist and designer that uses research and creativity to make companies stand out in a cluttered marketplace.
About Sarah Dobson:
Sarah Dobson is the founding partner of Design of Brand. She started her career working closely under the legendary Paula Scher at Pentagram in NYC. There she developed her sharp, research-focused approach to brand development. Her magnetic creative solutions blend clear concepts and emotional designs to align young brands with their business objectives.
Sarah, together with her partner Dani Hall and their nimble team at D.O.B. have created over 60 brands, including Greenhouse Juice, Ace Valley, Rainbo Mushrooms, Mylko, Superette, Sunscoop, Regimen Skincare, Scruncheroo, Thesus Outdoors, Othership, Barbet, nutbar, Fairgrounds, and Outro Health.
She studied at Western University and Parsons.
In this episode we discuss:
(01:33) Sarah’s journey to become a brand designer
(03:57) Working at Bumble & Bumble and Pentagram
(07:55) Creating the identity for Greenhouse Juice
(10:19) How Sarah begins the design process with new clients
(11:43) The importance of honesty in the branding process
(14:50) Advice to early founders around branding
(17:28) Protecting your intellectual property
(21:14) Forming partnerships with startups
(25:39) The feeling of designing the perfect logo
(26:35) Strategy behind DOB
(27:31) How DOB chooses clients to work with
(30:38) Goals for DOB
(32:56) Brands she wishes she could overhaul
(34:06) Becoming friends with clients
Fast Favorites:
🎙- Favorite Podcast: The Rainbo Podcast
📰- Favorite Newsletter /Blog: Sift Queue (technically a playlist newsletter)
📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Whoop
📈- Favorite New Trend: Wearables, and loving your *cringe*.
📚- Favorite Book: everything by Alain de Botton
🤔- Favorite Life Lesson: Run your own race, and “enlightenment is the space between your thoughts”
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Building an Authentic Startup Brand with Sarah Dobson of Design of Brand