Roberta Zaccaria and Sara Mirone, WGDS founders, have given an interview to ICCIUK about how good digital design and efficient architecture play an instrumental role in building a strong brand identity and, consequently, a company’s growth and success.
Brand Identity
Q: With an ever more increasing shift towards digitalisation, you give digital services that have now become fundamental for a company’s establishment and growth. Could you explain what your services consist of and how design and architecture play a fundamental role in what you do?
WGDS helps businesses to navigate their digital transformation with bespoke web & marketing solutions. We offer various services: Brand and Marketing Strategy, Web Development, Digital Brand Audit, Google Analytics data analysis, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Content optimization to support businesses’ growth consistently and organically.
When a brand comes to us asking for help with rebranding, usually a website remake/makeover, we start by studying the business mission and vision, what are the business goals, what problems the website has to solve and what functionality the website needs.
We approach the project with the same mentality as an architect will do: what type of business will be occupying the space (digital in this case) and how the foundation of the house (website) needs to be for future goals (e-commerce, for example). Then we propose a website that reflects the brand identity and offers the best structure considering future developments. Once the website is online, we deliver Brand Strategy Guidelines to enforce brand awareness and a Digital Road Map for the following six months.
Creativity & Design
Q: While creativity plays a major role in helping a company build its unique brand personality, functionality is an essential item in the design formula to guarantee users’ accessibility. How do you let creativity and design functionality coexist?
Graphic design is a perfect marriage of creativity and function. As creativity is a key ingredient to ensure that the brand website stands out from the crowd, functionality is the key ingredient to ensure an efficient user experience and a clear call to action. Both are essential parts of website planning. For example, if you have a page that looks beautiful but it confuses your users, and they leave without filling out a form or buying something, that page is not doing its job. At the same time, you can have a perfectly functional page, but your brand identity is not represented in full (bad quality pictures, incoherent colour scheme, not clear purpose message), so the user will leave without completing any action. As architects do for a building, when we start any website project, we always think about function first and then integrate it with the ‘sexy’ and appealing look.
Sustainability
Q: Nowadays, sustainability represents a crucial aspect of a company’s success. How does sustainability fit into your digital spaces?
Indeed, sustainability is now the key driver for innovation. Today more and more consumers and investors are thinking beyond price and quality. People started caring about how and if a pair of jeans is made abroad or with zero footprints or if the food is ethically sourced. Investors care about and support companies with an ethical approach.
As sustainability is becoming a must, it needs to be integrated into the Digital Marketing Strategy with successful storytelling that speaks to your audience.
We promote sustainability; we love to work with brands to help them enlighten their sustainability close to their purpose. Whatever your business’s sustainable approach is, using local artisans, supporting a cause, looking after your employees’ well-being or recycling, this should be part of your brand and marketing strategy.
Digitalisation
Q: The digital world is an unstoppable space, continuously evolving and acquiring new forms and design trends. How is WGDS keeping up with this continuous evolution and, at the same time, able to offer the market’s latest trends to satisfy its clients?
It’s important to be updated on marketing trends, know the last social media channels, and recognize which one has more engagement or what is the latest Artificial Intelligence app on the market. Said that the crucial thing is to understand the needs of the client and offer the most appropriate platform, strategy and trends.
For example, Snapchat and Tik Tok are two of the latest trends in social media, with a majority of their users between 16-24 years old, so it wouldn’t make sense for a brand that sells products targeted to middle-aged business managers to use them.
As digitalisation is unstoppable, especially in the last two years, companies must rethink their strategy to keep up with consumer behaviour, rapidly shifting from in-store to online shopping.
Some of WGDS’s last Projects ZainoFood, Proseccocaffe, Akub restaurant, AWM, Cabbiavoli Estate, RF Fitness, https://www.rusidesigns.com/