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Just like colour, fonts and typefaces can play a part in evoking emotions, communicating  attitude, and conveying a certain message. After all, fonts share visual characteristics that draw inspiration from the real world and they can  conjure a specific mood and influence brand perception.

 That’s why choosing an appropriate font is so important – you need to go with one that best communicates your brand values and brand identity.

For instance, if your brand is a gym that largely attracts bodybuilders, you should choose fonts that match their physical characteristics: bold, solid, and condensed. But if your brand is a fitness studio focused on cardio and toning, a tall or slanted font may bring to mind a track star or ballerina, as it conveys speed, agility and grace.

What’s more, the way you style the font is also important. A brand expressed in lowercase logotype promotes empathy and modernity – some well-known examples are brands such as airbnb, wacom, and saalt. 

In contrast, an uppercase logotype exudes power, endurance and tenacity, as exemplified by  Nike, Duracell, and BMW. 

Here’s a run-down of the different categories of fonts: 

Serifs

(image credit: fontmatters)

Serif typefaces have small lines or strokes attached to the end of larger strokes, enabling readers to glance over the line of text faster. Perceived as formal, classy, mature, elegant and traditional, serif fonts are often used by well-established corporate brands. Common serif typefaces include Times New Roman, Baskerville, Didot, Georgia, Garamond, and Caslon.

Fashion brands such as Burberry and Dior have serif fonts. 

Sans Serifs

(image credit: fontmatters)

Sans serif typefaces lack the small lines or strokes which can be found on serif typefaces – you may have already guessed this due to the use of “sans” meaning “without”. Perceived as modern, minimal, universal and clean, these typefaces are often used by fashion brands or tech brands. Common sans serif fonts include Futura, Helvetica, Tahoma, Gill Sans, Univers and Verdana.

Notable brands with sans serif logos include Netflix and Spotify.

 And of course, our very own Mutant logo!

Slab Serifs

(image credit: Elon University)

Meet the slab serif family of fonts: thick, straight, rectangular, and comparable in thickness to the primary font stroke. These fonts are known for being bold, assertive, friendly, contemporary, and are used on posters, factories, and steakhouses. 

Here’s a fun fact about slab serif fonts: they were created to be printed on newspapers for clearer reading, when paper quality used to be poor. Slab serif includes Clarendon, Josefin, Museo, Rockwell, Courier and American Typewriter.

Automobile companies such as Honda and Volvo use slab serif fonts in their logos.

Scripts

(image credit: howjoyful)

Seen as romantic, feminine, down-to-earth and whimsical, script fonts are typefaces that include swirls and cursive letters that mimic handwriting and calligraphy. These fonts capture  a personalised style and intimate attitude when compared to other font types. 

Because of the fancy and artistic appearance, scripts are typically never used for body text, but work well for logos and headings. Common script fonts include Pacifico, Allura, Greyhound Script, Snell Roundhand, and Northwell.

Famous logos that use script fonts include Coca-Cola and Barbie.

Choosing the right font and typeface

The type of font you choose for your brand could end up defining the audience you attract or influencing your product to have a certain appeal. By knowing how people tend to attribute specific characteristics to font types, it makes sense to select a font that fits  the voice, style, and values of your business, project, and brand to deliver the right mood, impact, and message.

If you’re unsure where to begin, think of what you want people to feel when they see your brand’s logo – that will translate into the mood you want to create with your typeface. Once you’ve figured out your brand’s personality and know how you want it to be perceived, you’ll be able to pick a font that not only positively affects readability but ultimately aligns with everything your brand stands for.

Still having trouble picking out a suitable typeface for your brand? You’ve come to the right place – hello@mutant.com.sg

Have you ever been so thrilled with a product – be it a new pair of jeans, a cup of coffee, or a cleaning product – that you become a loyal customer and consistently recommend it to everyone you know?

If the answer is yes, then that means you have participated in brand advocacy – organic customer behaviors that support a company they legitimately love and wholeheartedly recommend. This phenomenon is one that has been in high demand by businesses for decades, but has become even more valuable in this age of social media, when it’s easier than ever to connect with people and share information. However, with the proliferation of information on the internet, it can be extremely difficult – and, sometimes, extremely expensive – for brands to break through the noise and reach its desired audience.

This is why brand advocacy is so valuable. A Nielsen report found that 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family over any other type of advertising, The Drum reported that 54% of people use social media to research products, and 8 out of 10 people who responded to a 2019 Rakuten Marketing survey said they made a purchase after seeing it endorsed by a content creator. 

It’s easy to see why brands want to inspire customers to become brand advocates – but how, exactly, should they go about doing that? It’s not quite as complicated as you may think, and no, you don’t have to resort to subliminal messaging. 

Here’s how to go about it:

Stay true to your company values

Whether you produce natural deodorant, cute pet accessories, or craft beer, your company operates based on certain values and principles – in fact, those values and principles may very well be what your customers love best about you! So when thinking about corporate communications, be it a press release, panel appearance, or tweet, those values and principles should shine through. Rather than try to match advertising or social media trends, think about what makes sense for your brand and then go from there.

The Ripped Bodice, a romance-exclusive bookstore in LA, does a great job of showcasing its brand values through its Instagram content, which features promos, in-store photos, and content from customers – you know exactly what you’re going to get when visiting their physical shop or ordering online.

Add strategies that build brand trust and brand loyalty to your context mix

It’s easy to think that all of your company’s content should be about selling – but honestly, customers gets tired of being asked to make a purchase all the time, even when they love your products. So mix it up! Add in information that educates people about your company, spotlight where ingredients or materials come from, highlight your staff members, showcase corporate responsibility initiatives, and don’t be afraid to take a stand, when appropriate.

One brand that is truly outstanding at this is Ben & Jerry’s. The ice cream company is as well-known for its creative, cleverly named flavors as it is for its excellent corporate culture and commitment to social justice causes – and its social media content mirrors its playful, hippie-tinged attitude and bold activist voice.

A screenshot of Ben & Jerry’s Twitter feed taken on March 10, 2021.

Encourage customers to share positive experiences

Though it might seem awkward to ask customers to share their positive thoughts and experiences with your brand or products, it’s still worthwhile, as it lets your customers know that you value their feedback and gives them an opportunity to gush about you. If you feel you need to add an incentive, offering a rewards program, an exclusive discount code, or customer referral code can help motivate people to share their thoughts and get the word out. 

Once the reviews start pouring in, it is worthwhile to engage with the posts and share customer feedback on social media, in email blasts, and on your website.  It will not only please your customers that you’re taking the time to read and respond to feedback, but can help to attract new customers who are looking for honest feedback about your business.

For example, online shop Modcloth often shares user-generated content from customers who post images of themselves wearing clothing and accessories they’ve purchased. These posts act as positive reviews and show how real customers are using the products in daily life.

Focus on meaningful engagement

Whether it’s a social post, face-to-face interaction, or private customer message, engaging with people in a meaningful way will go a long way in inspiring them to become a brand advocate. By putting in the time to hear people’s experiences with your business, read their messages, and respond to their social media comments, you’ll show both existing and potential customers that you value them and think of them as more than just another sale.

What’s more, this is a great way to showcase your brand voice and to delight people by interacting with them, especially in unexpected ways! A particularly great example of this comes from what may sound like an unlikely place – the Museum of English Rural Life, or MERL – whose interactions with people on Twitter are always sharp, witty, educational, and refreshing.

So there you have it! The four easy ways to inspire brand advocacy and turn your customers into your best marketing strategy – all without having to boost your marketing budget.

If you need help coming up with a stellar content strategy, we can help! Reach out by dropping us an email – we’re hello@mutant.com.sg.

With fake news and misinformation campaigns on the rise, consumers are increasingly suspicious of being manipulated. Rather than be talked over and told what to do, they want to make empowered and informed choices—and to do that, businesses are having to evolve their messaging strategies. 

At the heart of this change is data-driven PR. Amidst the clutter and noise, campaigns and communications are more likely to stand out when they’re compelling and targeted. A whitepaper or report is an incredibly effective way to do this, while also getting your brand some serious (and measurable) eyeballs.  

Apart from giving your audiences tangible value that enhances their decision-making ability, data-driven content is also increasingly synonymous with thought leadership. This is because data-led opinions are grounded in fact, which makes them a) more objective, and hence applicable to a wider audience and b) more informative, helping people identify current or future trends and quite literally, shaping their thoughts and world-view. 

Did we mention that it also generates measureable leads? If you need more reasons as to why data-driven content works, write to us at hello@mutant.com.sg and we’d be happy to share our client’s success stories. In the meantime, here are three golden rules for creating data-driven content that generates real results for your business. 

Know thy audience

Nothing is worse than a self-serving whitepaper. Data-driven content always walks a fine line between being informative and overwhelming, so make sure your information is useful to your audiences and worth their reading time. Doing this requires a deep knowledge of your audience and the strategic development of a message that actually adds value to them while also benefitting your brand. 

Recruitment reports, like the ones we create annually for international recruitment firm RGF, are a great example of this. Such reports are often designed to cater to different audiences (in this case, employers, jobseekers and media) by outlining important trends like salary increments and offering recommendations to employers. Done well, they’re often the gifts that keep on giving, with strong media interest and coverage.  

Conduct thy own research 

Finding credible sources to base your opinions and observations on is a great place to start, but proprietary data is PR and branding gold. A business that is willing to take the time to create and conduct a survey that, say, examines future industry trends, has already distinguished itself as progressive and forward-thinking.

For example, we worked with iKala, an AI startup, to develop a report on social commerce trends that landed them over 50+ organic media stories. Social commerce was still in early stages when the report came out, which made iKala’s research the first-of-its-kind in the region and helped the little-known business build valuable presence. 

It’s worth noting however that unless you already have stores of data, conducting own-research and developing a report around it is hard work. So if you don’t have an agency partner helping you out, you could always look at purchasing surveys or hiring companies like Nielsen to conduct the survey for you. 

Build on thy partnerships 

Another great way to share the workload that comes with building your own report or gathering your own data is to enlist a partner or sponsor. The right partner can dramatically elevate the credibility of your research while broadening the level of insight it offers. This can be as big or small as your business size and network allows. A content-driven campaign we ran for Pure Group, for example, succeeded based on something as simple as expert commentary from fitness experts and executives on wellness. Big or small, partnerships and sponsorships are a great win-win way to double your reach, strengthen your position in the industry and foster better working relationships with your network while you’re at it. 

We love data-driven content – and the results they give our clients. If you’re ready to start creating your own, write to us at hello@mutant.com.sg

Ramadan is the holiest month of the year in Islamic culture, and for Muslims everywhere—it is a time for spiritual reflection, growth, helping those in need, and spending time with loved ones. 

Traditionally Ramadan has  offered brands an opportunity to connect with their Muslim customers. But with nationwide lockdowns and social distancing rules that have lasted over a year, how can brands build meaningful conversations with the region’s observing Muslims in these challenging times?

Avoid tired tropes 

Time and again, audiences have been subject to Ramadan-themed ads and short films that aim to either make them feel-good or tear-up. But while this may work for brands with big budgets, others must find other ways of standing out. 

In today’s changing landscape, brands need more than tired tropes  to stay relevant. They need to prioritise not only connecting with their employees and customers but doing so in a meaningful way — which can be extra tricky during a pandemic. But some brands, like McDonald’s Singapore, managed to pull it off. 

Their My Happy Table campaign created meaningful buzz by letting Malaysian employees in Singapore converse with their families via a video call in a McDonald’s outlet. Homegrown brand ZakatSG also defied convention with its Ramadan-themed horror-comedy ad film Nenek Keropok, which humorously reinforced the spirit of Ramadan.

Reflect reality — not clichés

Most Ramadan-themed ads portray gender stereotypes, where women are usually seen cleaning and decorating the house, or preparing and serving food for iftar — all with a wide smile.  Meanwhile, men are depicted as tough and strong breadwinners, while women appear delicate and fragile, and pursue domestic endeavours, such as tending to the house and children. 

Continuing to portray these sterotypes has started to impact brand perception and identity with an increasing number of muslim customers simply unable to identify with them anymore.  For brands that took a different approach, the response has been welcoming. Julie’s Biscuit ad this year, for example, broke boundaries with its series of humorous  vignettes where a frazzled director ironically tries his  best to get his errant cast to play out typical Raya ad tropes. 

It’s 2021 and it’s about time Ramadan-Raya ads reflect real-life experiences that everyone can relate to. 

Demonstrate your generosity

Muslims are often reminded to be generous and giving during the month of Ramadan, driving a spike of interest in the charity category, alongside others like food and retail. This spike is an excellent opportunity for brands to amplify positive messages and show their support for vulnerable and marginalised communities. Through carefully crafted  initiatives, brands can do their part to rally consumers during the festive season and create a memorable way for them to help those in need.

Be vocal about your efforts

This is the second year that people have been physically apart during Ramadan. As  more people turn to digital methods of staying connected to their traditions and loved ones, brands also have an important role to play in building conversations and communities. 

However, it is important that they communicate with customers in a nuanced and authentic manner to remain memorable, especially in these turbulent times.

Need help connecting with your audience during a festive season or any occasion? Drop us a line at hello@mutant.com.sg! 

For many companies, “content” is an abstract idea. They know what it is, they know it’s important – but they aren’t quite sure what to do with it. (Basically, how I feel about NFTs.) 

But great content is more than pushing publish on a quarterly blog post, rolling out a well-timed meme on social media, or sending an email blast. In fact, when used with intention, content can help your business drive real results that can help you not just achieve, but exceed your goals. 

Here are a few ways you can use content to drive leads, encourage potential customers to make a purchase, and share business outcomes: 

So you want high-quality leads

Acquiring leads can sometimes feel like herding cats. After all, people are digitally savvy and hyper-vigilant these days, especially when it comes to sharing personal information like email addresses – so leading them down the trusty marketing funnel is becoming more challenging.

However, with clever content that is fresh and appealing, you’ll be more likely to gain high-quality leads who are legitimately interested in your business and what it offers.

Try interactive content – and we don’t just mean giveaways (although those can be good, too!)  

Think about how you like to spend your time online and what it takes for you to happily hand over your personal data. Giveaways are often people’s first thought – and they can be a great way to gain new leads and grow brand awareness. For example, if your company designs kitchen gadgets, you could hold a giveaway for a basket of goodies for new homeowners or people just learning to cook. Nothing wrong with that!

But there are options beyond giveaways – try building quizzes (Which kitchen gadget matches your baking personality?) or polls (Which cake reigns supreme?) that give people the ability to opt-in to receive communications from your brand. So long as you’re up-front and transparent with these pieces of content, you’re very likely  to receive a whole slew of leads.

Try gated content – but not a paywall

If your company is sitting on a plethora of useful first-party customer data, then you are likely sitting on a content goldmine without realising it. Pro tip: put that data to use by deriving insights from it! Though you may need to enlist a content agency to help you with this (ahem ahem), you can use your data-driven insights to put together an engaging thought leadership series, an insightful white paper, or a juicy report – all of which are great ways to gain new leads.

To do this, tease out a few choice pieces of information and share them on social media or pitch them to targeted and trusted media contacts. These teasers should whet people’s appetite and leave them wanting to know more. Then, when they visit your website to get the info they crave, signing up for a free account, sharing their email address, or logging in using their Facebook or Google account won’t be a huge ask. Besides, if they want to hear what you have to say, they’ll likely be more than happy to hear from you again!

So you want to boost sales 

The bottom line for every company is more sales. But figuring out how to get people to purchase your products is such a complex undertaking that there are entire industries and fields of study devoted to helping businesses do this. While splashy ad campaigns and high-profile celebrity endorsements can often get the job done, there are other ways to persuade shoppers to push “purchase” – and it often requires showing rather than telling.

Try partnerships with content creators – they don’t have to have millions of followers

The term “branded content” might leave you in a cold sweat – but trust us, you don’t have to shell out enough money to buy a house to have a successful partnership with an influencer. Instead, focus on who your target audience is and then look for online personalities who are part of that audience and have great engagement – which is not the same as the number of likes! (Psst: if you want help identifying the right creators for your brand, hit us up, we’re good at that!)

From there, ask the influencer for an honest review, in their own style and words. What they say needs to be genuine and authentic to resonate with their audience, so give them the space they need to do that. Once their post is up, boost it on your own channels and hopefully you’ll not only reach a new audience, but see an increase in sales, too!

Try highlighting your existing customers – and always credit them

If you’re not sold on branded content, you can turn to your existing customers for more organic content. Who says you can’t? Shout about great reviews you receive and share images your customers have posted with your products (but get permission first, and do credit them for their work). You can even interview your most loyal customers for a blog post or a video! 

Get creative with formats – turn those plain-text reviews into eye-catching graphics, make some gifs, shoot a short video with your phone. With the array of apps and other tools available for content production, there’s a wealth of options to experiment with – test a few (or a lot) out to see what works best for your brand and audience.

So you want to share your great results

If you recently ran a kick-ass campaign, won a major award, or exceeded an exciting business goal, you can definitely share that information more widely than just your team at the office.  You might even drive leads or boost sales because of it.

Try publishing a case study – it doesn’t have to be the length of a term paper

Don’t be intimidated by the term “case study” – this isn’t necessarily something you need to outsource. All you need to do is put together an explanation of what you were looking to achieve (including the challenge you tackled), the steps you took to reach your goal, and the great success you saw because of your hard work. Once it’s ready to go, you can share it on your website, on a microsite, or on your social media channels – whatever floats your boat! It really is okay to show off a little.

Try dynamic visuals – the more creative the better

If a case study isn’t for you, another way you can present your success is to illustrate it. Infographics are always a popular way to showcase data and insights, and they’re a great way to catch someone’s attention. But don’t feel limited! If you want to commission a webcomic, an animated video, or a documentary about how your team worked together to make an achievement happen, go for it – just don’t be afraid to share it.

Though “content” may seem like a very abstract idea, with a little bit of planning and a strategizing, your business can use different types of content – things like blogs, social media posts, long-form reports, and visual storytelling – to achieve results that will help your business grow and succeed. All you have to do is make it work for you!

If creating content feels like a crossword puzzle with no solution, we can help – give us a shout by emailing hello@mutant.com.sg.

A solid content marketing strategy can do wonders for your business. From driving high-quality leads to ensuring consistency in brand tone and voice, there’s a world of benefits that come with regularly churning out great content that drives profitable customer action and real business results. 

However, when it comes to content production, simply going to your agency or creative partners and asking them to write a blog/whitepaper/opinion piece without any further instructions simply won’t cut it. Just like any other type of project, content also deserves a detailed, well-crafted brief so you can get what you need right off the bat. 

Want to reduce multiple rounds of edits and make the most of your content agency’s time and expertise? Here’s everything you need to know about putting together the perfect content brief that fits your business needs: 

The type of content and length 

The most basic ingredient of a content brief is the type of content you need for your business. 

If you’re not too sure of the different types that exist, the audiences they speak to, and the purposes they serve, here is a quick primer for you. Understanding the differences between social media copy, thought leadership articles and opinion pieces, op-eds, infographics, and data-driven whitepapers will help move things along quickly and help you in communicating with the content team you’re working with.

Knowing the length you’re looking for can play a big role in the type of content produced, and the more specific you can be about length, the better. Of course, there is a length difference between short-form and long-form content, but there is also a big difference in approach between a 300-word blog and a 1,000-word blog. As a result, you need to be clear about whether you want a 140-character tweet, 500-word blog or 20-page whitepaper. Each type of content has a structure that needs to be followed – while you do not need to go into great detail about this in your initial brief, specifying the type of content you need will help your content agency know what it is you expect and craft a structure for you. 

The target audience and preferred tone

There is a considerable distinction between the type of content enjoyed by Gen-Z youth and C-suite executives. If you’re trying to reach young people, you probably want to produce content that’s short, snappy and easily digestible. To not appear stiff or out-of-touch, it’s best to write in a way that’s friendly and approachable. But for business and expert audiences, you likely still want to sound friendly and approachable, but you’ll also want to come across as factual and experienced. Additionally, you might need to keep in mind the use of American English or British English, depending on the region you are producing the content for.

The target publication

Not all publications call for the same writing style or even the same content format – and it’s likely that you’ll want to create content for a publication that is widely read or visited by your target audience. For instance, if you’re trying to reach Millennial and Gen-Z audiences, it’s better to create shareable short-form content on TikTok or Instagram. 

Similarly, you wouldn’t ask your content agency to craft a series of fun listicles for a business magazine or corporate newsletter. If you zero in on a target publication for your agency to write for, it will be easier for them to create tailored content. 

SEO considerations

If you’re writing for the web or maintain a regular online blog, you’re probably concerned about boosting your brand’s organic presence and improving website traffic. As a result, you’re probably also concerned about keywords and keyword research.

If you want to do the research but do not know where to start, consider using a keyword research tool to find ideas relevant to your business. For instance, if you’re a beauty brand, simply run a quick search for “ beauty” on the tool and voilà, success! You’ll easily find hundreds of related keywords, as well as their relevance and the number of times people searched for them. Narrow it down to the top few keywords most applicable to your business, and indicate to your content partners that you want these words to be used frequently in the headlines and copy they write for you. 

Image requirements

Digital content typically contains a couple of images – anywhere from a blog with a header image and a couple of in-line images for illustration purposes to whitepapers heavy with infographics and graphs. Depending on the arrangement with your content partners, you can choose to provide them with in-house assets or instruct them on how to source and produce appropriate images to go along with the content. If you have existing design assets and graphics that need to be included, be sure to specify that in the brief, too.

Call-to-action statement

Content for the modern age isn’t complete without an impactful call-to-action statement that tells readers what to do next. This is tied intimately with business goals – are you trying to earn more leads, boost downloads, increase shares, or get more people to sign up for your newsletter ?  It’s always a good idea  to indicate in your brief your desired end result – whether it’s “Buy Now”, “Download Here, “Sign Up Today”, or some other instruction. When it comes to CTAs, remember, the shorter and punchier, the better!

Content production can be a relatively painless process – but only if you do the heavy lifting beforehand and put together a content brief that clearly communicates exactly what you want and need.

Want to create the perfect content brief but don’t know how? Write to us at hello@mutant.com.sg and we’ll brief you on the briefing process 😉

Have you ever walked into a room of professionals speaking passionately and concisely about a subject, only to find that you have zero clue about the discussion? 

As a creative who works closely with PR consultants and associates, I can only imagine that this is exactly how my colleagues (and even clients) feel whenever the creative team explains their rationale and decisions behind a design project. 

Here are 5 design terms you can use the next time you communicate an idea with your designers:

White space

Also known as breathing space or negative space. To put it in its simplest form, white space is the area between design elements. Unlike its namesake, white space doesn’t have to be “white”; it is essentially a space between text blocks (more on that below), images, and around the printed pages. Any background, colour, or texture that doesn’t draw attention away from the subject matter can be white space.

(image credit: Indesign Skills)

When to ask for white space:

White space should be generously applied on every artwork. When something feels “cluttered” or too busy, consider asking for more white space.

Visual hierarchy

It’s the arrangement of design elements according to priority or reading order. The ultimate goal of every artwork is to achieve clear visual hierarchy, sacrificing as little visual interest as possible. 

Good visual hierarchy leads the eye to read a piece of work in order, whereas bad visual hierarchy leaves the reader confused and unsure of where to start. It’s important to note that size, positioning, typography and colour choices affect the hierarchy of an artwork, so the next time you think something “needs to be bigger”, remember that what you really mean is that you want it to be more “prominent”.

(image credit: Reddit)

When to ask for visual hierarchy:

Do you feel lost when you look at a piece of artwork? Is the page number fighting for attention with the body text of a book? Are the images overshadowing vital statistics on your website? These are perfect opportunities  to review the visual hierarchy with your creative team. Sometimes, it’s a matter of sitting down with them to list out which element needs to be the centrepiece, which element should follow, and so on.

With that said, keep in mind that if everything needs to be prominent, nothing is really prominent! Be honest with yourself and the designers.

Leading (pronounced as LED-ing)

Leading is the vertical “white space” between lines of text. If you’re more immersed in the UI/UX world, you may be familiar with the term “line-height” instead, and they’re essentially the same thing. Generous leading makes reading pleasant, whereas narrow leading should only be used for a specific stylistic reason.

Good leading can be the differentiating factor between good and bad design. . These are often the “invisible” tweaks a designer would make to instantly improve an artwork. There aren’t a lot of things that are instant in design, but this is definitely one of them.

(image credit: Patricia Gomez)

When to ask for leading: 

When the text feels “cramped” even when there is a generous amount of white space. The leading needs to be increased when lowercase letters like g’s and uppercase letters like d’s touch each other, and decreased when it is so wide that another line of text could fit in between them.

Kerning and tracking

Despite being used interchangeably, tracking and kerning are 2 different things.

Kerning is the localised space adjustment between 2 letters. Some typefaces require more kerning than others, but in general, spaces between right-angled letters (H, I, L, T) and rounded or acute-angled letters (O, Y, A, V) are more problematic. Bad kerning can cause you a lot of money and impact  your brand, especially if you have a billboard or web banner where millions of people misread what you sell.

On the other hand, tracking refers to the general spacing between letters in a text block. It can be pushed to extremes for stylistic purposes such as ZARA’s new logo and Christopher Nolan’s movie titles, but when it comes to body copy and by-lines, tracking should be generous without blurring the lines between words and tight enough without causing the letters to overlap.

(image credit: Icon8)

(image credit: Gravit Designer)

When to ask for kerning & tracking:

When your text looks  l i k e t h i s  and it’s not supposed to, ask for tighter tracking.

When your text is uncomfortable to read or worse, letters are touching each other, ask for wider tracking.

Kerning is a little difficult to spot when you’re not a designer, so this is where you’ll have to trust that they’re doing their job correctly!

For print and for screen

Screen designs and print designs are almost 2 entirely different things behind the scenes (or screens). What do we mean by that? Here are some key differences between print and screen designs:

Colour mode

(image credit: Gogoprint)

Print designs are printed in CMYK format, which is “duller” by nature and screen designs are displayed in RGB format, which is literally brighter than its print counterpart thanks to LEDs in our screens. Some neon bright colors may look good on screen, but when the same artwork is printed without the aid of special inks, it will completely lose its lustre.

This is the main culprit behind sluggish computers. Print designs are generally prepared at 300ppi, while screen designs operate at 72ppi. This means that a 1000 x 1000 IG poster designed for screen at 72ppi will look extremely blurry when printed on the front cover of a magazine. This is why “high-resolution” photos are often sufficient for screen designs but inadequate for print designs. Now if that’s all too complicated for you, just tell your designers whether the design needs to be printed or not!

When to indicate whether a design will be for print or for screen:

During the briefing stage – before the design process begins.

In summary, design is as technical as it is artistic. Creatives use jargons to convey a number of information concisely, just as every other profession does. We hope these terms  help you to better communicate with your designers—because it will definitely help them design better.  

Want to partner up with an award-winning agency that communicates well inside-out? Email us at hello@mutant.com.sg!

Ready-to-pour cocktail brand Temple Street recently launched in Singapore, and Team Mutant has been instrumental in bringing the brand to life. From design to PR, we worked hard to ensure that Temple Street was a success. 

In terms of design, we were tasked with creating the look and feel of the brand, as well as curating a strong brand identity and language. The brief asked us to emphasise the brand’s authenticity while maintaining an aesthetic that balances modernity with maturity. 

So, how did we do this? The answer: a robust visual design language.

It started with a name

The name Temple Street’s is inspired by Singapore’s Chinatown – a cultural melting pot that brings to mind an incredible fusion of old meets new.. This related well to Temple Street’s Range of ready-to-drink bottled cocktails which are a contemporary twist on old school classics. Now that we have a standout name, the next step was to ensure that the brand’s visual identity conveyed its values while deeply resonating with people. Sounding(and tasting) delicious is only the start. 

Defining a design vision

Temple Street’s brand message was clear – old meets new, modernity meets  maturity. To capture this feeling, we travelled back a hundred years ago to the iconic Prohibition era, a time when many classic cocktails spawned and remain today as favourites on bar menus. 

Touches of this era’s influence are reflected in both the brand and packaging design; the labels for each variety of cocktails feature a deliberate use of textured typography and formal lettering set on a muted card stock, all serving as design cues that evoke nostalgia and drive home brand authenticity.  This approach also spoke to the quality of the drink inside, and showcased Temple Street’s image as a celebration of its strong heritage.

Leveraging the element of surprise

While Temple Street draws inspiration from tradition and heritage, it also needed to exhibit a  youthful vigour that is synonymous with cocktails and fun. To do this, we needed to emphasise Temple Street’s values of innovation and creativity. 

Our strategy in treading the fine line between an old-school vibe and a modern aesthetic was to introduce an exuberant product photography direction – a playful element that preserves the brand’s innovative spirit.  

The resulting creative convergence of a vintage label design juxtaposed against a backdrop of minimal, abstract podiums proved to be a striking formula. . We now have on our hands a brand identity that intricately weaves together localisation, tradition and innovation, making  Temple Street a product that demands to be seen.

Design is powerful

Matching Temple Street’s brand values with intuitive art direction is one example of how branding is used to shape and impact perceptions. Good design has the power to grab attention, evoke the right emotions and create an air of excitement for a new product. When it comes to retail products, it’s all about getting your product to stand out when placed on a cluttered shelf.

Showcase your brand’s story

What makes a good brand? It always starts with a story that lives on through relentless branding that consistently inspires, influences and compels. Every brand has a unique story to tell, and when done right, design can be a powerful tool to showcase what makes you special to the masses and draw them towards your brand.

Need to design a brand from scratch? You’ve come to the right place: hello@mutant.com.sg

Ever heard of Bill Gates? 

We all know he founded a little technology company called Microsoft, but more importantly, he also said this: “If I had one dollar left, I would spend it on PR.”  

I love this quote for two reasons. 

1. If he spends his last dollar on PR, there’s a chance that that dollar is now my dollar. 
2. He has figured out what a lot of technology leaders are yet to — that PR plays a bigger part in revenue than you might think. 

Because it’s hard to draw a crystal clear line that links PR efforts to revenue, a lot of technology leaders in the startup space underestimate the importance of PR and creating brand awareness for their products and services. 

In case you are one of the tech startup leaders that can’t quite bring themselves to commit to spending money on a service that isn’t directly tied to revenue generation, allow me to share a few reasons why PR does in fact play a critical role in your business success.

Your customers need to be educated on your product 

Remember when AirBnB first came to the market? You probably don’t — because it wasn’t an instant hit. The masses couldn’t comprehend why they should rent a stranger’s house rather than a trusty hotel. But over time, AirBnB educated both hosts and guests on the benefits of using their platform,  essentially helping us identify a problem we didn’t even know we had. 

If you are a tech startup, regardless of  industry, chances are that like AirBnB, you too are solving a problem that your potential clients wouldn’t immediately identify as a ‘problem’ to begin with. Using PR to help your target audience relate to  the problem you are solving and educating them on the benefits of using your solution is crucial to your business success.  

Longer sales cycles

We’ve all seen that one brand that follows us around the internet — their spokespeople are on LinkedIn, their interviews are in the news, and their ads are on Instagram. While this might strike us as odd sometimes, creating various touch points across different channels is crucial to getting a brand embedded in our subconscious to a point where we can easily recall it at a later time.

 The sales cycle for enterprise technology solutions can typically take anywhere between three to eighteen months. If you can use this time to  create sustained brand awareness and multiple touchpoints on various platforms — be it media interviews, social content or on-ground activations — you  significantly increase your chances of remaining top-of-mind for  your customers.

Bigger investments require more credibility 

How much time do you spend pondering which deodorant to buy?   

Now compare that to the amount of time you spend deciding which new car to buy. The latter is clearly  a much bigger investment, which means you are  likely to  spent a lot of time researching the cars you are looking at, reading reviews, going for test drives and even calling your friends to make sure you’re making the right decision. 

While technology investments don’t come out of your client’s personal pocket, there’s still a lot to consider — and a lot of people for them to answer to when spending possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars on a solution. 

Your customer will want all the information they can find on your product — and better yet, public endorsements for it that can be achieved through effective PR. 

Creating visibility through thought leadership pieces and highlighting voices from members of the media, partners, customers, investors, and industry analysts all lend strength to a message and give it the power to  resonate. These types of endorsements are critical in creating the kind of credibility your clients need to convince decision-makers to  invest in your solution.

Still not convinced? Or need help creating a compelling PR plan for your startup? Talk to our public relations and content team at hello@mutant.com.sg.

While I always imagined my first press conference to be an exciting and even chaotic experience,  the oneI attended a few months ago turned out to be quite different.

In November 2020, Mutant conducted a virtual press conference for Malaysian government agency MYNIC to launch PRIME, a digital adoption initiative for small businesses in the country. The venue had strict health and safety procedures in place — which meant less than 20 seats for media, with everyone sitting one metre apart. 

As I watched the venue’s screen flicker to life with tiles of attendees joining digitally, I asked myself — “Is this the future of media engagements?”

Embracing All Things Virtual

It’s increasingly clear that pandemic-led health and safety guidelines are here to stay. The proliferation of social distancing, travel restrictions and remote working  has ensured that virtual forms of communication are now the norm. As a result, events will also remain largely digital for the foreseeable future, which means that delivering engaging internal and external events has become a new industry benchmark. In 2021 (and possibly beyond), mastering the ability to virtually engage and communicate with your audience is a must.

This is a massive shift for industries that previously thrived on in-person events. But most are understanding the need to  not only  adapt but embrace the benefits that come with shifting to a virtual world. For instance, we now have the ability to  slash costs related to setting up a physical conference and reallocate budgets, all while reaching a wider online audience spanning  multiple social platforms and devices. In fact, 84% of organisations reported that they spend less money on virtual events than on in-person ones — making the budget-friendly nature of this trend a welcome and even necessary attribute for businesses this year.

An (Inclusive) Virtual Reality 

An experience is, well, anything that can be experienced. But when the pandemic hit, the realm of  “experiential marketing” took a hit. Travel and tourism came to a grinding halt, brick-and-mortar stores were shuttered and pop-ups disappeared. With these traditional channels now out of reach, experiences have had to evolve to become virtual-first. 

An example of how this can succeed is when  pop-princess Rihanna stepped up her virtual game by hosting an interactive digital launch party for her brand Fenty Skin. This move set the tone for other brands and drove home the point that cultivating a virtual presence means not having to skip a beat even in challenging conditions. Virtual events like these are also more inclusive because everyone can tune in from a device of their choice and be a part of the experience. 

Heralding a Hybrid Future

While virtual events have their benefits, the truth is that physical and shared in-person experiences will always play an important role in people’s lives and brand affinities. As a result — across a variety of sectors such as entertainment, sports, retail and travel — the future of “experiences” is shaping up to be hybrid. This approach allows brands to  blend exclusive physical events with inclusive and accessible digital executions to create  a high-quality experience for all. Singapore Sports Hub, for instance, has championed a “phygital” approach to sporting events like the “ZoomBa”, which saw both online and offline participants come together for Singapore’s Longest Zumba Relay.

As consumer expectations evolve, brands too must consider how they can create immersive experiences that transcend the boundaries of  physical/retail or online-only activations. Get creative, take calculated risks, and use this time to push your organization outside its comfort zone.

Need a hand in organizing a virtual event? Write to us at hello@mutant.com.sg

People don’t remember data, they remember the story. 

Everyone remembers the iconic scene from the movie Titanic, in which Rose stands on the railing of the ship and spreads out her arms, as if she were flying. But they probably don’t remember things like the number of lifeboats aboard the Titanic. Similarly, most people remember their favourite book or movie’s storyline, as opposed to minor specifics from the plot. This goes to show that we always remember well-told stories, with science increasingly finding that compelling stories evoke emotion and create patterns in our brains, improving our ability to remember information. 

Here at Mutant, we always make sure to tap into the power of storytelling when writing data-heavy press releases and bylines for our clients. In the age of shrinking newsrooms and oversaturated news, it’s hard enough to get your press release noticed in a general. But what you have to say doesn’t have the ability to engage with audiences, stand out from the crowd or add anything new to the ongoing conversation, it’s even more unlikely to be picked up by the media.

But fret not — with some solid storytelling tips in your arsenal, you too can learn to tell moving stories that can help even the most technical information leave an impact on readers for a long time:

Don’t data-dump

Ever seen a presentation chock-full of charts, tables and numbers, and gotten a headache? Data is a great way to add credibility and back up your statements, but using too much of it can be a bad thing. In fact, it’s a sure-fire way to turn off the audience and fail to get the message across. Using the right amount of data and insights that actually matter to your audience and balancing them with storytelling elements is a great way to achieve the impact you want.

Keep track of key messages

When crafting your narrative, make sure you keep your overall message and business goals in mind. Before kickstarting any PR deliverables, Mutant always irons out the key messages that clients want to highlight to readers. This helps keep consistent messaging across all platforms and collateral, ensuring clarity and compounded impact. 

Set the stage with the right stats

The introduction is an important part of any story, and using the right stats is key to grabbing the readers’ attention. Use a significant figure to set up the scene and lay the ground for what’s to come.

Highlight conflicts with stats

What are the challenges mentioned in the story? Use stats to shine a light on the problem, and use this opportunity to marry data with storytelling techniques. Also consider adding in infographics and charts, which act as softer and more engaging ways to present hard facts alongside visually representing important data. 

Lastly, use data to back up your suggested resolution to the problem, along with your goals and what the future looks like to you. Walk the reader through how you’re going to get there, and use data to illuminate the way.

Need help crafting a compelling press release or byline thats heavy on data? Talk to our public relations and content team at hello@mutant.com.sg 

Unclear objectives, lack of context, missing creative guidelines and unreasonable deadlines — these are the four horsemen of bad briefs. When unaddressed, these four plagues turn into infinite revisions, misguided design efforts, incompatible formats and late-night revisions.

While no one wants to do the same thing over and over again, designers find themselves in this spot far too often. Consequently, neither they nor their clients are happy. However, if we took a bit more time to nail the brief, we could actually help reduce the number of revisions….dramatically. 

So, how can we make things better in 2021?

Writing better briefs is the answer, and removing all guesswork is how we’re going to get there. 

From the moment the client floats the project, to the actual briefing call with the designers — there should be a clear, concise description of the client’s scope and what is required of the designers. This includes how much time will be allocated for the work to be done. 

Now, for the practical steps. While some of these suggestions aren’t new, consciously following through with them might end the vicious cycle of miscommunication (for good).

Step 1: Have clear objectives for each deliverable

Who should take note: The clients and project leads

Ask the right questions. Ask good questions. Also try to review the project and gather the necessary data beforehand. .

Example:

1. What do they want to achieve with this project? (More downloads, higher customer engagement, experimenting to see if the medium works)
2. What actions are the target audience supposed to take when they see it? (Download, share and comment, gush over how beautiful the design is…)

Step 2: Clarify vague terminology

Who should take note: Project leads and designers

If we had a dollar for every time we were vaguely asked to design something that looked ‘epic’, ‘cool’ or ‘fresh’, we’d be rich by now! Go a step forward by being as specific as possible and using as many visual references as necessary. This can include previous campaigns or similar work done by other brands.

Design-thinking is a time-consuming process. Once your designers understand what you really mean when you ask for a “cool” logo, they won’t have to spend as much time exploring design options while playing detective. 

Examples:

1. What elements does “cool” possess, according to you? When you say cool, do you mean Nike cool or Apple cool? Both brands have different personalities, yet both are still considered ‘cool’.
2. What’s an example of an epic poster design for you? 
3. What does minimalist design mean to you? Is it just more white space that you’re looking for, or something else?
4. You want a ‘cool’ shade of green. But do you want to come off as fancy or futuristic?

Step 3: Diagnose the problem

Who should take note: Project leads and designers

At Mutant, we believe there’s always more to every request from our clients. But this requires project leads to work hand-in-hand with designers to dig deeper and find out what needs to be achieved. 

Here are some questions to ask:

1. What does the client want when they mean they are trying to change their brand perception?
2. When the client pushes for a new marketing strategy, are they actually talking about a rebranding exercise?
3. Is this campaign a response to a new trend or a rebranding move by a competitor?

Step 4: State all guidelines very clearly

Who should take note: The clients and project leads

Imagine designing an A4 poster only to be told that at the eleventh hour that it needs to be adapted into  PDF, Instagram post, GIF AND banner formats. Well, perhaps not all of those formats simultaneously, but you get the idea.

Project leads should always ask for the dimensions and formats required for each project. Although sometimes it’s obvious, knowing how and where the final artworks  will be used will also help designers anticipate unexpected outcomes.

Examples:

1. Will this poster be printed out? If so, where will it be displayed?
2. Does the  artwork need to be adapted into other formats?
3. Is the .mov format compatible with your front desk display unit?
4. If this animation has to be adapted into another size, extensive changes will need to be made. Are you on board with that?

Better design briefs are truly worth the effort, because they help both the client and designer get one step closer to achieving the project’s final goals. Try asking these questions in your next briefing call and watch your briefs – and outcomes – improve. 

If you’re looking for a team of design pros with all the right questions in their toolbox, drop us an email at hello@mutant.com.sg!