The importance of the value proposition in the design process.
I want to take advantage of today, May 1, 2022, to celebrate my birthday by writing this letter in which I am addressing you directly so that you will be among the first to know that we will soon be launching a brand new product.
This time it's special, since it is a product that has nothing to do with what we have done so far, and that takes us a step further in the range of products that we offer today. It has nothing to do with what we have done so far, but it is obviously related to and fully integrated with the current products.
Before you know what product we are talking about, I want us to do a visualization exercise of the big picture that we currently have in it's logic. Afterwards, I encourage you to share your thoughts with me, as you know I always read the answers and answer all the questions you lovingly ask me.
Let's start this exercise with the following premise: The product we will be announcing soon is on par with our logic bottle in terms of design time, originality, exclusivity and innovation. Our next big product. And soon yours.
Let's get to the process.
The creative process starts before we draw the first lines of a product sketch. When we think about introducing a new product within an existing brand, the questions that we all have to ask ourselves both personally and professionally come to the fore. Of course, they take force at the moment in which you are developing the near future of a brand, and they are undoubtedly the engine that will make it follow its incorruptible course.
What are we? What do we do? What makes us different? We turn to the mission, of it's logic in this case, which has been written since even before the design of our flat bottle back in late 2018.
"it's logic is about convincing the world that anyone can be an environmentalist, by offering design and technology solutions that bring about positive change in the lifestyle habits of our community members."
We talk about the company's present, and it helps us understand why we exist. However, in the development of a brand there are always factors (there must be) that move us a little beyond what we sell and lead us to why we do it.
It has been almost 4 years since Laura and I did this exercise, and taking advantage of my obsession for keeping the notebooks I have been using since then, I have been able to recover the sentence we wrote as an answer to this question: Where do we want to be in the future?
"We want it's logic to be a worldwide reference for its ecosystem recovery activity and for spreading a respectful lifestyle with the planet to all its community members".
Indeed, no reference to the what, nor to the how. We simply focus our response on the why. "We exist so that people can care for the planet. To inspire the link to global and personal well-being, and integrate it into everyday habits and decisions."
Because this is the logical thing to do. Or at least that's how we think.
A lot has happened since then. I should tell in another letter how many milestones we have overcome, many of them with great difficulties. Maybe someday I will go through my notebooks to tell you about this. However, looking back, I couldn't be prouder of how my entire team has responded to these tough times. I am convinced that the value proposition we defended and will defend has played a role in this. Let's say that our attributes as a brand and as a company could be condensed into a simple pyramid that stands firm with values centered on quality, transparency, commitment and responsibility.
These are not banal words. Quality, Transparency, Commitment, and Responsibility. A way of working, or rather, a way of life.
The foundations are the basis of all construction. It is certainly a metaphor that is easily derivable to any brand or company you know. The best brands in the world are built in this way, going from the physical attributes (the product), its functional value, the emotional value it awakens in the client, to the value proposition that crowns this pyramid.
You have probably already heard of these terms at some point, but I think today is a great day to apply these concepts to our brand, of which simply by reading this you should already feel part of, whether you are a customer or not. I welcome you if this is your first time reading me, by the way. To those of you who have been here longer, I don't have much more to say than a giant THANK YOU for keeping on supporting us.
As I was saying, excuse me.
How do we start from our physical attributes to get to the value proposition?
A picture is always better than a thousand words.
Or in other words: If you exist, you can do something.
That's why we coined the term Act Now and gave it meaning:
Making choices based on improving the environment while making a positive impact in your day-to-day life.
Sure, you'll agree that sounds great.
The challenge is to apply it to a product description and then build around that message. With the logic bottle, we designed a product that would make it easier to stop consuming single-use plastics, namely bottles, thanks to a design that would be more useful in our community's day-to-day life than a conventional bottle, of which the market is full. Of course we never wanted to detract from the cylindrical format since it is very useful at other times as well, and that is why we developed the logic fit and the logic go. Always with a view to avoiding the consumption of single-use plastics.
The brand has evolved, and inevitably we are looking for answers to other questions, and solutions to other problems. Not because the brand is empty if it closes to drinkware products, but because the next step is to accompany you in more moments of your daily life and, ultimately, to continue fulfilling the purpose at your side.
Fortunately, we have always said that we are not a bottle brand, since we are a company that, thanks to the sale of durable and planet-friendly products, cleans forests. In other words, what you already know... That your purchases clean forests.
You are reading this letter because you want to know what is the next product we will be launching soon. I hope you don't feel offended when you read this, and see that today I'm not going to tell you exactly what it is.
It has an explanation. Everything does. Before unveiling the product, I want you to do an exercise of imagination and tell me what you think we are going to do next. I'll give you some hints for that, don't worry, but I admit that I love to read your answers when I ask for feedback. I get hundreds of emails every time I write to you asking for your opinion. It's brutal.
I encourage you to reply to this post with a comment, and I'll give you an almost immediate response.
Our next great product is:
functional, ultra-practical, adaptable to every situation, resistant, useful, made of recycled material, modular, multipurpose, innovative and complex, but minimalist.
In short: logical.
You know, I read you.
Guille.