Garrett Reil — brand consultant
I help brands and organisations figure out what makes them different – and find the words and ways to make it land.
The work is usually one of three things: strategy, articulation, or both.
Brand strategy means getting to the heart of what you stand for – your positioning, your purpose, your principles, your personality. These are the foundations everything else builds on.
Brand messaging and voice means turning strategy into something people can use. Messaging that lands. A voice that sounds uniquely you.
A story your team can feel and tell – and your customers can relate to.
Sometimes a client has the business strategy but can’t express it. Sometimes they can – but it’s not translated into a brand strategy. Either way, the job is clarity – the kind that moves you forward. See how I work
Independent brand strategy consultant in Dublin and London, working across UK and Ireland direct to client — and partnering with leading agencies
I’ve spent a lifetime in brand. I’ve worked with the big names, like FutureBrand, Landor, and Brand Union on global projects. I've worked with brands you've heard of – Bosch, Microsoft, Heineken, Karen Millen, Kingspan, NatWest, Virgin Media – and some you haven’t. Yet.
The work spans sectors: consumer and B2B, food and fintech, aviation and agriculture. I've found that the best thinking comes from not getting too comfortable in one category.
These days I’m independent. Working with clients and agencies across Ireland and the UK. Which means you get the big thinking without the overhead.
Senior roles in leading London and Dublin agencies including Futurebrand, Landor, Brand Union, Dynamo, and Industry.
RSA Fellow. MA NCAD. Member of the Institute of Designers in Ireland and the International Society of Typographic Designers.
I've been a visiting lecturer at NCAD, TUD, TUS, Exeter, and University of Plymouth, and external advisor on Plymouth’s MA in Design Communications.
A-Z: broad international brand experience across sectors
Garrett has directed major brand projects, naming, employee engagement and communications projects for many great organisations including;
Aton (Lifesciences, France) — Around Noon (UK) — Atypical Law (UK) — Arvum (IE/UK) — Bass — Bailey (UK) — Bord Bia (Food, Ireland) — Bosch (Global / Stuttgart) — Cashel Blue — Cedral (BE) — CPL Aromas (UAE) — DAA and Dublin Airport — Engie (France / International) — Equitone / Etex / Eternit (Belgium/ International) — Euronit (Iberia and Ireland) — Failte Ireland – Fexco — FutureBrand — Glenisk (IE) — Heineken — Hilti — Industry Branding — Karen Millen — KFH Bank (Kuwait) — Kings Inns — Kingspan — KSN — MABI — Merck (Germany) — Mercy Foundation — Media Connect — Microsoft (Seattle) — Mitchells & Butlers – Mitsubishi — Meraas (Dubai) — Metamo —Morrisons (UK) — Natwest — NYK (Japan) — Optimum (UK) — Royal Bank of Scotland — Virgin Media — Warba Bank (Kuwait) — Zurich.
Project examples
As you’d expect, some of my work is client sensitive information so I won't publish that here (at least until it’s long out in the public domain), but you can get a flavour of the variety of projects I get involved in here.
Frequently asked questions — answered
Do you specialise?
Yes and no. I’m a certainly a brand specialist in that I create unique verbal and visual identities based on stand-out brand strategies. But I work across sectors and include B2B and B2C branding in the mix. I believe this is essential to creativity.
Can we skip the boring research and strategy bit and skip to the brand design?
Well, no. If you want to make something unique and useful – that’s what branding requires. But if you have a clear brand strategy — or good research already (meaning a thorough written understanding of your project and market), and you have a plan for how to solve it, we’re half way there. And, good news, it’s never boring! Call me to discuss.
How do you approach naming?
Each project is individual. But, like any other design process, it should be built out of an understanding of the marketplace, your customer and product(s) or service. First we take (or make) your unique strategy and define creative territories to explore. Then, when there is an agreed direction of travel, I create names and collaborate with you/your team to arrive at the strongest solution. Visualising these as research quality visuals or mockups helps the decision-making process.
What is brand architecture?
Your brand architecture is a framework that aligns product and service offerings with brand and business strategy — and the customer journey. It’s designed to organise and simplify your brand(s), creating consistency and clarity across channels. The goal of a brand architecture is to create a clear understanding of how customers perceive you as an organisation, what makes them want to do business with you, where they should go for various services or products within your portfolio—and how those services or products are different from one another. I’m the survivor of many brand architecture reviews. I believe a strong brand architecture is built from your audience’s point of view, not to represent your internal structures or power centres. That’s the key and should be your north star. But like many things in life – that’s easier said than done.
How much does a brand strategy, naming or brand design project cost?
That’s a million dollar question. But the answer – not so much as that. As above, projects and problems to be solved come in all shapes and sizes, typically from a few weeks to a number of months and costs reflect the time involved. Just call me to discuss your project.
Do you have formula or style of work?
No. I have an approach. In fact, following a given style of work, whether verbal or visual design, is anathema to a genuinely differentiated brand. Yes, there are plenty of designers and consultants who have a house style and they may be a good choice for specific projects — and good luck to them. But if you ask me to repeat for you exactly what I have done for someone elsewhere, prepare for some tough questions ;-)
How long does it take?
Projects and problems to be solved come in all shapes and sizes, typically from a few weeks to a number of months. Building a brand is an ongoing process, so while the strategy, messaging, creative and design phases are critical, it is even more important to have a guiding set of principles to guide you on what is a constantly changing and iterative journey. As a startpoint — to run a strategy programme from interviews to signed-off strategy document usually takes about three months.
Do you work directly with brands and brand managers to create brand strategies and identities?
Yes. More than half of my work is direct with companies (across both Consumer and B2B brands) and I have worked with major and upstart brands across brand strategy, new product development, brand naming, brand identity concepts and creating brand guidelines.
Why do people insist on having frequently asked questions on a site?
Good question. It saves a lot of bother answering the same questions repeatedly and at the same time is a digestible format. It does not hurt your site’s performance in search either – which I guess is one of the prime reasons people take the time to answer questions clients may have. For more complex questions, get in touch.
Some images are placeholders courtesy of client brands and partners and all rights remain with individual photographers and rights holders.