“We’ve taken a crazy path, and I never expected things to end up how they did— the way we’ve figured out how to combine the design strategy expertise with the vision for the brand, worked in a way that I didn’t expect at all, using a technique that I never foresaw.
I had really walked into this with a much more primitive, less empathetic and more business-y sense, and we’ve now got a really beautiful vision that I truly believe in.
That’s not MBA garbage.
And that’s translated into probably 10-ish beautiful product ideas, plus the ones we’ve talked about. I’m proud of the work we’ve done, and it FAR exceeded my expectations.
You’ve done brilliant work, and I don’t know where this stuff would be without you.
Seriously.”
“The entrepreneur is a risk taker—one who, looking into the horizon, envisions something beautiful and new, but that vision is far from clear. The path to his objective is obscured by a thick cloud of fog, and navigating to it requires a guide who can both understand the vision of the entrepreneur and take the journey with him, as if the vision was his own.
In his capacity as a design strategist, Joseph skillfully listens to the stories of those who he works with and artfully asks the most pertinent questions so as to help the entrepreneur crystalize his vision and reach his destination.
As an entrepreneur, I cannot think of anything more valuable than a consultant who treats my business as his own, sweating the details and covering every base with honesty and integrity.
In an environment filled with uncertainty, Joseph delivers the unexpected by his consistency and timeliness, and he does so with artistic genius.
He is a master at his craft, a brilliant and well connected designer. I have valued Joseph's work and guidance, and would recommend him without reservation.”
“As a startup, the two greatest obstacles that impede partnerships are budget and time. Both the structure of the offering, as well as our past experiences with Hofer Studio enabled us to overcome these obstacles.
In my view, the years that we worked together have afforded us the opportunity to better understand the value of this time together. This time is a chance for us to conduct and present critical self-analysis to an objective outside ear that has a genuine interest in our success.
Further, it is time that a seasoned expert can provide valuable observations and recommendations that we can trust and in which we can have confidence. I think trust is the operative word that enables a desire for collaboration, and confidence in the output pushes us to muster up whatever monetary resources that we are able to in order to fund it.
Hofer Studio earned the trust and confidence needed for the investment, and set a rate for the service that is within our reach. It's that incredible pairing that made us seek out the service, and will have us seeking it out again.
Having now conducted two of these sessions, these are just a handful of the results we've seen:
1- The strategic "leaks" in one product offering have been identified, allowing us to step back, reassess, and rework a design
2- The strategic strengths of another product offering have been thoroughly validated, increasing our confidence in the product
3- We've gained valuable perspective on product positioning and potential use-cases
4- We've gleaned insights on how we might make product tweaks to optimize and polish the design
5- We've learned from the experience and wealth of materials and manufacturing insights
The conversation flow was made to be dynamic and to cater to the questions and concerns that we had. Design must run parallel to every element of strategy, and thus we were able to cover all topics from function to aesthetic to engineering to pricing to SKU strategy in a three hour window.
We were able to work through the real obstacles that we faced and identify the beginnings of workable solutions. A framework was provided for us to quickly present the overarching context of the design, as well as the design itself.
Following this, we were able to receive feedback on the design—both in terms of its strengths and its improvement areas.
1- The inherent size of a start-up team makes them quickly subject to the effects of group-think. This service takes us out of our echo chamber and forces us to reassess our ideas, and to bring in external viewpoints.
2- The service can serve as a beneficial “mid-term examination” where one can demonstrate the merits of their design, while receiving critical feedback on areas for improvement before release.
3- We are often blind to some of the subtle values of our achievements. An external eye is capable of identifying these subtleties— this can be key during the marketing messaging development process.
The offering itself is invaluable, and is structured in a way that is within financial grasp. I’d offer my recommendation without hesitation.”
“A note to founders 😊
Receiving feedback is a daunting and intimidating task. Founders, designers and engineers care deeply about their work, so presenting that work for critique (both positive and “negative”) can be anxiety-provoking!
But it is through that presentation that refinement and improvement happens.
It is also through that critique that we can become more confident about a design and the decisions that we made, and invest more heavily into an approach (while sleeping soundly!).
The decision to engage is ultimately dependent on our willingness and desire to make something better.”
George Rizkalla, Wolf and Grizzly