New agency

In april of 2007 Marjo Staring and I started DesignThinkers. A creative 'service design' and branding agency. We started the agency realizing that something is about to change. Something big.

New technological development, the growing importance of the service economy in the west and the changing expectations of people towards services were some of the developments that fueled our unrest. We kept thinking: are we still using the right tools? What do all these new developments actually mean?

I've always had a hard time distinguishing between Image, identity, branding, marketing, communications, public relations and what have you. Can't it all be summed up with the word relationhip-building? At least that word I can understand. It actually means something. In fact it probably means more than most organizations can handle.

A relationship is something you have to work on, it's never a one-sided story. Both parties have their responsibilities. And you can't be in a meaningful relationship with someone you don't know, don't like or just distrust. It sounds so simple but we all know, a good healthy happy relationship takes stamina and hard work.

This focus on creating a real meaningful relationship with your costumer is growing in importance if you are selling a product but, needles to say, it is absolutely crucial if you are providing a service.

This is the foundation on which we started DesignThinkers.