PPG Coatings
Histor / Sigma / Rambo
PPG Coatings approached the agency I was working for with a request for a rebrand of the website of it’s Rambo brand. They had established a new approach and were looking for an agency to help develop the website. Whilst talking to them I asked the right questions, resulting in more work for it’s Sigma and Histor brands.
My Role
As I was the Design Lead at the agency I was part of the pitch team. In my client-facing role I asked them some tough questions like “how many brands do you have?” and “does every brand have its own agency?”. The answers were 3 and yes. So I pleaded to go for a Design System and do all brands in one go to save time and money.
My work included:
- Writing a proposal
- Initial design for the pitch
- Webdesign for all brands
- Component building/setup
Why it was so special
This one was special because we turned a one-off project into something better. And I don’t mean money-wise for either, I mean that the solution was far better and we created true value for PPG Coatings that way.
As Design Lead this project was also interesting as I had to create wireframes and Histor as the example – and other designers helped with the other brands. Especially when the German brand Bondex was also added by PPG. So this project was also about taking the lead of a design team.
It was also special because the agency I was working for normally worked on other types of projects and they had doubts. In the end they became aware of their great staff and their capabilities – because the team knocked it out of the park!
What I’ve learned
We all face doubt in our work. Are we good enough? Do we have the right experience and are we able to deliver? As this was a new type of project for my employer at the time there were many doubts. Doubts are good, but they should never stand in the way of progress. I learned to be political on this project and get everyone aboard.
It’s also learned me something about myself. I know I am always challenging for top quality. Its something I can’t ignore, when I work on something it will always be 110%.
However, not everyone in the team might have the same mindset.
This role taught me to slow down. In my mind things may be clear quickly – but you need buy-in from others for great achievement. So it taught me to slow down, explain my vision and inspire and motivate the team with that vision. Step by step.
