It was with great expectations that Mission went to New York in April, not only to experience and listen to leaders from the big well-known brands, but to participate as one of the main contributors. Bård Annweiler , general manager of Mission, gave a speech on the opening day to an audience of creative leaders from some of the largest American brands, including Fast Company, Nike, Google and Instagram.

Mission meets New York

We also took the opportunity to launch our upcoming book Point of purpose. The book presents a completely new approach to leadership. It is aimed at investors, entrepreneurs and leaders who understand the importance of including the brand in everything they say and do. In the book, we provide great examples of the power of a well-defined Purpose - how to engage, motivate, achieve success and create profitability across stakeholder groups.

The book will be for sale on Amazon later this summer. Sign up for our newsletter and be among the first to get the book.

Bård Annweiler’s book Point of purpose will be on sale on Amazon from next autumn.

So on board the plane to New York we did not have so few butterflies in our stomachs. But most of all, we were proud and expectant.

A whole new breed of design fanatics

This April, NYC turned the spotlight on the disruptive pioneers from iconic brands and scene-stealers within startups designing for POP: Purpose – Opportunity – Profit. FUSE always gives me as a client director the fuel and the tools to leverage design as the great differentiator and defender for the many brands and clients I work with. Gaining new insights on design and brand strategy is essential for Mission to continue to be experts and innovators in our field. This year at FUSE, I took a peek inside the brilliant minds of the game-changers, disrupters, and creative geniuses who are changing the purpose of brands and the way we humans interact with them. Through stories, shared experiences and inspiration exchanged, I found myself at the core of everything – a really good feeling actually.

Here are some of my favourite take-aways from the conference:

The conference started with an opportunity to uniquely experience design throughout the city. Attendees participated in either a shop-along, highlighting moments of truth and dissecting a shopper’s journey, a “TrenzWalk” spent future-hunting and searching for design inspiration, a sneak peek to Etsy´snew Brooklyn headquarters, or a look into the future of meal delivery at HelloFresh.

FUSE featured many fascinating contributions from both iconic brands and startups.

Day two included tracks with two distinct themes. The first track celebrated cool thinking and the happenings of iconic brands. Some of the brands represented in this track included L’Oréal, Chobani, Microsoft, Wells Fargo and the Morgans Hotel Group. The second track shared insights from the startup world, featuring brands including HelloFresh, SoapBox, Etsy, Sprout Innovation and Charity: Water. Each track showcased a variety of industry experts sharing stories, experiences and inspiration exchanges, which reminded us attendees of the motivation, courage and enthusiasm needed to continue to leverage design as the differentiator; defend our brands against choice; and lead the next generation of design revolution. Day three featured another round of inspiring speakers including Mark Smith, Nike’s Creative Director of Innovation. Robert Stein, Product Director at Instagram and Robert Wong, VP of Google Creative Labs. Through the wide variety of content and conversations emerged some key takeaways that, when united, will inspire and drive your work:

Summarised all speakers, including our own Bård Annweiler, emphasised the following:

Commitment and focus

Why are purpose driven brands and businesses more powerful? Because purpose brings focus to a business, rallies leadership around a strong sense of direction, and helps staff to feel involved and motivated. We, as a design agency are the ones bringing the brand strategy to life, and in doing so enabling the creation of the desirable through experiences. We need to be deliberate, bring clarity, and design with intent. As designers, we create and care for the connective tissue of brands, with design being the thread that ties it all together, transcending all touchpoints. Focusing on human connection is key in achieving this.

Agility and speed

We have heard this theme before, but its importance shows no signs of fading. The truth of the matter is that our industry as designers is not slowing down; change continues to happen at an accelerated pace. There is significant disruption continuously taking place, and brands that will win are those that bring clarity and purpose to create meaningful experiences for people, as they demand it. Learn, prototype/design, test, repeat. And be fast about it.

Trends and authenticity

Authenticity and your brands promise are connected. An authentic brand follows through on its promises. People remember and believe in stories, if you just follow trends you may end up appearing unauthentic. Be familiar with current trends. Be inspired by them, learn from them—but don’t depend on them. Test and learn more by engaging with real people to understand how to make an impact through design.