“Shall we schedule a meeting? What times are you available?”. This question seems harmless, but it can create a real juggling act in your routine. Nowadays, it’s easy to open an app and start a video call, and the culture of packed professional meeting schedules has almost become the norm. But in practice, you’ve probably experienced this too: attending meetings that could very well have been solved by email.
“Writing is thinking. Writing well is thinking clearly.”
Alex Grijelmo
Here, we do things differently. For over 15 years, we have developed Beloved Brand projects in a fully asynchronous way, meaning we don’t need to be live with the people we work with at any stage. And although this might seem strange at first, the benefits for the kind of project we do are huge. In this article, we want to share with you why we chose to work this way and how this choice directly impacts the quality of brand we create here.
1 – Time to Deepen
To create a Beloved Brand, quick answers are not enough. We need to have conversations that give space to think calmly, reread, rethink, and identify what truly makes sense. Live meetings can last hours, but the truth is they rarely offer the time needed for reflection. Answers have to come on the spot, with whatever first comes to mind. But what we seek in this process goes beyond first impressions. We want to understand the your business very well, and that takes time. Therefore, each stage of the project is done in writing, with pauses so you can read, digest, and respond calmly, at your own pace. And these answers form the foundation for what we’re going to build together.
When we created the Beloved Brand for Collective Revoança, for example, it would have been difficult to coordinate schedules with the five partners. But thanks to our asynchronous communication, everything flowed without rush or pressure. The exchange happened in writing from start to finish, and the result was a project full of Brazilian spirit, color, and feminine strength. In the end, they told us something that touched our hearts:
“Used to the culture of meetings, we were surprised by the completion of a high-quality work without the need for exhausting meetings and negotiations.”
Partners of Collective Revoança
This kind of feedback warms our hearts because it shows that asynchronous communication not only works but also helps deliver high-quality projects. And it wasn’t just them who recognized this project: the Revoança brand was selected for the Brazilian Design Biennial, in the Identity & Brand Spirit category, and was shortlisted in the Brasil Design Award, in the brand design category.
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The Beloved Brand of Revoança was born from a 100% asynchronous collaboration and was recognized in two design awards. See the full project.
2 – Clarity in Writing
Maybe you’ve said or heard something like this before: “I can only express myself by talking!”. It’s common for many people to feel the need to speak live or send voice messages, believing they already have everything they want to say right at the tip of their tongue. Talking can really be an excellent way to start a flow full of energy and ideas. But, in the middle of that flow, ideas can get scattered, thoughts may wander, and contradictions sometimes come up. That’s why we invite everyone who comes to us to try our asynchronous methodology, done in writing. And when they accept this invitation, magic happens!
People who started the process believing they could only express themselves by speaking often end up saying that writing was transformative. That it was while writing that they managed to organize their ideas, find clarity, and precisely say what they were feeling and dreaming for their brand. We’ve heard from more than one client that just the exercise of answering our questionnaire was worth the whole project, no kidding!. Writing has that power: it helps to order thoughts, edit what’s needed, and review everything before sending. In our methodology, the questionnaire is just the beginning. After that, we keep exchanging many ideas, building together an aligned vision, all in an asynchronous and written way.
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3 – Valuable Record
We take every word shared by those who trust us to create a Beloved Brand very seriously. And that’s why everything needs to be carefully documented. In the past, when we still held live meetings, we made an effort to take notes. Even so, there was always a risk that something might slip through, which could cause misunderstandings. To avoid that, we developed the habit of sending a follow-up email after each conversation, recapping all the agreed topics. But that took time and ended up being an unnecessary step. When we moved to working 100% in writing, that step simply disappeared because everything is documented from the start. This way, both you and we can search for any keyword, at any time, and clearly find what was said, agreed on, and aligned. No doubts or noise.
This kind of clarity helped us a lot on the Tartiner project, a brand of artisanal spreads that came back to us to update the entire packaging design six years after we created the first design. And do you know what marked the beginning of this new phase? Exactly what had been documented way back in the first project. Having that written record allowed us to compare, in depth, what had changed in the brand, the products, and Tartiner’s positioning. It also helped a lot in organizing all the information required on the labels: ingredients, legal requirements, codes, and much more. There were sixteen labels, plus new products and kits. Everything delivered within the planned deadlines, with accuracy and, of course, complete documentation. This care was also recognized by experienced design professionals: the project was shortlisted for the ABRE Award of Brazilian Packaging, in the Graphic Design category, and for the BDA – Brazilian Design Award, in the Packaging Design category.
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To rethink the entire Tartiner packaging line, every detail needed to be well documented. This care was reflected in the quality of the project, recognized by the BDA and ABRE awards.. See the full project.
4 – Meetings with Each Person at Their Own Pace
Scheduling a live meeting means coordinating the calendars of several people. And often, that means rearranging commitments, pushing back tasks, and hoping the agreed date works for everyone. In many contexts, this has become so common that days end up revolving around meetings. With asynchronous communication, each person involved in the project can write, reflect, respond, and exchange ideas in their own time. This way, the project moves forward with more agility and focus and, most importantly, with deeper exchanges. And when the exchanges are good, the quality of the project grows along with them.
This was the case with SensaConnect, a sensory toys company from Sydney, Australia. The time difference between there and here is quite large, which would make a routine of live meetings impractical. But since our entire methodology is asynchronous and written, no one had to get up at dawn or stay late at work to make things happen. Every conversation was carefully and attentively recorded, from first contact to final delivery. The result for SensaConnect was a vibrant Beloved Brand, full of joy and energy and the feedback we received says it all:
“We loved everything from the start,
very clear work model.”
SensaConnect Owner
Working asynchronously allows us to collaborate with companies from anywhere in the world, like SensaConnect in Australia. See the full project.
5 – Trust and Partnership
Some people prefer live meetings to feel like they’re talking to real people, eye to eye. We understand that desire, it’s natural to want to trust those who will take care of something as important as your company’s brand. But does this kind of meeting alone guarantee professionalism and responsibility? From our experience, the security of a project doesn’t depend on live meetings, but rather on a trusted relationship. For that, we have a contract that formalizes everything from the start. We also create a personalized project dashboard where you can access, anytime, the schedule, the stages, exchanged files, and even a FAQ with answers regarding your project. So, instead of relying on memory or something quickly said in a meeting, the whole process is organized, accessible, and backed by the confidence that comes from clarity, not physical presence.
That was the case with Orbitato, a financial organization consultancy. After exchanging several messages and clearing all doubts in writing, we began the Naming and Beloved Brand project. Even before the final delivery, we received a very special feedback from Orbitato’s partner:
“I’m amazed by your process. It inspires me a lot and is very much like what I have in mind for the consulting work I offer.”
Orbitato Owner
Getting feedback like this even before the project is finished is a sign that the person felt confident in the journey. And that’s exactly what we seek with asynchronous communication: autonomy and peace of mind at every stage.
Orbitato wants to transform financial management into a natural routine, like the orbit of a planet. All project communication was handled in writing. See the full project.
6 – No meetings, but is there human warmth?
Communicating asynchronously doesn’t mean giving up affection or physical presence. Throughout our projects, we exchange messages with a chat-like tone in our messages, as if we were in the same room. This way of communicating creates a light atmosphere, with everyone rowing together in the same direction: toward a Beloved Brand. Our focus and energy are dedicated to creating, together with you, the best possible result. And this happens with lots of closeness, even when the whole exchange is written.
That said, we love in-person meetings. After delivering several projects, we traveled to many cities across Brazil to reconnect with our clients, share warm hugs, interview, and listen to every story up close. From these experiences, our Beloved Brands webseries was born. In other words, when the delivery happens with so much connection, in-person meetings become celebrations. We work in writing to ensure agility and focus on the project, but the human warmth is present all the time.
Projects done remotely, reunions full of affection. That’s how the Beloved Brands Webseries was born. Photos: Carol Lá Lach.
Conclusion: To have live meetings or not?
In case you have a packed schedule, back-to-back meetings, you probably have the feeling of always running against the clock. And even when it’s something important, like creating your company’s brand, it seems the only way is to sit down, turn on the camera, and join one or more video calls trying to say everything that matters. But does it really have to be that way? We believe there’s another path.
Working asynchronously means respecting your time, giving you space to reflect and put on paper everything that makes sense for your business. It means creating with depth, patience, and with records you can always consult, today or years from now. And yes, even without live meetings, it’s possible to build a relationship based on trust with genuine warmth. We’ve done this with many companies that, just like yours, were at important moments in their journey. And we remain passionate about this approach because it works!
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And you? Is your routine full of meetings? Or do you feel there might be a different way to communicate about your brand? Talk to us and let’s create together, request a proposal!