A Designer’s Guide to Company Research and Analysis

Building a brand isn’t about decoration—it’s about definition. For design to be strategic, it must begin with insight: a deep, rigorous understanding of what makes a company distinct, what space it occupies in the market, and who it’s speaking to.

At Moto.Red, we believe that meaningful design starts long before a color is chosen or a logo is drafted. It begins with clarity. That clarity is earned through a three-part research process:

• Understanding the company’s inner DNA
• Mapping the competitive landscape
• Deeply profiling the target audience

This blueprint lays the foundation for a brand that not only looks good, but feels true, performs well, and endures.

I. The Brand Discovery: Unearthing the “Why”

Every founder has a reason they started their company. Every company has an essence worth uncovering. This is where the real work begins. We start by asking the deep questions—the ones that root a brand in its truth.

Key areas of brand discovery include:

• Purpose and Mission
  Why do you exist beyond profit? What are you here to change, uplift, or solve?
• Vision and Values
  Where are you headed? What principles define your company’s behavior and choices?
• Brand Personality and Archetype
  Is your brand a sage, a rebel, a nurturer, or a hero? Who are you in the story you’re telling?
• Voice and Tone
  How do you sound? What emotional frequency do you speak in—confident, warm, bold, compassionate?
• Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
  What’s your distinct edge? What can only you offer your audience?
• Existing Brand Equity
  What do your customers already associate with your brand? What’s working? What needs to evolve?

This phase of discovery is often a mirror: it shows the client who they already are and gives us the material to build who they are becoming.

II. The Competitive Landscape: Charting the Territory

A powerful brand exists in conversation with its surroundings. You don’t need to be louder than your competitors—you need to be clearer and more true. This stage maps where you fit and where you can stand apart.

We examine:

• Direct Competitors: Who offers a similar product or service?
• Indirect Competitors: Who is solving the same problem differently?

Visual Identity Analysis:

• Logos: What styles are dominant? What do they signal to the market?
• Color Palettes: Are there saturated color trends, or is there white space to own a fresh scheme?
• Typography: Serif or sans? Playful or classic? What signals trust or innovation in this industry?
• Imagery: Are others using lifestyle photography, flat graphics, illustrations? What mood is conveyed?

Messaging and Market Positioning:

• What are others claiming about themselves? (Affordable, luxury, eco, tech-forward, minimalist, artisanal?)
• How do they describe their audience, their values, their purpose?

Digital and Social Presence:

• How usable are competitor websites?
• What tone and aesthetic dominates their Instagram, LinkedIn, or TikTok?

Opportunity Mapping:

• Where are the visual and verbal gaps?
• Which tropes are overdone?
• What can we do that’s unexpected and on-brand?

The goal here is not to mimic but to find the whitespace. Differentiation is where loyalty begins.

III. The Target Audience: Knowing Your People

Branding is a conversation, and it only works when someone is listening. That “someone” is your audience—the real humans whose attention, trust, and investment you want to earn.

To design for them, we must first understand them.

Key aspects of audience profiling include:

• Demographics: Age, gender, location, income, education level
• Psychographics: Beliefs, values, interests, aspirations
• Pain Points: What keeps them frustrated, stuck, or underserved?
• Goals and Desires: What do they want to feel, do, or become?
• Media Habits: Where do they spend their time—what platforms, communities, content types?
• Visual Preferences: Are they drawn to minimalism, maximalism, retro, sleek futurism, or something else?
• Brand Affinities: What brands do they already love? Why?

The more we listen to your people, the more precise we can be in creating something that calls to them.

Make A Statement

Calling and business cards have been around since the 1800s and they still make quite the impression. A clean, legible, and well organized card signifies attention to detail, professional discernment, and noticeable quality.