We have bios. But our stories tell you so much more. I honed my creative, design and writing skills as Editor-in-Chief of the Achimotan and went on to win a United Nations Paint-Pal award for poetry and literature back in Achimota School in 1999. At the University of Ghana, I joined Enactus (previously known as SIFE-Students in Free Enterprise), a student entrepreneurship group from 2001 to 2005 and won three free enterprise world cup medals across the globe, climaxing in Germany where my team representing Ghana came up second in the global championship. After my bachelors degree at the University of Ghana, I worked with Y&R Global as a design executive and went on to complete my MBA in Project Management in 2009 at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, GIMPA.
In my early years as a designer when faced with a problem, google was the answer. The result was a shameless “copycat” mash-up of images and ideas from google. The work I did for my clients was an exercise in aesthetic gymnastics at best. It lacked authenticity, a relatable story, spirit and my work fit nicely into the sea of sameness as all the other work in the same category on the market. Fortunately I had an experience that totally changed my approach to design, branding and marketing.
I had a paradigm shift when over a decade ago, a phenomenon widely known in Ghana as thirty-first Night was rebranded “Crossover” for the church called ICGC. It was a local church event re-brand that went national and by dint of the power of branding forced its way to replace the the de-facto name for the end of year church event that ushers people in to the new year. The rebrand was so compelling that, churches from many denominations copied it with hilarious modifications – run over, walk over, swim over, etc.
Inspired, by the power of design to make change, I enrolled in two brand and design programmes developed by my mentor Nana K. Duah and gained a new perspective on the power of branding. I went on to apply my branding skills to my newly founded local restaurant business called Gold Coast Kenkey and coined the term “well behaved” kenkey as part of a brand campaign which went viral, trended on social media and got free marketing with features by famous influencers Ameyaw Debrah, Tatas Jackie Chan and other celebrities.
When someone buys clothes to wear to an event, the fashion designer is helping them to tell their story of success or affluence or prestige or even modesty at that event. People buy into the words that we craft to tell the story of how our products and services can change lives. Good design is the second step that brings the brand story to life. Kofi Amos, a famous Ghanaian designer once said “design is execution, idea is spirit”. What works is a healthy mix of branding (the plan to influence preference), design (verbal and visual execution) and marketing (getting your product in front of your ideal customers). These tools are vital to building a brand your customers will trust, love, buy and tell their family and friends about.
My name is MichaelO-Addo and I currently work on brand projects, helping business owners and startups to build strong brands, I manage a restaurant business, publish books and with over 10 years of experience in design and branding, I am well positioned to help your business to become better by design. I live in Accra with my wife Lucy and two beautiful daughters Ariel and Adi.
