Define the Job
Before you create a character, define the job it exists to do. Every successful character begins with a clearly defined purpose. Before deciding what a character looks like, sounds like or is called, you first need to understand the communication challenge it has been created to solve. At Brandbornn, this is Stage 1 of The Character System™. We call it Define the Job™. It is the strategic foundation for every decision that follows. Without it, creative choices become subjective. With it, every decision can be measured against a single objective.
- Purpose comes before personality.
- Personality comes before design.
- Every creative decision should support the same objective.
- Strong briefs produce stronger characters.
- A well-defined job creates long-term value.
Why every project starts here
The biggest mistake organisations make is asking what the character should look like. The better question is what job the character should perform.
Characters exist to solve communication problems. Until that problem has been clearly defined, every creative decision is based on opinion rather than strategy.
Appearance is important. Purpose is fundamental.
Defining the communication challenge
At Brandbornn we define one primary mission before development begins. For external communication, that might be to build brand recognition, launch a product, explain a complex service, support a marketing campaign or grow a customer community. For internal communication, it might be to improve employee engagement, support organisational change, increase compliance, strengthen safety culture, accelerate AI adoption or improve onboarding.
The mission becomes the character's reason for existing. Everything else supports it.
Define the audience. A character designed for engineers will differ from one designed for children. An onboarding character will behave differently from a customer-facing spokesperson.
Understanding the audience shapes personality, language, humour, visual style, complexity and behaviour. The clearer the audience, the clearer the character.
Purpose shapes personality. Once the job has been defined, personality becomes much easier. Should the character be reassuring? Optimistic? Curious? Authoritative? Playful? The answer depends on the mission. The personality should help the character perform its job more effectively. It should never be chosen simply because it feels appealing.
Defining success
Every project should establish success measures before development starts. Questions include: What should people understand? What should they remember? What should they do differently? How will success be measured? Recognition? Engagement? Behaviour change? Awareness? Adoption?
Without success measures, it's impossible to know whether the character is performing its role.
Design becomes objective. One of the biggest advantages of defining the job first is that creative decisions become easier. Instead of asking which design the team likes, the discussion becomes which design is most likely to achieve the mission. That subtle change transforms subjective creative conversations into strategic ones.
Thinking beyond launch
Many creative projects are planned around launch day. Brandbornn plans around year five. A good character should still be useful after dozens of campaigns, hundreds of illustrations and thousands of interactions.
The objective isn't to create something exciting for next month. It's to create an asset that becomes more valuable every year. That changes the way every early decision is made.
Common mistakes
The most common mistakes include starting with appearance instead of purpose, trying to solve multiple unrelated problems with one character, defining success too late, focusing on launch rather than long-term value, and allowing personal preference to replace strategic thinking.
A character can develop additional missions over time, but it should always begin with one clearly defined primary mission. The quality of a character is rarely determined by the artwork alone. It is determined much earlier, when the organisation decides exactly what the character exists to achieve.
Frequently asked questions
Thinking about creating a brand character?
The quality of a character is rarely determined by the artwork alone. It is determined much earlier, when the organisation decides exactly what the character exists to achieve. That's why every Brandbornn project starts with Define the Job™.
Start a project