How to Create a GOOD Brand

Inspiring and engaging – that is what this course was for me. Interesting, high-quality and relevant theory was combined with a hands-on practical part, during which excellent professionals in their respective fields shared their experience. It was a great opportunity not only to create, but also to get answers to questions that arise when working with real clients. Special compliments to the course leader Clare McNally, who not only teaches the theory brilliantly, but is also fantastically inspiring! Even if you come up with 50 ideas and you feel that it’s all you can do, she will inspire you to come up with at least 10 more. These were intense months that strengthened the knowledge I already had and inspired me to create more and with more courage.

For everyone, but certainly not for those who just want to listen passively. I have to admit, I didn’t expect that much work myself. Now you have lectures, and now, look, you’ve got an assignment to do and you’re spinning around like a bee. There were some stuck moments when you don’t know where to go next, then you call Clare, the course leader, who breaks the ice from your thoughts, leads you out of all the (not only comfort) zones and bang! A few hours later, you have 3 pages of ideas on where to go next. It wasn’t easy, but it was a good, very good process.

This course was a memorable experience for me, with a comprehensive, enriching process, lots of interesting insights and a quality outcome. It gives more than you can take: branding that critically touches all aspects in a way that brings different lessons, benefits and value to everyone. Practical knowledge, real-life examples and discussions with professionals in the field are what this course can really promise. The whole path is not easy, it requires commitment and active participation, but the end result and the lessons learnt during the process are even more rewarding.

When I started this course, I already knew that I wouldn’t take a vacation, I would have to spend time trying myself in different areas. But this course still exceeded the limits of my knowledge. However, the challenge was much greater than I expected. The whole course was like a fun roller coaster with sudden creative ups and downs, but all the course teachers were very supportive and helped me not to stop with their professional advice. Clare, the head of course, always found time to advise on a strategic issue, participate in product name brainstorming, copy review and corrections before presentations. As animator, I broadened my horizons about brands quite a bit, and that alone was worth it.

How to Create a GOOD Brand is a complex, consistent process, where theoretical knowledge obtained outside the textbook is immediately applied in practice. Professional and inspiring teachers have been sharing their insights and experiences through a continuous, lively discussion. I would liken the full-course trip to an expedition, the intensity of which exceeds the limits of your comfort, it is a bit uncomfortable, you get lost, and the weather conditions are not always favorable. However, by not losing sight of the goal and walking with experienced guides, you will unconsciously reach your summit, which redeems everything.

This course was like a festive binge for me. The more you put on the table, the more it jams. It’s bad, but you’re still stuck because you’ve awakened a masochistic, self-improvement-hungry demon somewhere inside you. I signed up for Atomic Garden as soon as I decided to return to Lithuania after several years of working abroad, hoping to gain self-confidence in a new phase. But the course pushed me out of my comfort zone even more than I expected. There were days when I doubted my abilities and even my professional direction. There were weeks when it seemed impossible to juggle so many branding components and get everything done on time. There were four months when, even at night, topics were running through my mind that I never thought I would be interested in: for example, the biodiversity of sea grasses. But relief came. Somewhere at the last presentation, when the results of intensive work turned into a finished project that you could put on Kickstarter. And after a couple of months after the course, you notice how you start telling your friends “that would be a good title for a product”, suddenly they recommend you to write texts in English (although you are a visual person anyway), and after half-jokingly offering to contribute to the development of sustainable packaging, you start and do it. And you realize that you know and can do much more now than it seemed at the beginning of the course, and everything is a little less scary.