
Beautifully Effective®
Two little words to live by, everyday.
Infusing through everything we do, Beautifully Effective® means so much to us. Here we explain what Beautifully Effective® represents, and how it could impact your organisation.
Beautifully Effective®: Our mantra, our essence, our approach and what we strive to deliver.
The difference between a solution that works, and a solution that works, beautifully. A solution that exceeds measurement, surprises, delights, puts a flutter in the heart and (to borrow from The Partners' book of witty thinking in graphic design) a smile in the mind.
Our work has to be effective. That's non-negotiable. It's the details that count. Every decision made is a carefully considered response to the problem we've been hired to solve.
But, and here's the important caveat, we don't just deliver on the aesthetics. We strive to deliver on the business objectives. We use strategy to design and build solutions to business problems. Solutions which make a difference to the customer, the business and the bottom line.
So, what does Beautifully Effective actually mean and how does it manifest itself?
Beautifully Effective® is a combination of three things, all as important as each other:

Aesthetics
Capture the eye. Ensure attention. Convey the message, powerfully.

Mechanics
Built to function better than expected. Built to last. Built to create a lasting impact.

Impact
Increase knowledge. Increase connection. Create impact, both commercially and culturally.
Aesthetics
Our history and our reputation are built on creativity. But creativity is not held exclusively in the hands of our designers. Collaborative working gives us the ability to question aesthetic choices, predominantly to ensure that aesthetics don't get in the way of the job of communication.
Aesthetics is an intimately subjective area. Managing expectations can be a tricky business. Usually, we have to consider many, often contrasting, opinions. More often than not we arrive, together, at the right destination.
Mechanics
Mechanics differ for every piece of work we do. Whatever the brief or the problem that needs solving, working to measure the mechanics is key to measuring effectiveness. At each stage of our process, from discovery to design, copywriting to coding, the consistent question is "what's the objective, and is what we're proposing going to help or hinder that objective?"
Often we'll start with a lot of why questions – we're keen to get as much information as possible before we recommend an approach. So, whilst the aesthetic element is crucial to create initial attention, the mechanics are equally as important to maintain it.
Impact
We are not, strictly, an impact agency but the impact of our work is critical to the success of our partnerships, relationships and our reputation. We're not artists either, we are a group of commercial craftspeople, striving to make a difference to three distinct groups of people: our clients, our client's audiences and ourselves.
A brand is one of a business's most valuable assets. An identity is the visual manifestation of that business. Its website is often the most commonly used mouthpiece and information repository. We work to create impact in each of these areas.

So, as the combination of these three areas, Beautifully Effective® is, above all, a tool for measurement. A tool to keep us honest, on brief, on time. A tool which we use to constantly ask ourselves if the solution is going to generate the impact expected or, better still, generate more.


And, Beautifully Effective® represents our values.
As a combination of our beliefs, our values and our determination to create an impact for our clients, their teams, their audiences and ourselves, Beautifully Effective® is a very special concept for us at Salad. Capturing our vision of a perfect world, we strive to keep it at the heart of our business, our work and our culture.
Two little words to live by everyday.
Beautifully Effective® is embedded in our processes and is, hopefully, apparent from the moment we start any engagement.
It encourages us to learn about our clients, their backgrounds, businesses and business challenges because we want more than just surface knowledge. It is the foundation for successful, long-lasting relationships built on trust and collaboration. It is the efficiency of a small team, with minimal layers of management and no politics, and the ability to share information without losing context and focus.
It encourages us to be inspired by the passions held by our clients and partners and respond equally as passionately to the problem we can solve together.
It is a promise to treat your business as if it were our own.
Thoughts
Jon Lockhart
Beauty & the Beast

Matt Leach
But Does it Work? Beautifully Effective® Development

Nicole Cook
5 ways I know we’re Beautifully Effective®

Arabella Lewis-Smith
The collective power of Beautifully Effective®

Harry Pocknell
A rallying cry for objectivity, empathy, collaboration and craft

Natalie Padgham
The power of discovery and purpose in design

Greg Arnold
A journey of simplicity and user-centricity
