How We Build Brands: The Felix&Friends ApproachHow We Build Brands:
The Felix&Friends Approach

Our team is always genuinely curious about the people we work with. That curiosity produces a wonderful foundation of information to start our thinking. We understand that a brand strategy built on real knowledge and understanding of a founder's real motivations, aspirations and desired business trajectory all come from asking why? This initial difference shows better results in everything phase that follows.Our team is always genuinely curious about the people we work with. That curiosity produces a wonderful foundation of information to start our thinking. We understand that a brand strategy built on real knowledge and understanding of a founder's real motivations, aspirations and desired business trajectory all come from asking why? This initial difference shows better results in everything phase that follows.

The detail that becomes the foundation of the brand is almost never the one the client leads with. It tends to surface later, once the conversation has found its depth.The detail that becomes the foundation of the brand is almost never the one the client leads with. It tends to surface later, once the conversation has found its depth.

For brands with an existing identity, the first task is to understand what is worth saving and why. There is almost always something: a quality of service that clients mention unprompted, a founding story that the business has stopped telling as it wasn’t framed properly, or a visual element that has outlasted two rebrands because it still somehow feels right. Felix&Friends looks for these things carefully. The instinct to discard everything and start afresh is sometimes understandable, but very rarely does this happen.For brands with an existing identity, the first task is to understand what is worth saving and why. There is almost always something: a quality of service that clients mention unprompted, a founding story that the business has stopped telling as it wasn’t framed properly, or a visual element that has outlasted two rebrands because it still somehow feels right. Felix&Friends looks for these things carefully. The instinct to discard everything and start afresh is sometimes understandable, but very rarely does this happen.

For brands that are still forming, including businesses that do not yet have a name, the conversation begins earlier and the territory to explore is far wider. There is often a vision, sometimes fully articulated and sometimes held in pieces, and the Felix&Friends’ task is to bring those random pieces into a fully formed coherent vision. Some of the most precise and enduring brand work Felix&Friends has produced has started from exactly this point: a client who knew clearly what they wanted to build but didn’t know how to articulate or express it. For brands that are still forming, including businesses that do not yet have a name, the conversation begins earlier and the territory to explore is far wider. There is often a vision, sometimes fully articulated and sometimes held in pieces, and the Felix&Friends’ task is to bring those random pieces into a fully formed coherent vision. Some of the most precise and enduring brand work Felix&Friends has produced has started from exactly this point: a client who knew clearly what they wanted to build but didn’t know how to articulate or express it.

Felix&Friends build trust with care and maintain this after project delivery. Clients are always brought into the thinking at every meaningful stage, testing a strategic direction, to give feedback and weigh in at a creative junction or to simply understand the reasoning behind a recommendation. We keep the process transparent with our clients.Felix&Friends build trust with care and maintain this after project delivery. Clients are always brought into the thinking at every meaningful stage, testing a strategic direction, to give feedback and weigh in at a creative junction or to simply understand the reasoning behind a recommendation. We keep the process transparent with our clients.

The intention is that by the time the work is delivered, the client not only recognises it, they feel it. They have been on the journey with Felix&Friends at these important junctures and feel an emotional connection to the final product.The intention is that by the time the work is delivered, the client not only recognises it, they feel it. They have been on the journey with Felix&Friends at these important junctures and feel an emotional connection to the final product.

A brief is mostly the first articulation of the present situation, what the business does, what it wished it did better and how the brand sometimes isn’t connecting. The exciting opportunity for Felix&Friends and more so for the client, is what the brand could become. We generate excitement about this phase for our clients, the different rationales become opportunities to explore and the strategy begins.A brief is mostly the first articulation of the present situation, what the business does, what it wished it did better and how the brand sometimes isn’t connecting. The exciting opportunity for Felix&Friends and more so for the client, is what the brand could become. We generate excitement about this phase for our clients, the different rationales become opportunities to explore and the strategy begins.

Every project is built with that structure in mind, across luxury, property, hospitality, lifestyle and financial services.Every project is built with that structure in mind, across luxury, property, hospitality, lifestyle and financial services.

A design system with genuine modularity, so that the identity scales without fracturing as the business grows into new sectors and new markets. A tone of voice with enough depth that future writers and communications teams can find it naturally, without the brand losing its character over time. A positioning precise enough to be owned clearly and broad enough to accommodate the growth the client is building towards.A design system with genuine modularity, so that the identity scales without fracturing as the business grows into new sectors and new markets. A tone of voice with enough depth that future writers and communications teams can find it naturally, without the brand losing its character over time. A positioning precise enough to be owned clearly and broad enough to accommodate the growth the client is building towards.

The brands that maintain authority across years and across changing markets are the ones whose underlying structure was designed to bear that weight. Felix&Friends build that structure into every engagement: a design system with genuine modularity, a tone of voice with enough depth that future expansion can accommodate it and a positioning precise enough to be owned for the coming months and years. The brands that maintain authority across years and across changing markets are the ones whose underlying structure was designed to bear that weight. Felix&Friends build that structure into every engagement: a design system with genuine modularity, a tone of voice with enough depth that future expansion can accommodate it and a positioning precise enough to be owned for the coming months and years.

For a luxury residential developer, this might mean building a brand architecture that can support both the development and the individual properties within it, with a naming and identity system flexible enough to extend across future phases keeping consistency. For a luxury residential developer, this might mean building a brand architecture that can support both the development and the individual properties within it, with a naming and identity system flexible enough to extend across future phases keeping consistency.

For a hospitality brand, it might mean a visual language and editorial voice designed to perform across multiple properties in multiple markets, with the coherence that builds genuine group identity rather than a collection of unrelated assets. For a hospitality brand, it might mean a visual language and editorial voice designed to perform across multiple properties in multiple markets, with the coherence that builds genuine group identity rather than a collection of unrelated assets.

For a financial services brand, it might mean a digital architecture and content strategy that can absorb regulatory changes, new product introductions and international expansion without the brand needing to be repositioned each time. The brand opportunities explored at launch all form a solid foundation built to last.For a financial services brand, it might mean a digital architecture and content strategy that can absorb regulatory changes, new product introductions and international expansion without the brand needing to be repositioned each time. The brand opportunities explored at launch all form a solid foundation built to last.

The brand delivered reflects something true about their business that they had not quite been able to articulate on their own. The work tends to exceed what they had imagined at the start, not because the brief was surpassed in a technical sense, but because the team understood what was actually needed and built towards it with more precision than the brief itself contained.The brand delivered reflects something true about their business that they had not quite been able to articulate on their own. The work tends to exceed what they had imagined at the start, not because the brief was surpassed in a technical sense, but because the team understood what was actually needed and built towards it with more precision than the brief itself contained.

The concerns that brought the client to Felix&Friends in the first place, the sense that the brand was working below its potential;The concerns that brought the client to Felix&Friends in the first place, the sense that the brand was working below its potential;

Not being found or sourced by the right audience. Not converting interest with the standard of clients required. The marketing effort was not accumulating into authority or building traction. Not being found or sourced by the right audience.
Not converting interest with the standard of clients required.
The marketing effort was not accumulating into authority or building traction.

These are some of the specific problems Felix&Friends addresses. In particular the context of each client's sector, desired audience and future business goals and objectives.These are some of the specific problems Felix&Friends addresses. In particular the context of each client's sector, desired audience and future business goals and objectives.

Where clients have operational inefficiencies, Felix&Friends audits the workflows behind the brand and identifies where automation can genuinely reduce the burden. This might mean connecting a CRM to a website backend so that lead capture, client communications and follow-up sequences run without manual intervention. It might mean building a product management system that updates inventory, pricing and content across multiple digital platforms simultaneously. It might mean implementing a marketing automation stack that handles campaign scheduling, audience segmentation and performance reporting in a way that frees the client's team to focus on the work that actually requires human judgement.Where clients have operational inefficiencies, Felix&Friends audits the workflows behind the brand and identifies where automation can genuinely reduce the burden. This might mean connecting a CRM to a website backend so that lead capture, client communications and follow-up sequences run without manual intervention. It might mean building a product management system that updates inventory, pricing and content across multiple digital platforms simultaneously. It might mean implementing a marketing automation stack that handles campaign scheduling, audience segmentation and performance reporting in a way that frees the client's team to focus on the work that actually requires human judgement.

Content production is another area where the right architecture makes a significant commercial difference. Felix&Friends builds content frameworks and design systems that allow a small team to produce brand-consistent assets at scale, without briefing an agency for every execution. Social content, email campaigns, property listings, event communications, sector reports: all of these can be produced faster, more consistently and to a higher standard when the underlying system has been properly designed.Content production is another area where the right architecture makes a significant commercial difference. Felix&Friends builds content frameworks and design systems that allow a small team to produce brand-consistent assets at scale, without briefing an agency for every execution. Social content, email campaigns, property listings, event communications, sector reports: all of these can be produced faster, more consistently and to a higher standard when the underlying system has been properly designed.

The digital architectures that Felix&Friends build are built for the client. Headless CMS platforms, modular page-building environments and integrated analytics dashboards give businesses genuine control over their own infrastructure, with the ability to update, expand and adapt without dependency on external development resources for every change.The digital architectures that Felix&Friends build are built for the client. Headless CMS platforms, modular page-building environments and integrated analytics dashboards give businesses genuine control over their own infrastructure, with the ability to update, expand and adapt without dependency on external development resources for every change.

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To understand the sectors Felix&Friends works across in more depth, see Our Services. To read about the founder who oversees team project from brief to delivery, see Lee Barfield on About Us. To see these principles applied in practice, explore the Felix&Friends portfolio.To understand the sectors Felix&Friends works across in more depth, see Our Services. To read about the founder who oversees team project from brief to delivery, see Lee Barfield on About Us. To see these principles applied in practice, explore the Felix&Friends portfolio.

About the AuthorAbout the Author

Lee Barfield is the Founder and Executive Creative Director of Felix&Friends, a London-based luxury brand strategy and digital design and marketing agency. He founded the agency in 2011 after twenty-five years in brand strategy, creative direction and design, and is involved in every project from the first client conversation to final delivery. He writes on brand strategy, luxury positioning, digital authority and the commercial value of well-built brands.Lee Barfield is the Founder and Executive Creative Director of Felix&Friends, a London-based luxury brand strategy and digital design and marketing agency. He founded the agency in 2011 after twenty-five years in brand strategy, creative direction and design, and is involved in every project from the first client conversation to final delivery. He writes on brand strategy, luxury positioning, digital authority and the commercial value of well-built brands.