As a writer working within the design discipline, my focus has always been to give a voice to brand, marketing, and design strategies in ways that help make hard things simpler, new things more engaging, and nuanced things more discoverable. I founded the consultancy Meant® to pursue verbal branding and innovation communications projects at the point where design thinking, brand strategy, and business strategy intersect. My design career started as a communications specialist with a writing focus within the product development world. Working closely with teams creating new-to-the-word products, services, and technologies, I saw the power of language to contribute in two ways. Upstream, as experiences are emerging, I call the work 'innovation communications' — helping new ideas take shape by articulating what they do, how they work, and why it matters. Downstream, closer to launch, I work with brand and marketing teams to align language developed as part of the development process with the brand and marketing strategy for the new offer. I add particular value at the point where product roadmaps and brand architecture overlap. This can be as explicit as developing the naming and nomenclature for branded offers or features. But it can also include storytelling to support customer research or socialize ideas with partners and investors.I work with directly with clients and with other consultancies, sometimes as a complement to an existing initiative or other times as a contributor to their team. When projects require it or would benefit from the perspective, I add interdisciplinary design colleagues to the team.