Also called: Positioning Sliders
Alternative plays: Design Principles, Mood Board, Top Brand Values, Trade-off Sliders
Follow-up plays: Competitive Landscape, Top Audiences, Top Brand Values
See also: 20-Year Brand Roadmap, Golden Circle
Timing: Discovery
Prep time
30 minutes
Run time
30 minutes
Group size
3-30
Why: Define key traits of your brand, product, or culture
When: During strategic planning, brand development, or when a pivot is being considered
This workshop exercise is part of the Workshop Patterns printed card deck.
A collection of workshop exercises that will help you ditch dull meetings and facilitate with confidence. It will help you master the design process and have more productive time with your team. The card deck will be ready for purchase in the end of 2025 and is now undergoing rigorous testing.
Reserve your deck!Instructions for running this play
- Set up. Draw a number of horizontal lines on a whiteboard, each representing trait spectrums. Examples could be:
- Elite to Mass Appeal
- Serious to Playful
- Conventional to Rebel
- Friend to Authority
- Mature & Classic to Young & Innovative
- Set the scene. Explain that the goal is not to be in the middle for all traits, on the contrary. True brand personality often lies at the ends of these spectrums. Aim to position your brand or product distinctly.
- Reflect on positioning. Each participant silently reflects on where the brand or product should fall on each spectrum. Consider handing out print-outs with the same sliders for participants to record their decision.
- Vote. Let participants take turns to place dot stickers to indicate their perspective on each line.
- Discuss spectrums with significant disagreements in the group.
- Final decision. The decision-maker, often a senior leader or project owner, makes the final call for each spectrum, placing a distinctive sticker on their chosen position.
Tips to perfect this play
Master and adapt the play to fit your context and needs.
Tip: Not only branding
The exercise can be useful for a variety of purposes beside branding, e.g. product design, culture, and pricing.
Tip: Customize dimensions
Feel free to modify the traits to suit your specific context.
This workshop exercise is part of the Workshop Patterns printed card deck.
A collection of workshop exercises that will help you ditch dull meetings and facilitate with confidence. It will help you master the design process and have more productive time with your team. The card deck will be ready for purchase in the end of 2025 and is now undergoing rigorous testing.
Reserve your deck!- Share and engage with the Design Sprint Community
- The brand workshop by Birgit Joest
- Defining Your Tone of Voice: Full Step-by-step Guide & Exercise Templates by Vassilena Valchanova
- The Three-Hour Brand Sprint by Jake Knapp
