Mark Smith
We Design Businesses® — HOW Creative draws from over 35 years of experience and expertise designing businesses from the inside-out and the outside-in, offering greater value and equity to all stakeholders, including customers, prospects, business owners, CEOs and company leaders, C-suite executives and employees, shareholders, investors, boards of directors, strategic partners, professional associations, the media, and more.
Tell us about yourself?
I graduated from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo with a BS in Applied Art and Design – which was categorized as Graphic Design the following year. Cal Poly’s moto is ‘learn by doing’.
I learned from completing school projects and working on real business projects during my college years. This included designing logos, brochures, posters, advertisements, package designs, etc. After I finished Cal Poly, I wanted to do graduate work at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angles.
They are considered the best design school in the world. They had the first Macintosh computer lab in the world, and I had the good fortune to be one of the few individuals selected for the digital course. The first time I touched the keyboard, I knew this was the future of design. I saw the tremendous impact of combining strong design and advertising fundamentals with technology.
During the birth of the digital revolution, there was one major problem. Nobody knew how to get more than just a black and white 8.5 x 11 printed piece of paper produced from the computer. This is when I decided to create my company, HOW Creative (past name HOW Studios Inc.) and assemble a team that had a similar vision of the future.
Dennis Dunbar, one of the world’s first digital photographers was on my team, as well as Jeff Weekly – a world-class copywriter, production for RPI and Graphic Express, and a superior printer – Coast Litho. The power of imagination was now fully possible to ground ideas and concepts into reality using the Macintosh computer.
We had full control over the entire design layout rather than involving 3rd party vendors such as the typesetter, photo scanners, special effects labs, and film stripping for the color printing press. Not only was I dependent on others to capture my vision it also was very time consuming and rather expensive to produce a well thought out piece.
For example, a business card involving all the vendors from typesetting concepts, to all revisions, messages to run between my office and to the typesetter location, the film needed to produce proofs, etc., could cost upwards to $1,000 dollars before going to the press, and this was in the late 1980s. We had to get computer programs to work together, even though they were not designed to work together. The result was a more beautiful and polished end product that engaged the target audience.
I had a vision to create a promo piece that represented my company, HOW Creative’s unique and innovative approach and solutions to the design and advertisement industry. Almost everyone in the modern world has been impacted by my branding solutions.
I remember all too well working 16-18-hour days, and I only took one Sunday off a month for over 10 years. Through our digital approach, we also eliminated all 3rd party vendors. Typesetters, photo scanners, special effects labs and film stripping, color proofs, etc. were no longer needed. All these 3rd party vendors were replaced by a much more cutting-edge process (I called it the ‘bleeding edge’ back then) of design and advertisement layouts, all while reducing time and cost.
I started to introduce my disruptive ideas to advertising and design studios using a Macintosh computer as a single solution, rather than doing everything by hand and involving an army of 3rd party vendors. Hardly anyone was grasping my vision, and many were not willing to adapt to the digital world.
So, I then introduced my ideas to big fortune 500 companies and well known agencies. They saw my vision and wanted the competitive edge that my team and I could give them. As a result, I created the first multidisciplinary firm specializing in all types of digital media formats such as animation, print, packaging, video, TV titles and bumpers, illustrations, photography, product designing, graphic user interfaces for CD and DVD, websites, and advertising.
We came up with solutions in multiple industries which impacted consumers around the globe. My team and I were critical to the successful launch of DVD’s, which dominated the market — surpassing VHS and Beta tapes as the standard for the movie rental space. Through pioneering and many all-nighters, I created one of the first computerized, off-line, motion graphics for ABC networks that forever changed television viewing and helped birth the rise of motion graphics.
I led my team to position Zylan by launching one of the first graphically integrated, effective, award-winning websites, setting new standards for an optimal user interface experience in the early 90’s. My team and I created the first all-digital ad (the most memorable ad) for Fujitsu to use at MAC World and in MAC User national magazines.
This ad put Fujitsu on the map for removable discs. The first completely digital ad for Wall Street Journal for Claris, FileMaker which dominated the market with their category. My company HOW Creative and I branded University of California Santa Barbara’s ACCESS card; a new product that combined the debit and student ID into one convenient card that quicky became the industry standard for all universities across the United States.
We reignited the torch for the City of Los Angeles Marathon with a simple, bold and memorable brand identity system. After the rebrand, the Marathon had record breaking attendance, selling out the event with 23,000 running participants.
It was the largest event in the 15-year history resulting in increased business revenues, tighter community bonds, and increases in brand value and equity. Other Fortune 500 brands I have represented are Apple, Honda, Disney, DreamWorks, Acura, Xerox, Oracle, Cirque du Soleil, Lakeshore Entertainment, Mattel, Jakks Pacific, Northrop, ATT, Paramount Pictures, and HP, just to name a few. My contributions have added billions of dollars to clients’ profits, to the greater value of the brand and to their company’s equity.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Life is short, do what you truly love and invest in people, places and things that make me happy, while making a difference with others.
What problem does your business solve?
Our proprietary process eliminates years and sometimes decades of frustration and thwarted business, branding, and marketing efforts, saving your company thousands, and in many cases, millions of dollars’ worth of mistakes.
Our approach works for any business, service, or product. Whether you’re a startup or a Fortune 500 company, or something in between, our method works for a business to business, business to consumer, or a business to government company. Moreover, our process applies to any industry, brand, category, or market and will not merely help sustain your business but grow and scale it as well.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
Over 90% of businesses reach a lid or fall. I am committed to inverting that percentage into thriving businesses.
What is your magic sauce?
What sets HOW CREATIVE apart from other branding and business development agencies?
Thirty-five years of real-world, evidence-based client case studies resulting in leading, world-class brands and businesses.
At How Creative, we take a new approach to building brands with our award-winning, proprietary SIM™ system (Strategy, Implementation, and Management). We design or redesign your business by creating authenticity and vitality, effectively leveraging your business so it stands out from the pack in its respective market space.
Growing customer relationships much faster than standard methods, we achieve in one year, and in some cases several months, what takes others decades. We create meaningful and authentic customer engagement by building an instant and visceral experience with your customers, resulting in a business that will be more purposeful, enjoyable, and profitable.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
Over 90% of businesses reach a lid or fall. I am committed to inverting that percentage into thriving businesses.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
It is educating businesses to own my disruptive solution that achieves exponential profits, growth, and opportunities in the shortest time.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
I collaborate with an array of clients include entrepreneurs, innovators, small and mid-size companies, and Fortune 500 brands such as Apple, Disney, DreamWorks, ABC, Mattel, Oracle, HP, and Honda. With over three decades of experience, I have earned a reputation as a market disruptor and brand innovator, and together with my firm, HOW Creative, has partnered with CEOs and business leaders to develop and execute powerful and influential Authentic Brands® on a worldwide scale.
