A board game about client-designer tension reveals powerful lessons for brand communication strategy.
Picture the scene: a creative director and marketing manager sit across from each other, moving acrylic game pieces that represent their own roles in the eternal client-designer dance. Benny Leung's Client Vs Designers board game, which earned Silver recognition at the A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design, transforms one of the creative industry's most universal dynamics into something you can actually play. The Hong Kong-based designer and BLCH Ltd. created transparent acrylic pieces screenprinted with character illustrations, printed the board with Pantone metallic colors on paper mimicking traditional game materials, and built game mechanics around the traps that frustrate both sides of the relationship. What emerges is a brand artifact that communicates creative capability and self-awareness with remarkable clarity and memorability.
Organizations searching for differentiation often overlook the power of acknowledging shared experiences with their stakeholders. Client Vs Designers demonstrates that premium production choices and genuine humor create memorable touchpoints worth keeping and sharing. The design allows players to select from multiple character illustrations before playing, personalizing each interaction and multiplying emotional engagement. For enterprises evaluating brand communication strategies, the lesson extends beyond creative agencies: every business relationship contains natural tensions that, when acknowledged openly with humor and craft, build trust and connection. Supply chain partners understand delivery pressures. Software companies navigate feature prioritization. Consulting firms balance analysis depth against speed. Brands willing to create objects that acknowledge the relationship dynamics they share with stakeholders position themselves as partners who genuinely understand their audience's reality.
Client Vs Designers demonstrates that playful self-awareness communicates brand personality with remarkable impact and memorability. Organizations investing in acknowledgment of shared experiences with stakeholders, through thoughtfully crafted tangible objects, create genuine connections that build lasting relationships. The premium production choices and humor-driven approach offer a template for any enterprise seeking to differentiate through authentic brand communication. What tensions in your stakeholder relationships deserve celebration?
