Worlds / Side quest · Strategy / Design Management
Zee: Design Management Study
Zee has the product right. The brand presence is the next design job.
A design management study of Zee, an Egyptian premium footwear brand. After I shared it on LinkedIn, Zee's founder reached out to talk strategy.
01Brief
Study a real design-driven business
Design Management teaches how a company organizes and uses design. I chose Zee, a brand that makes premium shoes in its own factory in Egypt, trained by Spanish shoemakers, and closed a deal on Shark Tank Egypt.
02Analysis
Eight lenses
I looked at Zee through eight lenses: brand overview, design strategy, design organization, design process, implementation, innovation and sustainability, impact, and a critical evaluation.
03Insight
Great shoes, borrowed reach
Zee invested deeply in the quality of its shoes but not in the quality of its digital communication. Its biggest TikTok reach came from an influencer's video, not its own content. Communication design is still design, so this is a brand problem, not only a marketing one.
04Recommendations
Four moves
1. Build a content design system. 2. Develop a second creative voice beside the founder. 3. Turn the factory and craftsmen into a visible "Egyptian craft" story. 4. Use influencers to attract people, and original content to keep them.
