Lost in translation?

The Revision Dictionary.

Or browse the things people say when they don't quite know what they mean.

• 01Branding

  “Make it pop.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  We can't articulate what's wrong, so we'd like you to add energy until we stop feeling uneasy.

  Real problem · No shared criteria for success. Taste is filling the gap where a brief should be.

  Ask · When someone sees this, what should they feel or do that they don't right now?

• 02Branding

  “Make it more premium.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  Our perceived value isn't matching our price, and we're hoping serif fonts will close the gap.

  Real problem · A pricing and value-perception gap, not a styling gap.

  Ask · Which customers are currently saying we're too expensive — and what do they compare us to?

• 03Strategy

  “We need to look more innovative.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  Our competitors are occupying the territory we thought was ours.

  Real problem · Eroding differentiation. The product story has stopped being distinctive.

  Ask · What do we do that a competitor genuinely couldn't copy next quarter?

• 04Stakeholders

  “Can you make the logo bigger?”

  The subtext

  Translation

  Someone senior needs to see themselves in this work before they'll approve it.

  Real problem · Low brand confidence, or an approval process driven by visibility rather than outcomes.

  Ask · Who is this for — the customer, or the person signing it off?

• 05Strategy

  “Our competitor just launched something similar.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  We're about to abandon our roadmap for theirs.

  Real problem · Reactive strategy. The plan was never anchored in customer evidence.

  Ask · Did our customers change, or did only our anxiety change?

• 06Marketing

  “We need to go viral.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  We'd like the results of a cultural moment with the budget of a Tuesday.

  Real problem · Awareness targets without a distinctive idea or the risk appetite to earn one.

  Ask · What would we be willing to say that our competitors would be too nervous to?

• 07Digital Product

  “Let's make it more user-friendly.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  Something is broken, nobody has watched a real user, and we'd like that to remain true.

  Real problem · No usability evidence. 'Friendly' is standing in for an unidentified friction point.

  Ask · Where exactly do people drop off — and have we watched anyone do it?

• 08Stakeholders

  “Can we see a few more options?”

  The subtext

  Translation

  We'll know it when we see it, which is a polite way of saying we never decided.

  Real problem · Decision criteria were never agreed, so every option feels equally arguable.

  Ask · What would the winning option need to do that none of these do?

• 09Stakeholders

  “It doesn't feel quite right.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  The work is fine. Our confidence in the strategy isn't.

  Real problem · Unresolved strategic doubt surfacing as aesthetic feedback.

  Ask · If the design were perfect, what would still worry you?

• 10Branding

  “We need a brand refresh.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  The business changed and the story didn't come with it.

  Real problem · Strategy has drifted from identity; the brand describes a company that no longer exists.

  Ask · What's true about us now that wasn't true when the current brand was made?

• 11Strategy

  “Can we make it more disruptive?”

  The subtext

  Translation

  We'd like to feel brave without anyone actually being uncomfortable.

  Real problem · Ambition for distinctiveness without a point of view to be distinctive about.

  Ask · Which industry convention are we prepared to publicly reject?

• 12Marketing

  “We need more engagement.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  The numbers are down and we've confused a metric for a strategy.

  Real problem · Content isn't connected to anything the audience actually values.

  Ask · What should an engaged person do next — and is that worth anything to the business?

• 13Digital Product

  “Let's add some AI.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  The board asked what our AI strategy is, and 'none' tested poorly.

  Real problem · Solution-first thinking. A technology is in search of a user problem.

  Ask · Which customer task is slow, painful or expensive enough that automation would matter?

• 14Digital Product

  “We need a new website.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  You don't have a website problem. You have a positioning problem wearing a new homepage as a disguise.

  Real problem · Nobody agrees what the company actually wants to say.

  Ask · If we could only communicate one thing to a customer, what would they need to understand?

• 15Branding

  “Can we make it more youthful?”

  The subtext

  Translation

  Our customers are ageing and we'd like to reach their grandchildren without asking them anything.

  Real problem · An audience shift the company hasn't researched, only feared.

  Ask · What do younger customers currently choose instead of us — and why?

• 16Marketing

  “We need to tell our story.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  We have a timeline. We don't yet have a reason anyone should care.

  Real problem · Company history mistaken for customer relevance.

  Ask · Which part of our story changes what a customer believes about their own problem?

• 17Stakeholders

  “The CEO isn't feeling it.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  The real brief lives in one person's head, and they weren't in the briefing.

  Real problem · Decision-maker absent from strategy, present only at approval.

  Ask · Can we get thirty minutes with the CEO before the next round instead of after it?

• 18Marketing

  “We need more social content.”

  The subtext

  Translation

  We haven't figured out what we have to say repeatedly.

  Real problem · Volume is compensating for a missing message platform.

  Ask · What are the three things we'd be happy to say a hundred times?