FAQ
If you've been trying to figure out
whether what we do is what you need, these answers are for you.
What is NSD?
Narrative Systems Design (NSD) is the practice of designing the story architecture, messaging infrastructure, and communication logic of an organization so that leadership, fundraising, sales, and operations speak from the same foundation.
It is not branding. It is not content marketing. It operates upstream of both — it is the system that makes everything else consistent and scalable.
TBBS founder Emiliano Portino applies NSD to organizational brand strategy, drawing on Robert Shiller's Narrative Economics, Yuval Harari's research on how shared narratives shape collective behavior, and narrative identity theory.
Narrative Systems Design (NSD) is the practice of designing the story architecture, messaging infrastructure, and communication logic of an organization so that leadership, fundraising, sales, and operations speak from the same foundation.
It is not branding. It is not content marketing. It operates upstream of both — it is the system that makes everything else consistent and scalable.
TBBS founder Emiliano Portino applies NSD to organizational brand strategy, drawing on Robert Shiller's Narrative Economics, Yuval Harari's research on how shared narratives shape collective behavior, and narrative identity theory.
Is it NSD or Branding?
Branding produces outputs: visual identity, logo, color system, voice guidelines. NSD produces the architecture those outputs express.
You can have a strong visual identity and still have leadership, fundraising, and sales telling three different stories. NSD solves the fragmentation. Branding expresses the solution.
TBBS does both, but always in that order.
Branding produces outputs: visual identity, logo, color system, voice guidelines. NSD produces the architecture those outputs express.
You can have a strong visual identity and still have leadership, fundraising, and sales telling three different stories. NSD solves the fragmentation. Branding expresses the solution.
TBBS does both, but always in that order.
When do you need it?
The most common triggers: growth that created programs or verticals that no longer feel connected, a merger or acquisition, a strategic pivot, a fundraising cycle where clarity of narrative determines outcomes, or a leadership transition where the new person needs to own the narrative.
The underlying signal is always the same. Different people are telling different stories, and no one has built the system that aligns them.
The most common triggers: growth that created programs or verticals that no longer feel connected, a merger or acquisition, a strategic pivot, a fundraising cycle where clarity of narrative determines outcomes, or a leadership transition where the new person needs to own the narrative.
The underlying signal is always the same. Different people are telling different stories, and no one has built the system that aligns them.
What does NS Designer do?
A Narrative Systems Designer maps the existing story of an organization, identifies where it fragments, and builds the architecture that makes it coherent and scalable.
In practice: ecosystem mapping, brand architecture design, narrative framework development, messaging territory definition, and a toolkit that allows internal teams to execute consistently.
A Narrative Systems Designer maps the existing story of an organization, identifies where it fragments, and builds the architecture that makes it coherent and scalable.
In practice: ecosystem mapping, brand architecture design, narrative framework development, messaging territory definition, and a toolkit that allows internal teams to execute consistently.
The 3-Sprint Method™
A structured process developed by TBBS to move organizations from narrative fragmentation to a deployable brand system in three phases.
Sprint 1 covers ecosystem mapping and brand architecture. Sprint 2 defines positioning, narrative framework, and voice. Sprint 3 delivers the messaging toolkit and application guidance.
Each sprint can be engaged independently or as part of the complete method.
A structured process developed by TBBS to move organizations from narrative fragmentation to a deployable brand system in three phases.
Sprint 1 covers ecosystem mapping and brand architecture. Sprint 2 defines positioning, narrative framework, and voice. Sprint 3 delivers the messaging toolkit and application guidance.
Each sprint can be engaged independently or as part of the complete method.
Who do you work with?
Tech founders and startups preparing for a capital raise. Organizations undergoing mergers or strategic pivots. Investors and portfolio companies that need narrative alignment. Leaders who need a personal narrative that matches the organization they lead. Foundations managing program complexity.
TBBS does not work with organizations that need execution without strategy.
Tech founders and startups preparing for a capital raise. Organizations undergoing mergers or strategic pivots. Investors and portfolio companies that need narrative alignment. Leaders who need a personal narrative that matches the organization they lead. Foundations managing program complexity.
TBBS does not work with organizations that need execution without strategy.
Is TBBS a branding agency?
A branding agency executes from a brief. TBBS defines the architecture the brief should be built on.
We are brought in when the question is not "how should this look?" but "what should this say and why is it currently fragmented?" Emiliano Portino works directly with clients — not through account managers or junior teams.
A branding agency executes from a brief. TBBS defines the architecture the brief should be built on.
We are brought in when the question is not "how should this look?" but "what should this say and why is it currently fragmented?" Emiliano Portino works directly with clients — not through account managers or junior teams.
Does TBBS work remotely?
TBBS is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Emiliano Portino works with clients across the United States and internationally, including Latin America and Europe. Projects are conducted remotely by default, with in-person sessions available when needed.
TBBS is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Emiliano Portino works with clients across the United States and internationally, including Latin America and Europe. Projects are conducted remotely by default, with in-person sessions available when needed.
How do you price?
TBBS uses value-based project pricing, not hourly rates. The Narrative Diagnostic Sprint is the lowest-cost entry point. The full Narrative Systems Design project is scoped to organizational complexity.
All projects begin with a 20-minute alignment call. No proposal until we confirm fit.
TBBS uses value-based project pricing, not hourly rates. The Narrative Diagnostic Sprint is the lowest-cost entry point. The full Narrative Systems Design project is scoped to organizational complexity.
All projects begin with a 20-minute alignment call. No proposal until we confirm fit.
LET’S TALK. 20 MINUTES. NO COMMITMENT.
Every engagement starts with a conversation.
Tell us what you’re navigating and we’ll tell you if we can help.