Design Logic

The design decisions behind the AoM model and its tools, covering map structure, colour logic, system design, and the principles that guide how frameworks are built and presented.

The following principles explain the decisions behind how the AoM model and its tools are structured and presented. Understanding them helps interpret the model correctly and apply it consistently.

Map Design Logic

These principles define how the AoM map (Layer 1: Narrative and Layer 2: Fundamentals) is structured and how it should be interpreted.

1

Connectivity over completeness

The AoM prioritises relationships between decisions rather than listing every possible component. The goal is to make dependencies and interactions visible. Relationships are standardised to reduce complexity and improve clarity, influenced by systems such as the London Underground map where connectivity is prioritised over geographic accuracy.

2

Colour as a functional system

Colour is used to signal distinct parts of the system and maintain consistency across the model, glossary, and connected tools. This supports recognition, navigation, and shared understanding across teams, similar to how colour is used in the London Underground to differentiate lines while preserving a coherent whole.

3

Structured grouping

Related concepts are organised into defined clusters based on their role within the system, forming the six parts of the AoM. This approach supports comprehension and comparison by creating consistent patterns, influenced by the organisational logic of the periodic table.

4

System, not sequence

The AoM represents marketing as a connected system, not a linear process. It is not a waterfall or a prescribed left-to-right way of working. All parts operate continuously and in parallel, with arrows indicating the flow of value rather than a fixed order of execution. How and where to act depends on the context of the organisation.

5

Customer orientation

The model represents a system oriented around the customer, showing how value is created, communicated, and delivered. Customer experience is captured through Data & Insights and prioritised through Investment, ensuring it informs decisions across the system. The customer is not placed at the centre of the diagram, as doing so would reduce clarity and usability. Instead, the entire system operates as a continuous loop directed towards customer outcomes, reinforcing that the AoM functions as an interconnected cycle rather than a set of siloed parts.

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Tools and Frameworks Design Logic

These principles define how AoM's connected tools are designed for practical application across different environments.

1

Flexible in application

AoM tools are designed to work across physical, digital, and AI environments. They can be used in printed formats, large-scale workshops, collaborative platforms, and as structured inputs for AI systems.

2

Standardised structure, iconography, colour, and language

All tools follow a consistent system of structure, iconography, colour, and terminology aligned to the AoM. This ensures clarity, recognisability, and consistent use across teams, partners, and AI.

3

Connected system

Each tool is connected to the AoM and to other tools within it. This ensures frameworks are applied in context, supporting coordinated decision making rather than isolated use.

4

Clear attribution

All tools are designed and adapted from established models, with sources clearly referenced. This ensures ideas remain traceable to their origin while being structured to work within the AoM.

5

Accessible by design

Tools are made available in accessible formats to support use by both people and AI. Open access assets, including standard file formats, ensure they can be easily shared, referenced, and applied across systems.

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AoM Design System

The AoM is built on a proprietary design system that governs visual identity, colour logic, iconography, and tool structure across all assets. This ensures consistency as the model grows and provides a shared standard for partners building with or alongside the AoM.

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