It’s surprising how seldom this approach is used in business and shocking how infrequently it is used in municipal politics Surrey mayor Dianne Watts understands the power of branding. No, not just a new logo, tagline or marketing campaign most think of when they hear that word, but the deeper meaning of authentic branding. For decades Surrey […]
Read This Article
Clients often come to us for a new website. But a new website doesn’t invent itself. People think about design and layout, and how they want it to look and feel; however, the content is a very important piece of the puzzle, which is why it’s all the more damaging when it gets left behind […]
Read This Article
I’ve been to dozens of conferences in my career, speaking at some and even chairing one myself, and while I love being challenged to consider new ideas and perspectives while meeting likeminded colleagues from my industry and community, I am growing to hate the standard conference format. I’ve attended events hosted by GDC, AIGA, How, […]
Read This Article
Yes, you read that correctly. According to expert sources like PRweb.com, this is the current state of affairs in social media and it is gaining momentum in the architecture sector. The key takeaway here is: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. When it comes to marketing and social media, if the only thing you […]
Read This ArticleImagine you’re a prospective customer or client. You saw a pretty damn sexy poster for a phone company, and it just so happens you’re in need of a new phone contract. You type their URL into Safari, eagerly expecting to find out more… only to find that the colour scheme differs from the poster, the typeface is off, the logo is inconsistent, and the whole thing feels like an entirely different company. Would you still want to trust this company with your money and rely on them for service?
Too often, this inconsistency is the result of forgotten brand standards. It can be tricky to remember all the little things that make your brand what it is, and after some time, the details will start falling through the cracks. That’s why it’s important to invest in a brand manual, or style guide.
Read This ArticleLet’s admit it: marketers are in an online rat race. As all of us with an internet connection and a functioning pair of eyes know, marketers are stumbling over each other to get 100,000 more views on their videos than their competitor, to engage more fans on facebook, to get more twitter followers retweeting their posts. Is social media marketing worth the time that marketers are putting into it? Well, we don’t know for sure yet (it’s all too new), but the logical answer still remains: the platform you’re marketing on doesn’t matter—your marketing ingenuity makes or breaks your campaign. It’s rare that we as consumers see a marketing campaign that truly connects with us and wins us over. Amongst all the bland, cheeseball marketing we see, it’s rare to find something special—so when something like Innocent comes along, we fall in love.
Read This ArticleAs an experienced graphic design, branding consultancy and communication firm, we’ve had the pleasure of working with a whole variety of clients. From schools to restaurants to yoga studios, we’ve worked with ‘em all, and have truly enjoyed getting to know many industries. Our expertise, however, lies within servicing likeminded creators and designers in professional service firms. Specifically, we’re talking about architecture, engineering, and construction firms. That’s why we decided to try to expand what we do to a different city; a city with a reputation, a history, and a strong design community. It only made sense to pick Chicago.
Read This ArticleA couple of months ago, I stumbled onto a surprisingly impressive, tongue-in-cheek blog called Hipster Branding. Although the concept is old hat (aren’t people tired of the word ‘hipster’ yet?), the point behind the blog is articulated skillfully. The designer, Dave Spengeler, took famous, bloated corporations such as McDonald’s, Nike, and Fedex, and redesigned their logos in a way that would appeal to a supposedly frame-wearing, cocktail-drinking, Kafka-reading subculture. The results are astounding: every single logo feels smarter, classier, boutique, and appealing to that type of person – all because of a few new typefaces and shapes.
Why is it that appearance makes such an immediate impact? Why is it that it can make or break so many of our decisions, create or destroy brand loyalties, and tap into our strongest instincts? A few theories and some wise words by Don Norman begin to explain the reasons behind it all – and even prove just how far appearance can go.
Read This Article
As a brand strategy consultancy, we regularly name companies and create logotype and logomarks for our clients. Some who have never gone through the process before haven’t considered the legal implications of their new name and brand—avoiding treading on another company’s property, and protecting their new creation. That’s why, early in the process we involve […]
Read This Article
Recently I asked our partners a question that they must get asked all the time. It goes something like this: Why can’t people just use a company that will design something cheap and bang it out in a day? I know the guys could talk for hours about this, and we’ve written about this on […]
Read This ArticlePinterest, an online bulletin board for your favorite images that launched in 2010 and is experiencing wild growth, is driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined, according to a recent report from Cambridge, Mass.-based content-sharing site Shareaholic. But here are a few things you need to know about […]
Read This Article
Did you know the name Apple was inspired while Steve Jobs was pruning Gravenstein apple trees on his friend’s orchard? According to the recent Steve Jobs biography, Apple Computer could have just as easily been called Personal Computing International. Had it been, who knows if it would have met with the same iconic success. The […]
Read This Article