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Inside the Corporate Mark Sausage Factory: The Steps Necessary to Develop a Logo

Part 2: Making Your Brand Toolbox Rattle. Follow this link to Part 1

Creating a new corporate mark (logo) can be an extremely complicated, politically charged and time-consuming experience. In most cases, the project follows the horizontal, left to right, straight-line path–as outlined in the selected designer’s project proposal. As with all collaborative endeavors, there is sure to be a little turbulence between takeoff and landing.

 

Town Wharf General Store, final logo

 

 

concept sketch 1

concept sketch 2

concept sketch 3

concept sketch 4

The most important suggestion that I can offer,
is to make sure that ALL decision makers are included
in the initial meetings.

 

The worst, but too often common form of project derailment? A stakeholder’s spouse (usually with some sort of artistic background) who enters the process at the last minute. “I showed the direction to my wife, who was thinking that a brush stroke over the letter ‘i’ might add a little more of what is missing.” “I showed the logo to my husband and he hates it! He has never been a big fan of olive green.”

Here are the process steps that EYMER DESIGN follows in corporate mark development:

1. We research the company, review competitors, and when possible, interview key company stakeholders and decision-makers.
   
   
2. Rough black & white, idea sketches (more than 4, less than 30) are developed for client presentation.
   
   
3. The designer and client team meets, and through spirited banter and thoughtful discource–reduces the field to a handful of candidates.
   
   
4. The semifinalists enter a refinement stage where ‘tweaks’ discussed during the presentation meeting, are applied.
   
   
5. The designer and client teams reconvene to review the honed and polished directions, ideally reducing the field to a single direction (but in some cases, a straggler or two remain).
   
   
6. The survivor is rebuffed and repolished. Color is then added to the black and white logo. In most cases, the color palette will include no more than two colors. At least four color palettes are usually demonstrated by my firm.


   
   
   finished logo for environmental law firm, plus a selection of first round concepts
   
   FUN COLOR FACTS:

   
   • I have designed way to many corporate marks using PMS 300 (blue) and PMS 430 (gray).

   • For some reason, the color green (especially variations approaching olive), is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to sell. What’s up with this? Green is so prominently featured in both nature and money, you who think that it would be a shoo in!
     
     
     

     corporate mark, color studies
     
     
     
7. In a meeting, the refined and colored variations are provided for final review and selection.
   
   

SIDEBAR:
   
Tom Simons (PARTNERS+simons), taught me a clever selection process for large client groups. Each decisionmaker is presented with two pennies. The printed ideas are laid out on a large flat surface. Each participant has two votes. The pennies can be split between two directions or the pair may be used on a single direction. Sounds corny, but once everyone has “given their 2¢”–consensus has been quickly reached and the selected direction quickly enters the final stage of development. For large client gatherings, the same process may be implemented for steps 2 and 4.
   
   
   
8. Following the final vote and creation of the distributable, final electronic logo files, the process is complete. 

You now have a new corporate mark! Just for fun, go back to the original sketches and trace the steps. It is so interesting to see where, through team collaboration, the process started and where it ended up.
   
   

Next Episode:
Wrapping Some Guidelines Around Your New Logo:
Before Some Designer Maverick Messes With It

 

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Before Ditching Your Hideous Logo, Please Consider Your Brand Equity

So you have to look at your logo as a coat of arms. Quick visual reference (close your eyes), armored knight on horseback holding shield emblazoned with his own brand identity.

Now zoom ahead a few hundred years and picture a Marlboro-toking cowboy burning the flesh of a captive steer with a heated metal embossing die. 

Quite simply, the purpose your organizations logo, or corporate mark (as we professionals prefer to call it) is designed to cause the viewer's brain to make an extremely rapid leap. Red dot, Japan. Red maple leaf, Canada. Red octagon, STOP!

(You may open your eyes now.)

 

The original Nike "SWOOSH"

 

Of course, the other secret to creating this cranial short circuit is repetition.The more times that we experience your mark, the deeper it is being engrained into our mental circuitry. 

Impressions. 

Impressions. 

Impressions. 

Without visual bombardment, the Nike swoosh would probably remain a checkmark and the Apple logo, a piece of partially eaten fruit. Because we have seen these two graphic symbols, millions and millions of times–we know immediately, what each symbol represents.

 

The original Apple Computer logo

As a young graphic designer, your first major league grand slam may happen when your logo idea is selected by a client, passes through the approval gauntlet, and begins to appear in public. 

 

 

This was my first "professional" corporate mark. I worked on this project at Selame Design Associates, in 1984. TASTEE makes kits that turn regular apples into candy or carmel covered treats.

 

"See that logo on the 'make your own candy apples kit.' That's my work!" 

You have achieved instant rock star status–at least within the corner of Stop & Shop's produce aisle. The hot chicks will be swarming now.

There is a natural desire, especially amongst non-business savvy designers, to trash an existing corporate mark, in favor of a new and shinier direction. As a business owner, please be extremely careful. Make sure that there are solid business reasons to make the change and it is not just a means of sprucing up your designer's portfolio.

Yes, there are pant-loads of ineffective corporate marks out there. Although many require immediate erasure, there are some that require only a small bit of logo triage. 

Keep in mind, the visual brand equity that has been collected through repeated exposure, does have value and requires careful consideration. Risking the loss of such an investment by wiping away a brand's visual direction, may end up causing more harm than good.

There are many cases, especially, when there is a limited marketing budget, to make minor modifications to a corporate mark, rather than starting from scratch. 

Consider both the positive and negative ramifications of a corporate identity change. When the new look is completed, understand how it is going to be rolled out. 

You have already trained your audience one, a change to your corporate identity may require a reintroduction and refresher course. – Doug.

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Part One. The Checklist

As a marketing communications specialist, my design ‘sweet spot’ is the development of an organization’s visual identity and visual identity system. Whether I am working for a startup, local retailer or a well-established brand – there is a fairly standard list of ‘immediate needs.’

Below is my list, that has remained fairly consistent over the past few years. Throughout the next week or so, I will be breaking down each of the 9 elements and providing some thoughtful advise and considerations.

One quick quiz question, though.
From the list below, which element is teetering on extinction?

1. Corporate Mark / a.k.a. Logo

• Full color version
• One specified color + black
• 100% black
• Black + screens of black
• ‘Knockout’ version (when the logo is placed on a dark background)
• Electronic file formats: .eps, .jpg, .png


2. Color Palette

• RGB (onscreen: red, green, blue)
• CMYK (onscreen printing)
• Web Colors (hexadecimal notation)


3. Typography Palettes (print and online versions)

• When specific (custom) fonts are available
• Fonts from the standard system collection (built in to your computer)

4. Business Card

5. Letterhead (and optional second sheet)

6. #10 Envelope

7. Mailing Label

8. Microsoft Word Templates

9. PowerPoint Template


Thanks for checking in and if you have any questions, thoughts or comments; please feel free to let me know. – Doug.

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I am a 52 year-old “Content Interruptor,” who has survived two horrific professional meteor strikes. The first direct hit, in the mid-1980s, blew open the studio doors and dropped technology, snap dab in the middle of the floor – driving out the stoic Amish craftspeople that refused to breathe in the new air of change.

The second bombardment took place nearly 10 years later when the Web suddenly sprouted – quickly and evasively, overtaking the creative garden. It was paper over pixel, and guess who won.



Remember the 60s, 70s and 80s? We were willing to sit through a seemingly endless string of television commercials, to view the conclusion of our favorite TV show. We had no choice.

If you wished to see Corporal Agarn patch up community relations with the Hekawi, you had to sit through ads from Geritol, Wonder Bread and Virginia Slims.

Your life was temporarily interrupted.

Unless you were patiently sitting on your couch when the drama returned, you might very well have missed the big wrap-up. You the viewer, were NOT in control.

The tables have turned. Again.

When your weekly dose of MAD MEN is missed, there are nearly a bazillion ways to catch up on Don Draper’s bizarre hobo flashbacks and bedroom rampages. Through various resources –you can watch MAD MEN whenever you darn well please. Today, as a viewer, you are in control!

There was a time not too long ago, when a marketing professional, lead his prospects down a gently winding path of subtlety and lighthearted innuendo. Birds chirped and flowers swayed in the breeze.

In 2013, the once light tap of subtle messaging on your shoulder, has been replaced with a bullhorn and ball peen hammer.

Ten point type has been replaced by 18 point – BOLD and Italic with three exclamation marks!!!

PMS 185 (red) is the new PMS 430 (gray).

Prospects are up to our necks in gurgling content. To be heard, you and your marketing professional must slash through the jungle, lose the subtlety, and position your marketing so that you become the “Content Interruptors” that you need to be.

Trudge on. – Doug.

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*from a graphic design career perspective, of course

1. Be more perfect than Jesus. 


One wrong digit in a telephone number can bring a project to its knees – costing your client thousands of dollars. Keep your eye on the ball and sweat out every minuscule detail. If you are incapable of making a final proof, find someone who can. Make sure that your client signs-off.

2. Not every client logo sucks.


Despite your desire to make every logo your own, most companies have spend pant-loads of money getting their name and corporate identity out into public view. Unless their logo is offensive, illegible, or a direct ripoff of someone else – from a brand equity perspective, you may have to hang with it for a while.

3. You are NOT an artist, dammit.


People are not paying you to reveal your innermost feelings and expressively demonstrate your very own personal hangups. They have hired you because they feel confident in your ability to make their business brand stronger, generate more interest in their products and/or services, and ultimately – you are responsible for bringing customers through their door, bulging wallet in hand.

Now let’s get to work! – Doug.

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When ‘Artsy-Fartsy’ becomes ‘Creativity’ – and is recognized by the mainstream media, as one of this America’s most promising natural resources.

In the May 20 issue of Time, there is a single page article entitled: “Assessing the Creative Spark, What Americans think about creativity."

From a page real estate perspective, the article is 65% picture and 35% text. This fits perfectly with the poll results, showing that 50% of those interviewed first define creativity as ‘pictures’, over ‘words’ and ‘sounds’.

In my opinion, there are some important things happening here:

1. Life is now too damn fast for reading. A well developed ‘picture’ (often referred too as an infographic – a new word, still questioned by my spell checker) is has a much quicker cranial upload speed. Letters need to be deciphered into words, words into sentences, sentences into… blah, blah, blah. You get the picture. (No pun intended.) We are the USA Today generation.
   
   
2. Modern creative individuals, such as Walt Disney and Steve Jobs have proven that it is possible to make a ton of money, creating paradigm shifting, mainstream products – within their own lifetime. This beats the pants off of poor fellows like Vincent Van Gogh and Herman Melville, who never saw a penny from their creative works until long after their expiration date.
   
   
3. Because every moment of our spare time now involves a backlit screen (smart phone, tablet, laptop, desktop… blah, blah, blah) – there is an incredible demand for screen filler (content).

Quite suddenly, the creative is in demand! To steal terminology from my CPA/MBA brother-in-law, the ‘bean-counting number-crunchers’ are suddenly recognizing the value of us ‘creative-types’.

Here’s hoping that our society is ready to pay for it! – Doug.

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The Pandora Bracelet: An Ingenious Serial Gift

I made my biannual trip to the local shopping mall over the weekend. Trust me, I do everything in my power to avoid the indoor shopping experience. However, there are certain times when a mall journey is the only option. This year it has been Christmas and Mother's Day.

Earlier in my life, I was up to date with the best and brightest retail brands. Over the years I have become much more numb to the world of the newest and hippest – I am not yet wearing the traditional, frugal Yankee, wool sport coat with elbow patches –but I appear to be headed in that direction.

During my last two forced marches to the South Shore Plaza, I have experienced, first-hand, the incredible popularity of Pandora bracelets. In preparation for female-inclusive, gift-giving holidays, a fifty yard line of customers leading into the narrow Pandora store, is not unusual.

The Pandora concept is nothing new. It is an update of the classic charm bracelet. You buy the bracelet which is available in multiple materials – within a price range of between $40 and $1400, with most models priced at the lower end of this wide range.

Charms (beads) for these bracelets, part of an ever-changing assortment (with a built-in collect-ability aspect) are available for between $35 and just over $300, again, most are priced towards the less expensive end of the dollar spectrum.

The individual components are massed produced trinkets. It is when you ‘build’ your bracelet, one bead at a time, that it begins to take on its own unique character. For the gift-provider, each bead represents another mandatory present, checked off the holiday gift list.

Sure, a Pandora commitment may mean standing in line for an hour or more, but to this shopper – it saves me from the overwhelming clutter and distraction of a ransacked Macy’s, stalking undefined game, that must the fashion sense and size specifications of the gift recipient.

From a design, marketing and personal standpoint, I congratulate Pandora on creating a killer serial gift! – Doug.

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Setting Our Own Rules for this Mad, Mad, World

Setting Our Own Rules for this Mad, Mad, World

The world is moving too damn fast. Machines originally built to streamline the daily grind, allowing for more leisure activity – have now enabled us to get twice as much done within the same amount of work time.

Weekends, once a respite for rest and refueling, are now fair game for work related interruptions and ‘catch-up’ time. In addition, the rules of business engagement, established over centuries of trial and error, are rewritten on an almost daily basis.

Living through tragic Boston Marathon bombings, we have all witnessed firsthand, the problems associated with round-the-clock news reporting. The information spigot has been left open – spewing every drop of unfiltered nugget of information into the trough and down the drain – before, it can be properly deciphered.

Now more than ever, it is important for us as individuals to establish our own rules of engagement with the world – because believe it or not, you are in control.

For the past year, I have been working with Sunil Bhaskaran, a Business Performance Consultant, who runs a company entitled Cahaya Mind. I met Sunil at a conference on conscious capitalism, following my work for YouthTrade, a company built to enable and empower young entrepreneurs from around the world. Sunil was a guest speaker and lead breakout session, that I attended.

At the time, I was working extremely hard, many hours a week. After participating in his presentation, I realized that through Sunil’s direction, teaching, and leadership – I had found the compass that I was looking for to guide me through the many distractions of twenty-first century living.

We generally meet by telephone, twice a month for an hour. However, on a daily basis, I email Sunil a report of my intended actions for that day, the previous day, updates for my yearly goals and an ongoing project – mapping out the next 10+ years.

For this ‘outside the box’ thinker, this structure was at first worrisome. I am not a person that appreciates rules and formality. Initially, I was a bit nervous and apprehensive.

Now, many months later, I realize that once the structure has been set up, I have more time to do what I like to do best – create! – Doug.

BeigeCubicle: the art of running an independent business outside the corporate box

Please check out our new blog, BeigeCubicle, the definitive guide for today’s home-based (or home-bound) worker.

While the blog name may be dull, we promise to be anything but.

Periodically we’ll publish colorful content, an occasional cartoon, and tried-and-tested tips for making your home-office life more productive and enjoyable (or at least bearable) during long stretches of social isolation.

We’ll curate only the best advice from thought leaders and promise not to clutter your feeds or in-boxes with fluff.

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I have Successfully Reached the Top 1% on LinkedIn

 

 

I just received some nice recognition from the folks at LinkedIn. It seems as though my profile is one of the most visited, on the planet's leading business-oriented social networking site. I am not actually sure how much design and marketing business this is bringing in but I know that it is definitely generating buzz.

If you haven't estabished yourself on LinkedIn, the "Blizzard of 2013" might give you the time that you need to get started. – cheers, Doug.

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