I recently had lunch with a good friend who is the director of an amazing non-profit.

 

My friend is not too brand savvy but he realized that their logo, tagline, website and collateral materials are not appropriate for their organization. Between munching on our sandwiches I asked him a few questions about his organization and their branding and we both came to the conclusion that they went about it the wrong way.

 

Most of their graphic design work was obtained via donation by people that had some interest in their organization. Often these people brought a greater dose of good intentions than design skills to the table. Resulting in a visual mush.

 

Like many non-profits, they also operate on a frugal budget and were grateful for the design services that were donated to them. But here’s the kicker - the previous director had the visual mush trademarked. The attorney fees alone sliced a few thousand dollars out of their budget, never mind the poor branding that will hinder them in presenting a professional image to future donors and the many state and government departments that they deal with on a daily basis.

 

 

 

Not to flog a dead horse but “you get what you pay for.” Do not accept design services (or any service for that matter) based on the fact that it was offered for free. Check out the designers portfolio and references before you accept. Make sure the designer understands branding – she will ask a lot of questions and do bunch of research – as a whole and will treat your project with the same attention and commitment as a paid-for project. On the other hand, raise the money and hire a professional that will help you create a brand that will make you proud.

 

Unfortunately I hear this or a variation of it all the time “My nephew knows computers and he built my web site”. But I have never heard, “My nephew is a medical rep and he did my knee surgery”.

 

Why are you willing to trust your brand to an amateur but not your medical needs.

Remember your brand is an asset. Treat it like one.

Every year Interbrand, the leader in brand consultancy, publishes a list of the top 100 global brands ranking them according to their brand value with the usual suspects like Coca-Cola, Google and McDonalds in the top five. Interbrand’s method looks at the ongoing investment and management of the brand as a business asset, and then assigns a dollar value to that asset.

 

Quite interesting to see the darling of marketing and branding case studies Harley Davidson slipping a whopping 24% down to 98 from their previous position at 74. That is a massive billion dollars lost in brand equity.

 

Harley Davidson has been virtually stagnant in developing and launching new products and have been selling the same motorcycles to the same demographic. If they were Baskins Robbins the menu would have 31 flavors but they're all vanilla.

 

Enough of Harley Davidson, go check out the Top 100 List at the Interbrand Website.

Logo - A logo is not your brand it is a simple visual mark or icon to identify your business. A logo should be simple, memorable, appropiate and reproducible. Will it work on a business card, a billboard or embroidered on a shirt. A photo of your dog will not work as a logo for your pet grooming business. Starbucks does not have a steaming paper cup as their logo but we all know how to spot their green circle logo when we need our caffeine fix. Logos get their meaning and value from the quality of the company, product or service it symbolizes.

 

Identity - The visual elements that form part of the all-embracing brand. The identity is made up by the visual devices used within a company. This is often assembled in a set of guidelines that comprises of color palettes, fonts, layouts and so on. These guidelines ensure cohesive application of the identity across different media.

 

Many visual devices contribute to the identity:

▪ logo

▪ stationery

▪ marketing collateral

▪ packaging

▪ signage

▪ interior and exterior design

▪ vehicle livery

▪ apparel

 

Brand - The perceived emotional corporate experience as a whole. Lots of books have been written about branding and it’s certainly not a light topic but in  a nutshell it is how the organization, product or service is perceived by it’s audience. The gut-feeling people have about it. What people say about your company, service or product and not what you say about it.

Everything a company does, makes or owns should reflect the values and goals of the business as a whole.

 

Take Apple computer for example. Their business values are evident throughout everything they do, from innovative products and creative advertising, right down to customer service. Apple really connects with people on an emotional level– when people buy or use their products or services; they feel part of the brand, very much like being part of a tribe. This emotional connection creates their brand – not purely their products and logo.

 

Are your clients emotionally connected to your brand?

 

I have made some changes to the portfolio part and culled and eliminated some older work, added a few new projects like the identity system for my sweet wife Tandi -  check out her new stationery and web site.

 

"So… you just get on your Mac and start designing a logo - and you want how much for it?" Most designers have heard this eleventybillion times and In order to clear this misconception up I have expanded some on the design process. I'm planning a future blog post explaining the whole process from rough sketches to the final artwork. Stay tuned.

 

I've also added a blog page where I will share some random stuff that's going on, here in the studio and in my head. I will try and keep the post interesting and informative, covering design and branding topics as well as some other things I'm interested in, motorcycles, coffee, furniture, food etc.