We recently won the opportunity to work for a really unique brand in a category that we've for years had great passion for. It's considered a "sexy" thing to work on within the design field and has a nice blend of brand identity, packaging and other materials. And the brand is located in our great state of Michigan.
Now, this unique brand happens to be family-owned (second generation) which can sometimes create pitfalls when you're being asked to shepherd change. Granted, they knew that they needed help which was the reason they seeked our assitance in the first place. But they weren't sure just how much help they needed.
In one of our first meetings with them we backed up and asked about their logo, which they've had for some time. Their brand was founded in 1974 and the original logo came shortly after. For that reason, they said "we're not sure that we're comfortable with changing our logo". We then did our best to tread somewhat lightly and tell them that... well... their logo simply wasn't very good. It had many things wrong with it: it didn't reduce well, it was too horizontal, the forms were inconsistent and un-balanced, and it looked dated. All these things made us feel uncomfortable building a strong, fresh brand identity upon it.
But what the old logo did have going for it was: a great story, recognition with their audience, and a relationship with the founding family that made it seem human. But we still recommended that we change it. We then explained to them the need to at least explore how a new logo could still reflect the heritage of the brand and point towards the future at the same time. We told them we understood that their current logo was like a family friend and we needed to be respectful of change. We explained that we didn't want to somehow allow a new logo to disrupt their sales which were up some 31% over the past year. And we understood that they have had for years a loyal brand following that is on the rise. Reluctantly, they agreed to allow us explore a logo change. Looking back on it, it was a little like pulling an old, trusted bone away from a dog.
So, explore we did. And after a couple months of exploration and refinement, our client has a new logo. A logo that turned out quite nice: for us, for the future of the brand, and most importantly, for our client. And our client was actually quite surprised by how much they liked the new logo. But, to us, it makes perfect sense. We designed a logo that gives back to them. Yes, we created something fresh and new. But it's fresh and new in a way that seems old and trusted. The new logo finds a way to reflect all the way back to 1974 but is still able to thrive today. And it's an effective visual component strong enough to build a wonderful brand identity upon. Simply put, it's a much better version of what they've had for years.
Some would say that "exploring" based on the above restrictions isn't really exploring at all. But isn't that really what design is about? Blending creativity with rationale and context? What we did was create solutions based on our clients concerns. Did we do great work? We think so. Did we choose to give a dog a new bone so he'd be our friend? Yes. But I guarantee that their brand will be the better for it for years to come. •
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