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• WELL-DESIGNED WORK, marketing

  Questions for Crafting Your Brand

  04.12.10 | This post was written by: admin | Permalink | Comment?

  What do you think of when you hear the word “brand?” If you’re like most folks, products like Coca-Cola or Toyota come to mind. We sometimes think “brands” are limited to big business and giant corporations. But, it’s important for even small businesses or organizations to consider their “brands” and devote effort to building them. The process of developing the “brand” of your company or organization begins with asking questions.

  First: What is a brand anyway?

  There are many definitions of “brand” out there, but perhaps the most basic is this: Your brand is the “image” of your business in the marketplace. That image is a combination of your story and your message, as well as the perceptions of your company or organization in the marketplace — how your target audience and the public at large view your company, your people, your products and your services.

  “Brands” can be crafted, but they don’t exist in a vacuum. Maintaining a consistent and positive brand image is an essential tool for productive marketing. It involves consistently taking the temperature of your business or organization both internally and externally.

  When you build your brand, you begin by understanding and recognizing who you are as a company and what you have to offer. You craft a “look” and a message that reflects your unique offerings. You gauge how your target audience and the greater marketplace perceives that image. You adjust. You plan ahead to capitalize on market and internal changes. The goal is helping those two visions (internal and external) to slowly coalesce into a single view or image that makes your business seem like the best (or only) option for our customers.

  At Dux D’Lux, when we begin the process of understanding and further developing the “brand” of a business, we often begin with a series of questions to help our client get into the right branding mindset and begin to recognize their own company’s image.

  These questions can help you begin to craft your brand…

  • What do I have to offer that no one else can?

  • What sets me apart and makes my organization unique?

  • What 3 words do I want customers to use to describe my company? My products? My people?

  • Who is my ideal customer?

  • Who is my competition?

  • What differentiates me from my competition?

  • How does my organization address the specific needs of my industry?

  • What kind of reputation does my business have?

  • How do I deal with dissatisfied customers?

  • What is the first thing I want people to think when they hear my company name?

  • In one sentence, what is the story of my business?

  For a broader view of how your company is perceived, consider asking a sampling of your team members and customers these same questions. The answers can give you great insight into how effective your story telling is and what ways your brand may need to shift or expand.

  As you consider branding for your company, think of the businesses within your market area (regardless of industry). Which ones stand out as the most impressive and why? What can you learn from those impressions to improve your approach to your own brand?

• graphic design, marketing

  Logo Design 101

  08.31.09 | This post was written by: Haley Montgomery | Permalink | Comment?

  In my tenure as Art Director of Dux D’Lux I’ve had the opportunity to work on many different types of projects from postcards, brochures and posters to tradeshow graphics, menus and billboards. Regardless of the exact specifications, one element is a consistent requirement for almost every marketing project I create: a logo. It’s hard to produce effective marketing materials without one.

  A logo design that is used repeatedly throughout a company’s marketing program can greatly increase the effectiveness of each piece by providing much-needed brand recognition, by conveying important “at-a-glance” information about products and services and by offering a consistent and professional “look” for all business communications. It sounds good, right? But, how can you be sure you have an effective logo?

  When I put on my pink self-promotion hat (the one with the whirligig on top), the short answer is to call Dux D’Lux, of course. But, there are a few guidelines that I often share with clients who are contemplating the logo development process. Creating a company or organizational logo or comprehensive brand can be a difficult and time-consuming process. It helps to set a few parameters at the outset for what constitutes a good logo design–what an effective logo must accomplish for your business. Consider these four requirements as you begin the process.

  APPEAL. 
A visual identity should appeal to your prospective clientele, and help your business stand out among the many symbols and images confronting them daily. In addition, even if your customer base is fairly specific, your logo will be viewed by a wider audience. Thus, it can effect your company’s reputation even among people outside your target group. A visual identity should create favorable associations for a wide range of people without alienating.

TIME. 
An effective visual identity has a timeless look and appeal. Although it will probably be updated several times throughout your company’s life, in most situations a logo should serve you for a decade or more. While your business strategies may respond to trends, a trendy logo will more likely undermine your company image.

  FLEXIBILITY. 
Your logo will be used in a variety of applications throughout its life. It must work equally well from business cards to billboards. It should be adaptable for use in many media including offset printing, screen printing, promotional product production, video, internet, etc. Although it is important to be consistent in the use of color in your logo, it should also be easily converted to black and white, for cases when a 1-color application is more economical.

APPROPRIATENESS. 
An effective visual identity communicates your business style and strategies. It interprets your company goals, commitments and services for the public. The “look” of your identity, your choice of images, colors and typefaces, should reflect the reality of what you do, as well as the image you want to portray.

  APPEAL. A visual identity should appeal to your prospective clientele, and help your business stand out among the many symbols and images confronting them daily. In addition, even if your customer base is fairly specific, your logo will be viewed by a wider audience. Thus, it can effect your company’s reputation even among people outside your target group. A visual identity should create favorable associations for a wide range of people without alienating.

  TIME. An effective visual identity has a timeless look and appeal. Although it will probably be updated several times throughout your company’s life, in most situations a logo should serve you for a decade or more. While your business strategies may respond to trends, a trendy logo will more likely undermine your company image.

  FLEXIBILITY. Your logo will be used in a variety of applications throughout its life. It must work equally well from business cards to billboards. It should be adaptable for use in many media including offset printing, screen printing, promotional product production, video, internet, etc. Although it is important to be consistent in the use of color in your logo, it should also be easily converted to black and white, for cases when a 1-color application is more economical.

  APPROPRIATENESS. An effective visual identity communicates your business style and strategies. It interprets your company goals, commitments and services for the public. The “look” of your identity, your choice of images, colors and typefaces, should reflect the reality of what you do, as well as the image you want to portray.

  If you are ready to create a more professional and attractive image for your organization, an effective logo is the first step. Give us a call! Of all the projects I mentioned, logo development is definitely my FAVORITE.

• dux insider

  Freaky Friday + Fonts

  07.31.09 | This post was written by: Haley Montgomery | Permalink | Comment?

  We’re starting a new pseudo-series today called Freaky Friday. You’ve probably seen the old teen flick where the mother and daughter accidentally switch bodies and end up discovering just how much fun (or humiliation) the other one’s having. Well, we’ve decided to host a little Freaky Friday-ness of our own and give you the opportunity to get inside the heads (and lives) of some of the Sitting Dux. Although it may seem like we are chained to our desks or screen platons, most of us actually leave the building on a daily basis to pursue life and fun in the great big world. Because we’re a small and close-knit team, we like to share in the accomplishments and joys discovered out there with our respective families. On Fridays, we want to showcase some of the pastimes, happenings and creative pursuits of our staff and give you the opportunity to get to know us a little better–and the lives that fuel our creative spirits on Dux time.

  For our first Freaky Friday, I hope you’ll forgive a truly personal note about a milestone in my family. My husband and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary today and are reveling in the joy of just how much life has blossomed over the last decade. Congrats and kisses to Mike, my lifelong love. …And, daddy to our three little gifts: ages 4, 2 1/2 and 11 months. Talk about your creative spirit! Birthing and nurturing three baby lives is a thrill a minute.

  Having just oohed and aahed our way through another Dux wedding a few weeks ago (more on that next week), I’ve been thinking about the old-fashioned formality of personal invitations, handwriting, bridal name changes, and the time-honored monogram. There is hardly anything more powerful than a group of letters cleverly combined to represent a new beginning–whether it’s the beginning of a new family or a new company. When Mike and I became engaged, I designed a monogram reflecting our first names, our commitment and our faith. It was later used on wedding invitations, calling cards, thank you notes and even a few hand-decorated cookies. Yummy! I thought I’d share it along with some of the other logos and icons we’ve designed that are derived from interesting typographic representations. Enjoy!

  

  

  

  

  

  

• WELL-DESIGNED WORK, graphic design

  Good Read: Logo Design No-nos

  07.14.09 | This post was written by: Haley Montgomery | Permalink | Comment?

  If you know us, you know we read a lot. A LOT. We don’t subscribe to the notion that giving designers too much reference material will hinder their creativity. Nonsense! A few good ideas can’t get a great creative mind down. In fact, we find that we can be our most creative when we keep our eyes open. So… I hope to periodically pass on some of the great resources that have been inspiring, educating, and even tempting us. Here’s one:

  We came across this sage advice from webdesignerdepot.com on how NOT to design a logo. It offers great insight on some of the common pitfalls companies and organizations encounter when embarking on the logo development process. There are many misconceptions about what a logo is and how to design one. I often tell clients that developing a logo can be a painful process for an organization, and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. It involves a serious understanding of the mechanics of design communication as well as the ability to meld insight from various stakeholders and target audiences. Not for the faint of heart!  As the article highlights, the designer/client relationship is crucial to developing a truly effective logo design that can stand the test of time. Quick fix options like contests and logo “farms” can take that trusted relationship out of the equation and dilute the quality of a brand image.

  I’m inspired! Stay tuned for some of our logo design project hits and misfits–pretty good logo concepts we discarded along the road to creating the BEST solutions for our logo development clients.