Now, let’s be clear — we don’t believe in a formula that works every single time. We acknowledge (and even revere) the pure intuition that is an indisputable part of our craft. But, we also figure a little check-listing never hurt creative types, and it’s all about balance, right? Right. Without further ado…

Step 1 : Kick-off meeting

Grimm Brothers is a start up company here in Tenfold’s hometown of Loveland CO. Knowing that they were one of many small breweries in this area they wanted to stand out and make their mark. It’s what they needed. It’s what we do. Sounded like a good match.

We started by meeting Grimm for a get to know you session in which we walked through our creative brief together. The creative brief gives a framework to the conversation, but really we try to keep the kick-off meetings organic — sharing our thoughts and ideas, and in this case, maybe a few too many tastes of their incredible German-style brews.

Step 2 : Internal Processing

Ideas have to digest, so once we had the information we needed from the kick-off we internally distilled it into “attributes” that we thought the brand should communicate. Our hope is to always get three to five. We knew the folks at Grimm loved the old-world German feel, so, within that framework, we came up with three distinct aesthetic categories on which to base our concepts; Old world, Classic Fairy tale, and German crest meets mid-century modern. Once the attributes are determined we run with it, then pow-wow to discuss our results and create a presentation.

Step 3 : Presentation of concepts

A lonely logo often leaves a client feeling underwhelmed, so we remove the guesswork by presenting concepts that are fully articulated in the first round. This often includes letterhead, business cards, vehicle wraps – whatever application we know will be critical to that brand. As a result, we spend about 75% of our estimated project hours on the first round. It’s a gamble that has backfired a few times, but for the most part, presenting a fully articulated brand package has made for happy clients who feel confident they know what they’re getting into.

Step 4 : Revisions

Secretly we hope the client will see the designs, fall in love with one and want it exactly as it is. But, since we want to appear flexible and would hate to be perceived as overtly Pollyanna, we plan on 2 (or so) rounds of revisions. Based on the feedback from the previous round, we provide another version of the chosen logo, including type and image variations. Grimm loved the eagle in version three, but they weren’t digging the starkness of the original, so the design moved forward with options that kept the eagle but incorporated some of the old-world elements from the first design. We dug it. They dug it. We liked them both. They chose option two. Contentment all around.

Step 5 : Brand Build out

Branding is really the gift that keeps on giving. If you’re lucky (like we were here) after the main elements are complete, website and other industry specific items follow. For a Brewery it’s coasters, tap handles, and brew labels. Building out these other pieces is one of the most challenging but rewarding parts of the branding process for us because you truly get the chance to create personality and voice. Elements look appropriate to the brand family, but have their own distinct details and purpose. Come to think of it, that’s actually how we feel about ourselves too. Thus Collective. It’s the whole package, process, intuition, happy accidents, collaboration. Individual bits, pieces, people creating a whole. Sigh, how much more romantic could we get?

Contact The Tenfold Collective:

Website: http://www.tenfoldcollective.com
Twitter: @10xCollective
Telephone: 970 744 4221
Email: howdy@tenfoldcollective.com
Blog: http://www.tenfoldcollective.com/blog

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A father-and-son team based in Bend, Ore., approached us for a brand identity design. Through the branding process, Sean Patrick and his father, Dennis Patrick, got to explore what made them really excited, and also, where and how they excel. Along the way, we were inspired to drop their original name, which was Western Renewables Alliance. Dennis, a longtime electrical contractor, said: “There’s always a way to do it. You just have to be innovative.”

And so the startup once known as Western Renewables Alliance augmented their ideas about what they could offer the world. The minute they did that, they started to embody the persona of brand now known as Million Monarchs.

Internet as Receptionist & Office

Design Kompany changed, too. Or more specifically, our process. Akira and I never would have imagined working virtually with anyone. That’s because we know just how important the words we don’t say are as the ones that we do. For past branding projects, we flew to LA to meet insurance advisors Ajay and Garima Gupta and to Charlotte to see firsthand the works of glass artist Mark Selleck.

We’d just relocated from Seattle to Durham, NC, and the Northwest suddenly seemed far. Million Monarchs wasn’t going to be able to fly us out, so we had to get creative. Branding a renewable energy company? That was just too exciting.

So for our first interview, I suggested Skype. “It’s a free video conferencing software, and a little more engaging than a phone call,” I said. “If we can’t meet in person, it’s the next best thing.”

DK’s Akira Morita (left) explains that Pantone colors don’t always print consistently. Also pictured: DK’s Dipika Kohli (center) and Million Monarchs’ Sean Patrick (screen).

Talking through a screen with family was fine. But using Skype for work? That seemed weird. I know people all over the world do it, but this was new for us. Dennis was a little reticent at first, but by the end of the interview he’d moved into the picture.

What I learned from this is how you can capture so much nonverbal subtlety in real-time video chats. Virtual meetings are tight and efficient, too. There’s less stress when it comes to the usual things that happen when you meet regularly: schedule changes, getting lost, and looking for parking.

That said, I did miss some things about being with our clients in a physical space. Last year, Akira and I bought a cool orange teapot from which to serve our guests a selection of rooibos, English, or green teas. Loved the teacups, too. We’d also splurged on an eight-person dining table, justifying it as a pre-Thanksgiving necessity, in part, but mostly because it was perfect for our mood board collage session. This time it was impossible to say, “Let’s get up now, walk around the table, see what’s there and what patterns emerge.”

That physical part is so vital to building rapport. I still feel that way. That’s why later this June, Akira flies to the Northwest to meet Sean as we explore Million Monarchs Phase II and beyond.

One major insight for me was to realize that the introduction to our company is now an online experience. More so today than ever. It’s almost like time is more valuable than money.

Our first office in Seattle was floored with slate and walled with glass. Fancy. I realize now that this is far less important than your shop’s very first “door,” your website. It’s becoming clear from the Milion Monarchs experience and new engagements in recent months that the video on the front page of our website is our new reception space. It is the first stage of, “Welcome.”

I like that. It’s doing its job.

Most people’s first point of contact with us is our online video, Say Hello to Design Kompany.

The Sandbox: Naming & Designing Million Monarchs

If you could encapsulate the experience designing a brand image for Million Monarchs as a Flickr image, it would rank really high for “interestingness.”

A name is a big deal. A name is your reputation. It precedes you. So when we’re talking and it comes up, “Hey, so, what do you guys think. Really. About our name. Should we change it?”—

—We said, “Yes, absolutely.”

To get to the new name, Sean brainstormed with us, and Akira and I scribbled everywhere—on napkins at a local panini shop or a scratchpad next to the stovetop while cooking (such things become intermingled when your design partner is also your spouse). We collaborated with Sean to create a shortlist, and circled one of the names.

Sean told us later his father hated it. “Million Monarchs? Sounds like a damn tea shop!”

Ouch. But that comment was honest. And imperative. A huge part of this process was creating a safe space to voice opinions like this without fear of judgement. Hard to do when you’re not meeting in person, but not impossible.

What we knew for sure was that if Sean and Dennis weren’t excited about their name, no one else would be, either. After some more conversation along these lines, the elder Mr. Patrick was convinced. He acknowledged it piques curiosity, maybe people will ask, “Wow, what do you do?” Opening the door for conversation was a definite plus.

And once the design drawings started appearing as sharp vectors, the new name won even more points. “I like the ll’s in ‘million,” Dennis said. By the time DK finalized Illustrator files and their RGB color schemes, you could see that Sean and Dennis really owned the Million Monarchs brand. It wasn’t us making something up anymore, it was them. I knew it when Sean’s video came up and he was confident, strong. “Here I am,” I thought, “Talking to Million Monarchs. This is cool.”

Here’s what Sean said after we’d delivered all the final files about working with DK:

“I’d love to say that you both are professional and talented, but working with you is comfortable – like working with close friends. This keeps ideas flowing and anxiety down; and there’s never any pressure to conform to a previous expectation that you have. Things are open and awesome.” —Sean Patrick, Million Monarchs.

Sean’s and Dennis’ natural proclivities emerged in a fascinating way. They were clearly in tune with one another’s strengths (and weaknesses), and weren’t afraid of sharing exactly what was on their mind. We saw a lot of affection, but also nervousness, as they dived headfirst into a business venture together. Slight disagreements gave way to larger counterpoints, but they stayed open. Concerns and hesitations came out as easily as stories from the time Sean was a kid. It was wonderful to see their dynamics crescendo towards real dialogue, where understanding one another laid a foundation for true cooperation.

Dennis’ family is Irish, as in the Republic of Ireland, so the Million Monarchs logo was not going to have any orange in it. Even if black-and-orange combo seemed like it made sense (the monarch’s colors), there was no way there would be orange. Orange would be very uncomfortable.

No orange. Done.

Hearing Irish humor again (we’d lived in southwest Ireland for three years) warmed our hearts, and reminded us of why we love this job so much. You get to play, like in a sandbox as wide as the beach. Akira and I began talking eagerly, “How can we better understand Sean and his father?” Okay, let’s ask for some reading suggestions. What’s that? The Handbook of Electrical Contracting. Wow, cool. Where can we get that?

We presented our first round of sketches as really rough pencil drawings. One of them was this:

Winning concept idea.

This image really stirred Dennis and Sean, and during a short break they’d printed out the .jpg we’d uploaded to the Basecamp locker and already started talking about it. I said, “Whoa, wait!,” and sent over a higher resolution version so they didn’t have to deal with the jaggedy printout. Some of the words that emerged and stuck with us in that first meeting were: iridescence, movement, and transformation. These inspired us in later stages of choosing typeface and color scheme.

Basecamp helped us keep track of files, notes, and schedules.

We look everywhere for inspiration once the concept idea is locked in.

Once the butterfly concept was clearly the leading candidate, Akira and I began to eat, sleep, and breathe butterflies. We visited the remarkable butterfly house at the Museum of Life and Science here in Durham. We studied a lot of drawings. We found other images to draw inspiration from, and built a mood board collage.

I browsed the stacks at the local library. I remembered that Vladimir Nabokov spent a lot of time chasing butterflies. In a volume of poems called Nabokov’s Butterflies were these words from “Lines Written in Oregon:”

Esmeralda! Now we rest
Here, in the bewitched and blest
Mountain forests of the West
…
Cornfields have befouled the prairies
But these canyons laugh! And there is
Still the forest with its fairies.

The photocopy image is a 1967 pen and ink drawing by Jeffries Mackey. We looked for images that suggested motion for design inspiration.

Question everything. Accept nothing as true at face value. Consider every angle. These are some of our credos, and how we hope to inspire our clients.

Here are some early sketches that eventually spawned our brand message: “The brand new game has begun.” (The name change happened halfway through design development, so most of our first sketches are of the original name, Western Renewables Alliance.)

It’s exciting because we’ve gotten to know Sean and Dennis well along this journey of brand identity design. It’s natural, when you share so much about who you are at your core, and what’s important, and why that should matter to anyone else.

Akira and I created this process for ourselves when we were trying to reinvent who DK wanted to be, back in 2006. Every time it looks like we’re floating without a compass, we’ll take a step back, a deep breath, and remind ourselves: “Trust the process.”

Even if it’s virtual, this process is pretty cool.

Contact Design Kompany:

Website: http://www.designkompany.com
Twitter: @designkompany
Telephone: 206.778.5136
Email: letsplay@design-kompany.com
Blog: http://www.designkompany.com

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After making the decision to move to a new city and build out my career, I knew it was imperative to make an impact with my personal branding. The unique challenge involved developing an identity not only for a freelance professional, but for very specific experiences associated with building a network of new colleagues.

I coined the name Design That Talks, as my freelance company, and now needed to build a professional image without losing ‘me’ in the process. Before starting with any of the designs, I needed to step back and think about how I was going to approach people and companies and what I wanted their first interaction with me to be. Being a traditionalist, I knew hand written letters and face-to-face communication were going to be the primary tools.

The next phase is where things took a different and exciting turn. I had met a letterpress printer who owned a manual-feed press and mentioned he could print on almost anything. There were no questions after that. Having the name Design That Talks, I wanted the driving design element to be wooden tongue depressors. They would metaphorically communicate what I do, and are built in icebreakers during face-to-face interaction, and make for a fun companion to letters.

I had never jumped to choosing a paper stock or even thinking about the business card this early in the process, but this was the element that would hopefully set this identity apart from the others. It allowed me to fuel the design with my personality while giving future colleagues something that will keep me at the top of their mind.

Now it was onto the rest of the identity. I worked through a number of typographic options as well as toying with icons and illustrations that epitomized the company. I knew that whatever the typography and iconography was, it needed to be able to carry the company name as well as hold its own as part of the tongue depressor.

The final solution utilized an industrialized serif typeface combined with a thought bubble. The composition of the typography and thought bubble was another way the “talks” element could be highlighted.

The final identity system was then built out. This system was a bit different because I wasn’t designing the typical print collateral. The business card was going to do the heavy lifting with a resume layout and letterhead following suit.

The other challenge was staying in budget, which was very minimal since I was fronting all the costs. I knew the business card was going to swallow most of the funds, so I chose to design the letterhead and resume in a way that I could print them myself, at home, and to maintain the ability to customize the resume as needed. I was able to produce enough business cards to facilitate my move and now have the flexibility to write, proof read and re-write as many letters as my heart contents.

Below are a few images, taken by the printer, of the business card.

Contact Matt Van Ekeren:

Web site: www.designthattalks.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jollyolchap

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Michael Stinson is the Creative Director at Ramp Creative, a design studio located in downtown Los Angeles.

A group of post-production industry legends got together to start New Hat, an independent video and film production agency in Santa Monica, California. The new company wanted to communicate their expertise of color correction and the freedom of the independent New Hat’s creative process. My thinking was to allude to screen movement and inject a fresh look to the company brand to help separate New Hat apart from their corporate counterparts.

A few questions immediately came to my attention: How do we communicate color expertise in an identity? Can we show energy in a dynamic medium of the screen in the non-moving and non-changing medium of print? Finally, could we create a flexible and fresh system that didn’t look corporate?

Color is their main expertise, so that had to be the main part of the equation. But because color on the screen is an always-changing visual element, I started thinking that we needed to echo that transformation in print.

Because the parts of the company name, New and Hat, didn’t apply literally to their business activity, the two words as a brand name needed to be portrayed as a second element.

With the two parts to the identity: the ever-changing color element and downplaying of the name; we decided to design a unique look for the company. To begin with an overall look, I jumped ahead into developing the whole system first, rather than starting with the just the logo.

In developing multiple design directions, I explored colors, textures and composition. Each direction had a slightly different treatment of the logo, and the style changed with each piece of collateral. I kept thinking about the simple idea of movement to reference motion graphics and reinventing that energy from piece to piece.

Some directions were more exploratory, some conservative and some a combination of the two. After a few discussions with New Hat, we decided the third direction was the most simple, fresh approach. The client mentioned that the freeform artwork looked both like photographic film and digital waveforms at the same time. I love it when our clients resonate with the work and extract their own vision from concept.

Next up: refining the logo direction they chose. From there, I developed 18 subtle iterations of the logo and application until one worked in weight and balance on its own and within the identity system.

It’s good to really get the kinks out of a logo… we usually execute detailed adjustments so the client will not only love it, but also so the logo remains somewhat timeless. I felt the stacked version of the type worked best. It was unobtrusive and grounded–a great juxtaposition playing out through the system–while the rest of the stationery pieces changed color, composition and artwork.

The final identity system became an activated play of color on paper, where each represents a piece part of a collectible set. The resulting identity included a folder, letterhead, business card, envelope, buck slip, mailing labels and writing pads.

Contact Ramp Creative+Design:

Web site: http://www.rampcreative.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rampcreative
Telephone: 213-623-7267

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Biography

Future in Bold is a showcase of graphic design and art direction work by Graeme Stephenson. Graeme has over five years’ industry experience, working with a wide range of professionals for a client base spanning the US, UK and the Middle East. Graeme specialises in (but is not restricted to) brand development, on-screen design and printed collateral. He is committed to working with agencies and businesses, with a tenacity to produce communication-led design solutions tailored to answer the client’s specific criteria.

Background and Market Position

Media Access is a fully integrated media solutions company whose services include sponsorship, TV production, TV content creation, on-line and mobile content creation as well as event management and marketing.

The companies’ roots lie in sports/entertainment media, but focus predominantly in finding the right “fit” for their clients. Properties can range from on the ground grassroots football tournament to a motor sport reality TV program.

The company is still in it’s infancy, having just started at the beginning of the year. As well as having strong contacts in the Dubai/GCC region the company will be looking to increase their client base in the coming months.

The Brief

Based on the above, a brand identity was required for Media Access to depict the core offering, as a large focus of the next twelve months will be to aggressively seek and pitch to prospective clients. The identity would be needed to be applied initially across the full stationery range, as well as the further development of a separate website, press advertisements, PowerPoint templates and brand guidelines.

Design Process/Approach

In the initial meeting the client stated the core of the identity (the logo) needed to encapsulate the following attributes: dynamic, innovative and professional. It wasn’t until as a result of the design process beginning to take shape, that we would mutually discover specifically how these key attributes could be reinforced and visually communicated through the identity, as I will explain later in the process.

It’s worth mentioning that the allocated budget for this exercise didn’t necessarily warrant a full-blown, quantitative research process and investigation into the correct brand positioning and so on, in order to determine the visual execution.

In fact, most of the companies and individuals I have produced identities for fall into the same category concerning budget. For me the task has always been about turning a small job on it’s head and investing a bit of extra time and ‘zest’ into creating something that is robust for the client, in order to enable them to appear established and be competitive.

So went the initial meeting. The client had some thoughts of his own, bringing to the table his own set of influences and preferences in the form of logos he’d found on the web, which we both felt would be a good starting point — making reference to particular preferences in colour, typography, composition and overall look and feel. I find this is always helpful, but not all clients will be willing to go to this extent. This simple request to bring something to the table does however, save so much time and avoid any misunderstandings in the long run. Here are a few examples:

This became the first important step in determining the creative direction of the logo, so it became my role of advising and convincing the client to distinguish which ones and why were aesthetically ‘incorrect’ for his business, taking into consideration the companies’ market position and future aspirations, and to immediately tap into the look and feel which based on my design sensibilities, I instinctively felt were correct. This is a professional judgment, based on years of experience and it is important that the client takes this on board.

Time, it’s worth noting, was also of the essence as the client was already behind schedule with the brand identity due to various reasons, hence following a review of the initial direction I started pursuing some ideas. The one specific demand which remained cemented from the outset however, was that the logo should be derived from the initials ‘MA’ (Media Access) in some form, so I jotted my first flash of ideas roughly on paper. Here are a couple, which on reflection don’t seem very cohesive, but felt important to do at the time as a means of recording my visual response:

The first challenge was to counter act what felt like the restriction of being somewhat limited to basing everything around ‘MA’. The challenge soon became a case of striking the perfect balance of trying to do something visually creative, and more so original, with the letters MA — whilst still answering the original brief. So then I began filtering some of these ideas from paper to screen, whilst simultaneously experimenting with various fonts, in order to see which held the most promise in the ‘M’ and the ‘A’ typographically, but also felt right for the brand idea. Some I began to build on; incorporating basic shapes and iconography with hints of possible colours. Others were left by the conceptual wayside:

As some of the designs began to evolve, we decided the core visual clues (aside from the MA initials) would be something that echoed their key services, being ‘media’ (online, viral, social, outdoor and so on) but also it was decided that in order to remain aligned with the companies’ dynamism, that the logo would be above all adaptable: it could flex and morph whilst still reflecting the core essence of the brand. An interesting angle. So it was agreed that this would successfully communicate to a media-savvy audience from the outset that Media Access is an innovative and forward-thing company, which offers a comprehensive and versatile range of services. The basic visual components of the logo, and the connotational roles where the defined, tried and tested in various configurations, which would constitute the first phase of the presentation:

After a considerable period of decision making, and subjecting to both friends and colleagues in and outside of the industry (often the case), the client chose the following logo from the selection, as the most likely candidate with scope to serve this newly uncovered, specific criteria:

The client was drawn to the simple rounded bar shapes which made up the MA initials, which were inspired by the vernacular of display symbols and iconography used in modern technology (such as volume bars, power signs, peripheral connection symbols and so on). It was agreed that these basic shapes would form the signature of the brand identity, enabling it to be dynamic and work for different reasons. So again I reverted to recording these ideas on paper for later use, such as for print adverts and eventually the website:

At this stage there were quite a few issues regarding the overall compositional lock-up and colour schemes that needed to be developed. After trying and testing various colour schemes, we came to the conclusion of PANTONE 186 C Red and a PANTONE 426 C Carbon Gray, based purely on the visual contrast and overall modern feel. I chose Gotham Rounded for the font because of it’s neutral and omnipresent qualities and because the rounded edges subtly reiterated the rounded bar shapes which formed the initials.

The Solution

Subsequent minor alterations followed in order to perfect the composition, due to a combination of both mine and the clients’ personal curiosity, as did some further experimentation with the positioning, size and weight variations of the type in relation to the initials:

In the end we all agreed on the following as the final solution. The rounded bars would become recognized as being integral to the brand, eventually alternating in complexity and scale whilst running seamlessly through firstly the stationery and eventually all of their printed collateral and online media:

A repository of grids where carried through the stationery range to begin with, followed by further extensions into advertisements — as stipulated in the brand guidelines.

Contact Future in Bold:

Web site: http://www.thefutureinbold.com
Email: grez.stephenson@btinternet.com
Blog: http://www.graphichug.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/graphichug

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Project background:

Track House is an all-ages live music/art space in Wichita, Kansas. Situated next to railroad tracks in an industrial part of the city, it was important for the identity to reflect the out-of-the-way location.

Process:

My approach to most identity projects usually begins with simply allowing ideas to spin around in my head for a few days before sitting down to sketch. For me, it is usually not too helpful to start off with developing a long list of words or to develop any sort of mind map on paper/screen. Of course, what is referred to as “mind mapping” is most likely always happening in some form or another despite not being put to paper. After all, aren’t we as designers hired because of our ability to make connections that may not be immediately apparent to non-designers? I’d like to think so.

My initial ideas for the Track House logo were focused on railroad tracks. I attempted a solution using heavily spaced-out type to convey a pattern of railroad ties, but this proved to be way too clunky and difficult to read.

These first sketches led me to thinking of railroad crossing signage and associated imagery such as the flashing lights, warning signs, etc. Thinking in terms of how the logo could be used as exterior signage, I felt that it had to be simple and bold in its form. Using just the T and H, I started to explore various interpretations of railroad/traffic signage but, again, decided that the execution wasn’t having the impact that was needed.

It then occurred to me that I could simply create the T and H letterforms in a way that would convey the sense of railroad signage that I was after. I created the forms on a grid, which would allow for both horizontal and stacked orientations depending on the application.

The final logo uses two weights of Bell Gothic Standard, which I chose not only for its clarity, but for its sharply defined uppercase K, which I’ve always loved. I limited the color palette to black and white, so as not to compete with the diverse range of artwork that would be featured on posters or gallery invitations. Most importantly, the client loved the concept and ran with it right away, painting a large scale version inside the Track House performance space.

Contact Michael Lassiter:

Web site: http://www.mlassiter.com
Email: contact@mlassiter.com
Blog: http://www.laborandcurse.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/m_lassiter

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While much of the sopranos was fictional, AJ’s outburst was actually founded on semi-recent developments. Earlier that year, Intralytix, a Baltimore company that manufactures phage-based products to kill bacteria on food, had been given the green light by the FDA for one of their lines of phage-based food safety products.

I was approached by Intralytix because they had decided it was time to attend to their brand, which had been pretty much an afterthought up until that point. There was no clear visual identity. Employees had home-made business cards with different iterations of logos and colors. It was clear that given the public scrutiny they were receiving coupled with the desire to grow, they needed to develop a viable brand.

Background

The widespread use of antibiotics has caused certain strains of bacteria to mutate into drug-resistant horrors like MRSA—which kills more people in the us every year than AIDS. Likewise, there have shown to be health problems associated with the consumption of poultry and livestock that have been given a diet including antibiotics.

Antibiotics work by poisoning bacteria. Often times, however, they leave the strongest bacteria alive and able to breed even more resistant bacteria. Also, antibiotics are unable to discern between bad (E. Coli) and good bacteria (probiotics).

Bacteriophages are naturally occurring predators of bacteria. In fact, if you consume almost any type of food, you have already eaten them. Almost everywhere bacteria is present, bacteriophages are found. Unlike antibiotics, bacteriophages kill bacteria by destroying them from the inside out on the cellular level. Besides being tenacious predators, bacteriophages are also selective killers. A certain bacteriophage is only effective against a certain strain of bacteria—it leaves others unharmed. You can get some more info about the science behind it all here.

A rendering and line drawing of a typical bacteriophage

Client discussion

In our initial meeting, I walked them through another rebrand I had recently completed that was similar in scope so they had an idea of the process, as they had no prior experience working with a designer. We then discussed what some of the problems were. We agreed they were facing a perception problem—some people were scared of what Intralytix was doing. Often, fear is based on a lack of understanding.

We agreed the best course was to present the brand in a simple and straightforward way that made the process easy to understand. In lieu of a formal creative brief, we created a measuring stick to make sure we were expressing the intentions and tone of the new brand correctly: if a box of phage solution was to fall off a truck, how would the average person who happened upon the box react? We were obviously looking for a positive reaction, rather than running in fear of what was inside the box.

We further discussed ideas and themes we wanted to explore in the four concepts I would design. I had them work with me in identifying some keywords that differentiated their brand. When working with most clients the first three words I get are “quality, service, and value.” Unfortunately, these words are throwaways—they are too abstract and really don’t mean anything. They are the price of doing business now and are expected. After some prodding we started getting into what they really felt strongly about—such as helping people stay healthy naturally.

I like to treat the concept stage as an exploratory exercise to showcase a narrative that will ultimately have to be refined and reworked to be viable in the market. Even though the deliverable for this job was a corporate identity, I always try to show how the brand will live in different situations. More often than not, the consumer will meet and interact with the brand in some form other than just a logo on a slide. I try to make sure the client understands this as well. In this particular case, because they had mentioned they needed packaging for their product as well, i decided to use a hypothetical box design as an application of the visual identity. I developed the initial concepts over the next couple weeks and we met again to review and discuss what was working and what wasn’t.

Concept A: “Safety by Nature”

As I said, I try to develop a concept from the top down. This particular direction was born out of the phrase, “Safety by Nature.” This tag worked well as the term nature had dual meaning as in “natural” as well as “intrinsic.” Visually, this direction incorporated the only request from the client—to include the hexagonal element into the mark on at least one concept. I began working with the hexagon shape and started trying to work the silhouette of a bacteriophage into it. The result began to look like as if a lowercase “i” had been extruded in 3D form. Seeing this relationship was one of those happy accidents that happens when sketching ideas. I then knocked the abstracted “i” out of the hexagon shape which began to read as a shield or crest. The relation to an element of safety—a shield—was welcome and helped to serve as a basis for the supporting visual program. Bold, clinical typography with a limited color palette imparted cleanliness and sterility—obviously important concepts in food safety. The repeating shield motif—this time in a subtle relief form—helped to give the appearance of interlocking plates in armor signifying safety and protection.

Concept B: “A Fresh Approach”

Most of the applications of Intralytix’s products are very specific. The goal of “A Fresh Approach” was to demonstrate exactly what it was that the product and brand did: to make food safe, fresh, and healthy in a simple and natural way. The focus of this direction was the photography, or more specifically, bright, fresh-looking photography of product applications (the example showcased was for salmon farmers who would buy the product). The constant of the identity would be the typography program—strict, clean, accessible—while other components such as color and the subject of the photography would change based on the application or client. This reflects how specific Intralytix’s product are and communicates how the firm does business.

Concept C: “Nature Made Smarter”

While working with the abstracted 3D “i” form in concept A, an offshoot of that sketching session was a slab-serifed lowercase “i” that had a very interesting geometric form. Looking at the 3D renderings of bacteriophages I had been given, I saw an interesting correlation in the dimensionality of both and I wanted to work that into the mark.

As I said, bacteriophages are selective about what they kill. This is helpful for certain food manufacturers that rely on the presence of “good” bacteria, but are looking for ways to inhibit bacteria that are harmful to humans. The idea of a “smart” solution had been discussed earlier and I wanted to incorporate that aspect into a concept. Courtesy of Apple’s hard work, the letter “i” has come to signify a built in intelligence. I do not believe brands exist in a vacuum, and saw this as an opportunity to leverage the existing vernacular. To take it a step further, I made it “bright,” literally. Loud colors help to differentiate the product from anything else on the market, as it is truly unique.

Concept D: “Let’s Eat!”

People are taking a more active role and interest in where their food comes from. We wanted to present the product for what it was: an all natural product to keep food safe and clean. I introduced a color palette of varying shades of lively greens and a predominate use of hand-drawn type and elements to give it a natural feel. Because sanitation was another key them in this concept I contrasted the organic elements with a lot of whitespace and straightforward typography, to give it a clean feeling.

Feedback

After reviewing the concepts, the consensus was that the overall tone of Concept D was most appropriate and did the best job of visually expressing the values and aspirations of the company. If this box fell off a truck in the middle of america, it would elicit the type of reaction the company wanted.

However, the actual logo itself was deemed a little too playful. They felt most comfortable with the logo and tag from Concept A. Specifically, they liked that the mark could stand alone, and also that “it would look nice embroidered on a golf shirt.” I had to agree. While Concept D’s logo was well integrated with the rest of the visual design, it was just not as flexible. My goal now was to better integrate the chosen logo and tag with the visual language.

Revising

I began by reworking the mark around an isometric grid. I wanted to make sure the proportions were in harmony and that it would reproduce well at smaller sizes. I also slightly rounded the mark so it was not as sharp and worked with the more natural hand-drawn elements.

The type being employed on the initial logo was too clinical for this direction. I looked for a typeface that shared some of the roundness of the mark, yet was still somewhat corporate looking. I decided Monotype’s Neo Sans would be a good fit. It had recently been employed in the Intel rebrand a few years back and I remember noticing how much I liked it at the time.

The name Intralytix, typographically speaking, presented a lot of challenges just because of the unusual character combinations. To alleviate some of the unsightly gaps and spacing issues I removed the left arm of the “t’s”, slightly altered the descender of the lowercase “y”, and shortened the ascenders on the “i’s” and “l” so the entire name fit within the isometric grid I had developed in conjunction with the mark.

The tag worked verbally with the new direction and the client was enamored with it. I wanted to work it into the visual language so it wasn’t so much as an afterthought just being plopped on a logo. I began working with some of the hand-drawn type I employed in the original Concept D logo and developed a solution where the tag could be separated from the logo for other applications where a logo/tag lockup was not desirable.

The Solution

I presented the revised solutions to the client and they were pleased with the outcome. A week later, I delivered the logo files to them on disc in various formats for their own internal uses. This was only the beginning of a much larger endeavor that saw the redesign of a host of corporate collateral and packaging and, much like the company itself, is still evolving to this day.

Contact John Mchugh:

Web site: http://www.johnmchugh.net
Email: john@johnmchugh.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/johndiggity
Call to discuss your project: 443 474-1191

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Biography:

New York City born Andrea Cutler has worked as a graphic designer and art director for over 20 years. She’s a graduate of Parsons School of Design, where she was a part-time instructor from 2001–06. Her expertise includes: corporate identity, promotional graphics, editorial design, packaging, publication design, and web design.

For the past 11 years, Andrea has created and overseen projects from concept to completion for many businesses and organizations — serving clients coast to coast — throughout the U.S. (and internationally.) Her design office creates modern and appropriate branding, and overall design direction for marketing materials and related collateral.

The Project:

Approached by a new restaurant management consultant group — The assignment was to design an identity for their Asian/Malaysia inspired, fast casual, dining concept. Andrea was not only asked to design the identity, but to ALSO collaborate with the owners to determine and present naming convention and overall brand positioning.

The Brand:

Modern/Historic Feel/Casual/Comfort-Food/Hip/ Easy/Fresh/Approachable/Familiar/Affordable

Research included examining Singapore street food and come up with a name solution and graphic representation. Mood boards were presented with inspirational imagery and proposed messaging. Target markets were identified and the name tok-tok-mee was selected based on a street dish predominant in Malaysia, comprised of different noodles and other local ingredients.

Research and Inspirations:

• spice jars
• food & tea packaging
• flags
• money/currency
• kites
• wall hangings
• calligraphy
• cutlery/utensils/chopstick
• street festivals

Reference for Mood/Culture Board:

What’s In a Name,
Tok Tok Mee — Singapore Street Food and Noodle Emporium:

Asia has a colorful history of mobile catering. Singapore’s street food has an eclectic mix of Asian influences, from China to India. It includes is the cuisines of multicultural societies found throughout, Malaysia. Most of these cuisines are sold at road-side stalls, and pushcarts — known as “hawker food”. Among the most famous delicacies are Tok-tok Mee, which is a street food dish of egg noodles which sometimes includes wontons dumplings, with sliced barbecued pork and vegetables. The endless varieties are varied from region to region. It is served either dry with soya sauce and sesame oil, or in a clear pork stock. Tok-tok Mee  is named for the sound of knocking bamboo sticks made by the push cart vendors, which they clack together to announce their arrival, the chosen advertising methods of the Tok Tok Mee sellers as they made their way through the streets and allies of southern Malaysia. Different sizes of Bamboo makes different tones, which in turn signify the type of noodle used in the dish. These regional street foods reflect the ethnic diversity, cross-cultural exchanges and cultural innovations of Singapore.

Reference for Design Inspiration Board:

Reference for Color Palate and Packaging Inspiration:

The logo was based on a series of inspirations, chopsticks and spoons typically common accompaniment to such dishes was selected to establish the logo type and several applications were created to support the brand. Solutions for components included menu design – food and tea packaging and wall paper for the flagship location.

(Some of the Many) Initial Sketches:

The Solution:

Reflecting the core aesthetic direction, the branding integrated and interpreted assets within reference materials. The results were the design of iconic graphics for the logo, menu, packaging, as well as patterns for the restaurant interior. Different elements of the identity system also play a roll in signage and staff apparel. We have received an overwhelmingly positive response from our clients, and look forward to continuing to expand the brand into packaging for a line of prepared foods and condiments.

Research Material Gathered Included:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelblogs/480/19209/Singapore+Street+Food+Exhibition?destId=357349

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang_cuisine

http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/nms/nms_html/nms_content_6c.asp?content_template=4&content_id=22&tab_id=22&cine_id=2327&fest_id=0

http://telukansonchildhood.blogspot.com/2009/05/tok-tok-mee.html

Contact Andrea Cutler:

andrea@andreacutler.com

cell. 917.287.1686

http://andreacutler.com/blog

http://willsherwood.com/?p=22

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35275570@N05

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Biography

Studio Junglecat’s mission is to connect with broad audiences through the creation of uniquely memorable experiences that elicit thought, dialogue, laughter, and response. By collaborating with forward-thinking organizations and individuals, Studio Junglecat aims to participate in shaping our collective culture and environment—and to do so with humor, wit, and personality.

Studio Junglecat is an independent design consultancy powered by Matt Wizinsky. The studio is located in Chicago, IL and was built on gritty Midwestern-American optimism.

You Know Your Business

FocusRx is a small consultancy with a finely nuanced understanding of pharmaceutical laws and systems. Using this specialized expertise, they partner with large health care provider organizations to develop prescription plans that work and make sense for the end-users. We are talking about ridiculously complicated, labyrinthine systems that would make the average head spin. FocusRx sought a graphic identity that could portray this narrow specialization within the health care field and demonstrate its value. Because they operate in an industry where efficiency and precision are a mandate, their identity must be clear, simple, and direct, but with a character that distinguishes this company amongst its peers.

My question was this: Can an identity articulate such scrupulous qualities and still have a little fun?

Look Around / Look In

Much of the medical and health-related identity landscape is occupied by crosses, hearts, stethoscopes, mortars and pestles, the staff of Asclepius (often mistakenly as the caduceus), all kinds of pills, plants, flowers, herbs, rising suns, setting suns, healing hands, apples, and a whole universe of colorful, leaping, joyful little figures that Michael Bierut has deftly coined “the neutered sprites.” However, FocusRx represents the planning and strategy behind prescription plans, not the medicine or care provided. Therefore, the objective was to create something smart that demonstrates narrow specialization—apropos of the focus in their name.

Three primary references sprang to mind: the eye, the lens, and the Venn diagram. These symbols also appropriately correspond with three themes at the core of the company’s purpose: the body, technology, and strategy. Notably, these all take a circular form with centrifugal energy that guides attention toward the center—to that which is in focus. From this conceptual starting point, I explored a range of abstract symbols conveying these traits.

Speaking of Symbols

The next step was to typographically organize the company’s name with its LLC status and a tagline linking the new business to its parent company. Having represented the company’s specialization (focus) via the graphic symbol, the goal now was to balance these various elements while drawing attention to the pharmaceutical nature of their work, which was again right there in the name: Rx. While the origins of this symbol are uncertain (is it the Eye of Horus? an abbreviation for the Latin recipere?), the important fact is that it clearly communicates “prescription,” and this allowed for a simple, typographic solution. In order to highlight Rx, conventional wisdom would dictate making it bigger, bolder, or increasing its contrast. Instead, I discovered through exploration that a lockup with focus with the tagline isolates the Rx symbol, allowing emphasis on the angular negative spaces forming these letters. Using lighter stroke weights in this approach proves more dynamic by activating the surrounding white space and contrasting the bold, curvy letterforms of the preceding word.

Tying it all Together (in a Big Kinky Knot)

One parameter from the outset was that this new identity must include a visual tie-in to Cazma, the parent company of FocusRx. The simplest and clearest method to accomplish this unity was through the use of color—namely, the red brand color of Cazma. This is where it started to get fun!

The application of color revealed a secondary meaning taking form within the symbol. By slightly shading this red circular mark, it creates the illusion of an endless loop of kinked red tape. Because FocusRx exists solely due to the complicated bureaucracies of a health care system that no one person or organization alone can comprehend, this additional layer of symbolism was a perfect fit. The client loved this idea of imbuing a subtle dash of humor—certainly something unique to their market—within an otherwise direct symbol of their function.

The resulting identity system is bold, clear, and unique. By combining acuity and wit, it conveys the pharmaceutical specialization at the core purpose of the organization while demonstrating humanity with its sense of humor. Hopefully, this will sustain its life for many years to come—like a carefully balanced regimen of medication.

Contact Studio Junglecat

Studio Junglecat web site: http://www.studiojunglecat.com
Visual Thinking blog: http://visualthinking.studiojunglecat.com
Email: matt@studiojunglecat.com
Call to discuss your project: 513 659 6634

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Biography

Seven25. Design & Typography is a multidisciplinary design consultancy specialising in work for not for profit and cultural clients. It was founded in 2000 by Isabelle Swiderski and existed as a freelance practice running parallel to employment elsewhere until 2006. It is now a 3-person studio with a network of collaborators to call upon when the need arises.

Isabelle has lived and worked in France, England and Canada as a freelancer and in studios of various sizes for over 15 years. She completed her Master’s Degree at the Royal College of Art in London and teaches part-time at Emily Carr University.

The project

We were approached by Garbage Critic—a waste reduction and management consultancy—to design an identity for their startup. As a new agency with extensive experience in the public sector, it aimed to position itself as the leader in the field, as an innovator but also as a valuable team player in the quest for widely adaptable solutions to the waste problems we face. One of our challenges was to represent waste—something few people wish to think about—in a way that was engaging and eloquent.

We engaged in a thorough discovery process, examining audiences, competition and goals to distill our findings into useful information. This phase culminated in the presentation of a moodboard and proposed messaging.

Upon approval of the design brief we engaged in the creative phase and explored notions of expression (the agency provides commentary on industry practices and case studies), exchanges of information, waste and conservation.

This eventually led us to two promising solutions, which we refined into tight sketches to present to the client.

The Solution

Upon further discussion with the client it became obvious that the garbage lid was the preferred avenue for its rich dual meaning when coupled with the maze. It illustrates the conundrum we face and hints at the multiple possible paths to effective waste reduction solutions using simple and accessible symbols.

Check it out: www.seven25.com
Email: isabelle@seven25.com
Give us a call: 1.604.685.0097
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Seven25

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