The brand in the mirror
Forming a brand identity is difficult enough when working with a client, but defining your own is a different challenge. It’s easier when you have a healthy distance and objectivity when defining the qualities of a client’s new brand or creative rebrand. That’s one reason to work with an outside party like us to begin with. But your own voice sounds different to you than it does to everyone else.
Our initial visual system was quick and utilitarian. Deep dives into endless iterations were reserved for our clients. We left little time to focus on our own brand identity.
After years of growth, we knew our visual identity didn’t represent where we were as a company. At least, it didn’t demonstrate what we were capable of. It was a time for a change. We wanted a system that would show our unique personality, that would help us stand out in a saturated market.
We set out to answer life’s greatest questions—Who are we? What should our logo look like? Is this the right shade of yellow?
True colors
Every member of our team shared what they personally thought made us who we are. We discovered some overlap: colorful, bold, unconventional. Beyond visual aspects of our company personality, words like innovative, playful, passionate cropped up.
Many of these characteristics were always a part of our brand identity. Anyone can tell from our name that we’re a little tongue-in-cheek. We were bold on color since day one. We kept our fonts and colors (mostly), but we wanted our brandmark to be something separate from our contemporaries. While unassuming sans-serif fonts printed in stark black and white have their charm, they aren’t the right fit for us. We wanted something atypical, with a dash of overzealous.
Reflection of a reflection (of a reflection)
What we came up with encapsulates our personality, and mirrors the design process itself. All those iterations of logic are a part of our modular, movable logo—the endless number of possible solutions. Logos generally exist as rigid systems that don’t change, so, in the spirit of good old-fashioned disobedience, we made a logo that rails against rigidity.
Our modular logo system is the creative endeavor made visual. The ability to reinterpret the logo is a reflection of how creative projects are envisioned and then re-visioned—shifting elements around, drafting new pieces, and scrapping old bits. Rearranging the layout of the logo itself is akin to drafting different layouts of a creative composition.
The framework forms a consistent and cohesive system—it’s just open to interpretation, like all good creative content. Letterforms stack and tumble against one another. The system is playful, but functional—inviting new analysis and new ideas.
Not reactionary; evolutionary
In a world of constant change, brand identities must constantly adapt to how we experience them. We now have a truly responsive wordmark, ripe for the digital age, with a visual dynamic to pair with our demeanor. If you see the rolled-out creative rebrand on one of our social media accounts, shoot us some love and let us know if you’re digging it.
