Graphic Design Services - London, UK

What would you expect for around $1 million investment on a rebranding excercise? And how risky is it tampering with a classic, well known logo in an attempt to engage the general public?

The questions which have to be asked in a project like this - is exactly who is being targetted? Will the rebranding affect the current Pepsi lovers? Or - does anyone really care? After all, tampering with a globally recognised brand is a risky business. By putting it up for public scrutiny, end trying to engage the market through various social media sites using sites such as You Tube and Flikr to reach out and, try to generate some buzz around the new loo, they have to be commended for moving into new ways of interacting with customer base.

A quick look at the redesign quickly brings to mind a multi-colored Pac-man. Some of the comments from the last few weeks on their flikr site give an insight into some possible perceptions, including "Wate of money!", "Miliions over Millions goin to the trash" to "I love it, it is totally minimilistic".

Whataver your opinion might be, the lack of sustained excitement or interaction around the released pictures is not surprising given that the US was going through the throes of a presidential election and in the opening stages of a severe economic downturn. The Pepsi strategy of trying to engage through social media using the proposed new design as a focal point for discussions, is pretty innovative for such a large corporation, and though the timing may not have been perfect it was a brave move. We'll have to wait and see whether any of the criticisms, advice and comments are taken on board, and what there plans are for moving this forward.

How do graphic design services tie in with a company's positioning? We can take a look at a large corporate as a case study, to see what importance they attach to their logo design within their brand image.

According to the CISCO creative standards handbook "Positioning is how our company is viewed by others in our target marketplace. While we have goals for positioning ourselves, ultimately our position is what others think and say about us. We can, however, greatly influence how we are positioned by communicating to our external audiences in a clear and consistent way."

Within the handbook guidelines are given with respect to the writing style you should use when communicating with your customers, how the company tag line fits into the overall branding and positioning. And of course, the logo -

"The Cisco Systems logo is our signature to the world and must not be compromised. It is integral to our worldwide corporate identity."

ICONIC LOGO DESIGN

You know what I am talking about - that special logo design that has defined a brand....immediate association, brand recognition, sometimes even a cult following

Like the tick  -

Or the geeks favourite -

Of course, not ALL logos or straplines fairly or accurately portray what they are supposed to represent.

Some can be downright misleading :)

Branding / Logo Design

Reaching your target audience in terms of fulfilling their needs and causing an impact can be achieved if they can easily identify with the product or service you are providing them. Many businesses are increasingly aware of this and realise the importance of their company brand has in capturing and maintaining the attention of their customers.Some companies do not express any brand values with any form of consistency and their product or service may not function to create more of an awareness of the brand itself.
 
So why is the brand image of a company so important? A brand doesn’t merely function as the company logo but has a far greater responsibility in shaping the perceptions and feel of a company. It signifies a linked series of statements, which helps to construct an image of what they represent and the experience that the target audience can anticipate when they interact with the company.

Brand Image Generation

The creation of a successful brand image for a company relies upon the incorporation of certain core ideals, for example, quality, value for money and catering for individuals from all sectors of the general public. This in turn is a key tool to reach customers and involves constructing a promise that will capture their attention thus enabling them to identify with what your company has to offer them.The brand image is essentially the visualisation and expression of the core brand values that are to be portrayed to the customers. This can be accomplished by creating a brand image and ensuring its expression is consistent by means of a variety of mediums, such as the company website, advertising/promotional material, stationery, signage and vehicle livery.
 
The generation or revival of a company brand image will provide the company with a greater sense of direction by providing corporate strength and distinction in the marketplace.

Brand Interactivity

Creating an impacting brand image for a company will increase the customer awareness of the brand to levels not previously experienced. Consequently, this can increase interaction between the brand and its target audience significantly. The knock-on effect is the elevation of the company profile, which gives customers the confidence they want from any brand they wish to make a regular part of their lives.
 
It is important to increase interactivity between the customers and the organisation in its entirety and not just with the products on sale. This is especially true when a company does not just provide one unique product but a whole series of items.

Sustained Market Position

A well echoed brand image will positively influence the way your customer thinks about your company and the values they associate with it. Ensuring that your customers associate you with satisfying their needs will raise your company profile and subsequently increase sales.
 
The effective maintenance of the brand image is imperative since failing to do so means a short-lived presence in competitive markets, particularly in markets where your company is up against rival companies who do manage their brands well. Many large companies recognise the importance of this and set aside vast amounts of resources to guarantee that their brand is expressed in a consistent manner.
 
This is a trend that should be followed by smaller companies who undoubtedly want to grow and succeed like larger companies.

Why should you pay for logo design?

1. A logo is the very first impression people get of your company -
   Before a potential client even walks through your door, your logo is a representation of your company. It can make a company appear large, small (whether it really is or not) fun, serious, professional…
2. A logo needs longevity
   Once a logo is designed it will represent your company for many years.
3. A logo needs to be original
   A logo should be designed specifically for your company. A cheap “generic logo” may not reflect your company’s values. A cheap logo may also use clip art which could end up being used by another company.
4. A logo should look professional
   You wouldn’t take a potential new client to Mac Donalds for lunch, in effect this is what is being done with a cheap logo. A logo should give your company a professional image, appropriate to its needs.
5. A logo should reflect the time and thought gone in to designing it
   One of the problems here is that people don’t always realise the amount work that goes into a professionally designed logo:

    

   • The research - even if the budget is quite small I would expect at the very least to find out who the company’s main competitors are and how they present themselves
   • The brainstorming of ideas
   • The rough sketches
   • The 4 or 5 logo options worked up on the computer
   • The amends, tweaking and further amends
6. A logo is the starting point of your whole corporate image
   The colours typography and style of a logo will often dictate the corporate look of the rest of a company’s literature.

The full article can be found at the Graphic Design Blog