When should a brand change it’s logo, and should Plum Creative bite the bullet?

Updating your logo can be a hazardous undertaking – hit the mark and you give your brand a shot in the arm, but get it wrong and you alienate the very people you want to engage. Case in point – the recent GAP logo snafu. The logo outraged just about everyone to the point that the brand was forced to withdraw the logo (and apologize profusely). On the other hand, VIrgin Atlantic's new logo was perceived as lighter and more contemporary and was generally well received by customers and the design community alike.   So, when it was recently suggested to me that I give Plum Creative a new look, I decided to get some feedback from my peers.

Here’s the back-story. Plum Creative works with top-level talent freelance talent such as art directors, copywriters and illustrators. Depending on our client’s particular project needs, we’ll find the perfect person (or team) for the job and manage the whole thing from beginning to end.  This year I launched Pitch Perfect Presentation (http://www.pitchperfectpresentation.com/) so that I might share my knowledge with freelance talent beyond those represented by Plum Creative. Through seminars, workshops and one-on-one counseling I teach the business, interpersonal and project management skills creative talent need to turn their bright ideas into business (and essentially represent themselves).

So while both businesses have a different target audience – they are 2 sides are the same coin (and my face is on both). So here’s my question: should I re-brand Plum to tie in more closely with Pitch Perfect, or should the two remain totally separate?

I’d love to hear what you think and under what circumstances YOU would make the change.

When (and when not) to incorporate an angry bat into your identity package

Fourteen years ago, I stepped of a boat from England (figuratively speaking, it was actually a plane) and found myself thrust into the design industry with no more than a good telephone voice and willing disposition. I soon learned that when it came to design, consistency and attention to every detail was paramount. At the time, this obsessive attention to detail was beyond me, but 14 years on, I’ve become one of those people.

So now you have a little background, I’d like to share a little anecdote - part funny story, part cautionary tale - about my upcoming nuptials.

After the dress and shoes (I am a girl after all), having a beautifully designed invitations was a high on my list of priorities. My dear friend and talented designer Merideth (of design firm 3 & Co.) designed invitations that fit the bill perfectly. They communicated our sensibility and stood out from the usual wedding fare….in short, we were thrilled.

For reasons not interesting enough to go into, I Fedexed my invitations to the UK so they could be mailed from there. My Mum was out of town when they arrived, so Dad agreed to take them to the post office. When I told him to pick nice stamps his response was (in true British style) “what do you mean? I’ll take what I’m given”. I probably should have been worried, but he’s an artist with a great eye for color, so I ignored the red flag. What ended up going out on my beautiful invitations were stamps that “highlight the 10 declining UK mammals”. The lucky guests got a hedgehog or sperm whale while the unlucky few got the bats - the long eared, the short eared and, wait for it…. the angry bat. Nothing says “wedding” like an angry bat!

I must admit, I laughed till I cried when I read Dad’s confessional email, but I urge you to learn from this tale when it comes to your own personal brand. Whether it’s your brand identity or brand voice, people notice the details and any inconsistencies. A good rule of thumb might be: if you don’t actually work for the British Wildlife Fund, perhaps you should leave the bats out of it.

P.S. If you ever need gorgeous invitations (or anything else), I’d highly recommend Merideth http://www.threeandco.com/

Virgin Atlantic's new logo

Here's the dish, I have a crush on Richard Branson. No, it's not the strawberry blond hair and goatee, but rather his natural grasp of business and branding principals that have me all of a twitter.

When it came to re-positioning the “high quality, value for money” airline, the task was put into the hands of London's Circus and Johnson Banks.

I was intrigued to see what Mr. B and his creative partners would serve up and they didn't disappoint. While it speaks to the brand's heritage and integrates the original 'Virgin' mark, the overall feel is lighter and more contemporary. As with any new look, it'll have it's fans and critics, but to my mind it's success lies in it's consistency. The new identity is applied dynamically and with thought across all applications - from the plane itself (those pesky windows are a challenge to logo application), to signage and boarding passes.

See what you think.





While you're at it - check out the time lapse movie (courtesy of Johnson Banks) on the livery make-over.

Virgin Atlantic plane livery time-lapse movie from johnson banks on Vimeo.

www.circuslondon.com/
www.johnsonbanks.co.uk/

Logos – the good, the bad and the downright cute

Like a haircut, your logo makes a lasting impression. Whether it’s date, or potential customer you’re hoping to attract – that first impression will most likely determine whether you get to 2nd base.

It’s worth putting in the effort to make sure that name and design come together in perfect harmony. It should communicate who you are, what you stand for and connect with your target audience? This starts with finding right designer for the job. Do they get what you do, understand your vision and share your aesthetic? Do they understand how it will translate across all communications (cautionary note: I had no idea that my first logo and identity would look so bad when it was applied to a website...though mauve should have been a hint!).

Here are a couple of logos that: I love, have confounded me, or have simply made me say "Ahhh"

Love - Maybe it’s because I’m a Brit, but I love the Victoria & Albert museum logo almost as much as I love the Victoria & Albert museum shop.

Huh? - As soon as I read that some people saw Lisa Simpson doing something rather rude in the London Olympics logo, I now can’t see anything else.



"Ahhh"- OK, so spending this much money on clothes that will fit a kid for about 2 weeks is nuts, but extra points for the cute logo.