Re: Branding

I'm really loving Katie's direction!

I think that anything you do will certainly help, but I wanted to focus a little more on how to pitch your ideas to your company. With change like this, there can usually be some push back (speaking from experience), and if you suggest something to drastic, they might not change anything at all.

As Jen suggested, it's a good idea to sit down with a focus group at work, if you can. Find out more about the decision makers' mission and vision for the overall brand and the new solar division.

I have learned in my experience with rebranding projects that things run more smoothly when you have an agreed-upon story to tell. Does your company have a lot of sustainability initiatives? Is it moving towards more renewable building materials that are earth-friendly? I might be shooting in the dark here, but I am trying to think of ways that the main company relates back to the solar division, and the customers that the solar generates. If this is a possible tie-in, or if you can think of something else, then that may be what you want to focus on with the design. For the sustainable business example, you could tie them together using the green in the main logo to represent eco-friendly, maybe a cleaner sans serif in both logos to show a more modern perspective, etc. You could argue that the new direction of the company needs to be conveyed to the customers, and the best way to do that is through the visual identity. If that's not the case, and perhaps they want to focus on the fact they are local, reliable and trustworthy, maybe think about playing that up in both of the logos. Again, just examples, but non-designers seem to get more invested in a project like this if they can add their stories and feelings to the mix (without them getting too nitpicky on color choices, typefaces, sizing, etc.)

Since branding is all about what people think of your business, and not necessarily what you portray, it is important that everyone is working together to tell the same story. Like Amy said in class, the two different logos show that the company is unable to make a decision, and unsure of who they really are. That doesn't necessarily spread consumer confidence, but I am sure a lot of other things do. I'm guessing that you guys have great salespeople, quality materials, and fantastic reviews. You just need to tie everything together with the look and feel.

When you do pitch the design, make sure to use a lot of what the team discusses in your explanation. I find the pitch very difficult because I get emotionally attached to my work. It is hard for me to defend my work in a professional, articulate manner, so that is certainly something that I need to work on. Try also presenting several options that you are happy with. Giving them options makes them feel like they are ultimately making the decision, instead of you putting something in front of them and saying this is what we should do/are going to do (again, speaking from experience).

I hope that I answered a few of your questions at least. It is definitely a tough project. I'll bring in Designing Brand Identity to class tomorrow.