Corporate logo design creates a clear direction and a strong foundation in your company.
Every company’s corporate brand needs to be cohesive across its communication channels. A high-quality, recognizable logo is central to helping an organization create a strong foundation for future growth.
Case Study: PTI Security Systems
PTI Security Systems assembles and sells access control systems for self-storage facilities. They are a leader in the market with operations in over 80% of secured sites in the world. When a new president was hired for PTI Security Systems, they engaged id8 to help create a new corporate logo design for their company. The new executive had plans for new technology and future growth for the company, but their existing corporate brand was lacking, and a new logo design was needed to support this planned growth.
Standing Out Among Competitors
PTI was occupying a role as more of a follower in the market and did not stand out among its competitors. Their corporate logo design used the same common red, white, and blue theme that their competitors used in their logo designs. To capture more of the market, they needed to become memorable. PTI engaged id8 to create a strong corporate brand and logo design.
After reviewing their existing materials and surveying the market, the id8 team saw the needs a new logo for PTI needed to fill. id8 designed a corporate logo with a differentiating black and yellow color palette. The new logo design consisted of a strong, connected font, conveying strength and authority. PTI’s corporate logo now stands out from its competitors.
Communicating Services
PTI offers a wide range of integrated security solutions, like keypads, door alarms, security software, and mobile apps. But after their acquisition, they focused on offering more automated technology, including push-button security, automated door opening, and new safety measures. With the new logo design in place, id8 also created a new icon system. It was important for the brand elements to work together to help PTI communicate its new services in an easy and cohesive way to gain market share.
id8 updated PTI’s tradeshow materials, sales materials, advertising campaigns, and marketing materials. The new corporate logo was also used to create business cards, letterhead, and a website. These updated materials support cohesive communication all of which stems from PTI’s new logo design.
Since the rebrand of the company, PTI Security Systems has seen tremendous growth. PTI’s corporate logo design has allowed for new market growth into business intelligence, mobile, and automation.
So, you’re ready for a Corporate Logo Design (or Redesign) – but where to start?
id8 has extensive experience with corporate logo design projects, both designing new logos for new brands, and working with established brands who were looking to redesign their corporate logo. The process is a little different in each of those scenarios, and we can look at the differences and similarities.
For established organizations, we begin with an audit. The logo design audit looks at all of the materials that have been used to communicate the brand. We investigate what currently exists, including tracking down all multiple versions of business cards, letterhead, signage, invoices, referral cards, paint colors, uniforms, vehicle wraps, and company brochures, as well as looking at the corporate website, and social media accounts like Facebook and LinkedIn, online listing accounts, and more.
Once we have gathered examples of all existing uses and versions of the current logo, we lay them out side by side and start reviewing them. We look for patterns and similarities. Are the colors and fonts consistent? Is the logo the same on all communications and collateral? Is it used the same way for both internal and external communications? If there are multiple logo versions being used, which is the most common, and what channels is it used for?
Then we summarize all our findings, opportunities for improvement, and objectives for consistent logo use and branding. We look at ways the logo isn’t being fully utilized to help achieve business objectives and how we can put it to work to further those objectives.
Our next step for established organizations, and our first step for new brands, it to start talking to stakeholders. We talk to executives, employees, and customers, when possible. We learn about what the brand means to them, what they’re looking to promote (or in the case of customers, what they’re wanting to get to from the brand). We learn about the corporate values, mission, and purpose. We look at competitors, to see what else is being done in the market to make sure we’re going to help your company stand out.
We follow that up with a meeting with your team, where we review all of the data we gathered through interviews and the competitor audit. We talk about any final needs that might not have come up yet and review our creative brief with you. This makes sure we’re all working towards the same goals as we move into design.
Now the exciting part starts – we begin our design phase by making lots of thumbnail sketches, playing with ideas, text versus icons, and so much more. We might make 50-100 sketches as we rough out our ideas and start to see what will work. Then we pare that down to five good design ideas. We refine the symbols/icons, the font, and the layout and organization of the logo. And we have an internal review to narrow those five ideas down to the top two or three.
Our next step is to bring those top two or three ideas to you for review and feedback. We will present them to you, concept by concept, with the designs shown in color, in black and white, as an embroidered logo like you would use on a shirt or uniform, and on different backgrounds. We show you a range of how each of them would be used and how they would look in different situations, so you can get a full feel for each concept.
Now, it’s time for a decision. After you’ve picked your top choice and given us any feedback or thoughts about it – we move into finalizing the design. We make sure you’re happy with every version of the logo for every needed application. And we define the guidelines around using the logo – colors, backgrounds, spacing, etc. – everything you need to define to ensure your logo is used consistently across all media.
While id8 does draw on our extensive background in logo design when we start a new project, at the core, we use an evidence-based design process – driven by the individual needs of each company we work with. And we aren’t merely creating something nice, or trendy, or current. We are creating a logo that has meaning and a purpose. We’re designing a new logo that represents your company and gives you a story to tell.
In the end, the logo should create a spark. It should create an emotional connection with your customers and clients and if it’s not doing that, it’s time to look for ways to update your logo to truly represent your company. There is always a competitor trying to outpace you or outwork you. Use your logo design as a competitive advantage to win every time.