Fresh

Crafting a Better Experience

We have all sorts of fantastic projects that we get to do on a day-to-day basis. Some amazing clients come to us with challenging problems and often we feel very proud of the solutions. Solutions we think many of you’d probably like to see, and more importantly, know the thinking behind. This is what prompted us to start this new series called Fresh Projects. We hope you’ll find it useful and interesting. As always, we’d love to hear comments and critiques on whether we hit the mark.

This first time around we wanted to show a recently launched site we did for Wacom Technologies – namely, Pen Scrappers – a resource for digital scrapbookers.

Although we had previously worked with Wacom to create the first iteration of Pen Scrappers – which was essentially a contest site that helped generate awareness for Wacom’s Bamboo Craft pen tablet – we were given the chance this time around to up the ante. Wacom had identified this audience as one that they could talk to more specifically, and they wanted to foster the community that already existed by creating a website that would be a strong resource for those looking to hone their craft.

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Face it: being “behind the times” is the last thing anyone wants. And yet so many brands can fall victim to neglect. This is especially true online, where trends come and go faster than you can say “2.0″and new technology is emerging every day.

Every aspect of a brand needs a little TLC here and there to keep it feeling fresh. Even huge brands with tons of equity in their logo will update it now and then. Expect to devote resources for maintaining your brand! Don’t send it out alone and without the support and love it deserves.

Logos are the Primary Touch Point of Every Brand

A successful logo should have lasting power. It should communicate the goals and values of a company or organization. This isn’t always the case, though. Sometimes goals and values change, sometimes mergers happen, and sometimes color schemes become iconic of an era you’d rather forget. Don’t get me wrong either, you can convey the ideas of history and trust and not feel dated.

A logo change does not need to be ground-breaking to be successful. Don’t feel like you have to re-design it completely. Many times, brands will make subtle changes to their logos as the years pass. Take the Firefox icon for example:

Old Firefox icon at left and redesigned version at right (image via Brand New). You can read the creative brief for the redesign here. Basically, they were looking to modernize some of the textures and the shape of the tail and play down the level of detail.

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