Living Organism

The need to update or reinvent a brand is a natural evolution and usually a requirement at some point during a company’s lifecycle. Times change, products develop and missions shift direction. In order to remain pertinent, congruent and up-to-date, a company’s brand identity must adapt. Inevitably, the challenge of keeping a unique voice will present itself. With so many corporate marks, type treatments and messages already in use, and with technology making our world smaller and smaller by the year, it is becoming more difficult for the designer’s creative process to remain fresh and unadulterated. Whether intentional or unintentional, designers and agencies often cross the line of “inspired and influenced by” to “copied and taken from.”

Look at Quark’s recent identity redesign. Created by SicolaMartin, the mark itself obviously represents a “Q.” At face value, the new mark, type treatment and color palate is everything Quark intended (and needed) it to be; radically different from the old logo to represent the company’s dramatic change. The new logo is fresh, unique and contemporary. The redesign is so profound that Pantone’s executive director and esteemed color psychologist, Leatrice Eiseman named Pantone 368 “Quark Green.” With so many renowned brand experts involved in this project, and with acclaim from Pantone itself, how could Quark have come so very close (identically exact, actually), to an established mark used by another organization?

Even more interesting – and not a very positive coincidence for SicolaMartin – this other organization, the Scottish Arts Council, is entrenched in the arts profession. Did the in-house designers at SicolaMartin see this logo before, somewhere along the way in their trek through the arts community? Is the resemblance a result of intentional copy art or is this something the design team’s collective subconscious once saw and was unknowingly inspired by? Regardless of which intent truly played its hand, steps should be taken by the client (in this case Quark), and the design company selected, to ensure that a similarity this striking does not go into production.

What the design company can do:

1. Know the Competitive Market Place – Competitors, large and small, should be researched. If the design company’s client operates locally, regionally, nationally or globally, the search should be as encompassing as possible. In Quark’s case, maybe design companies and art organizations should have been included since such groups are typically Quark’s clientele. Without understanding the competition’s (and your clients’) position, how can a design team expect to break new ground and speak to the audience in a unique manner?

2. Sketch, Write, Think and Keep Good Records of it All – Today’s advertising is as intrusive as ever; product placements, Internet marketing, corporate sponsorships and brand placement are everywhere. Advertisers intend to infect our subconscious. It should not be surprising if a designer inadvertently recreates a mark seen “once upon a time.” Furthermore, it is very possible to arrive organically at a mark already created; even when research is done properly. The process of sketching prior to execution will help in examining ideas prior to their complete evolution. Keeping notes of how you arrive at such ideas will support your efforts and shed light on your organic, honest and natural process.

3. Constantly Push, Study and Know Your Craft – Although it is impossible to know it all, it is possible to set aside time to study the industry. Keeping your fingers on the pulse of what your clients, potential clients and peers are doing will help in understanding trends, pitfalls and successes. You want to learn from others’ mistakes and oversights. Most importantly, you want to be able to speak intelligently, and with real world examples, about what is going on in the world surrounding your craft.

What the client can do:

1. Know Your Agency’s Delivery Team – It is never wise to make a buying decision based solely on an agency’s portfolio, sales team or management team. Dig deep: find out who will be delivering the work. Many agencies and design companies sell their “A” team but actually implement their “B” team to deliver. You will not see the “B” team’s work in the agency’s portfolio and you certainly will not be meeting with them. It is your job, as the prospect, to ask questions and get to know and understand who will be delivering your work. Younger, less experienced designers will have a poorer understanding and personal protocol established for sticking to a process; it is likely their work will be less unique and less polished.

2. Know Your Company’s Voice and Core Message – Prior to designing a brand identity, your company should already know its mission statement and value proposition. A polished tagline should also exist (even if it is not used directly). Having these items formalized will help you, and your team, gain a vision for your graphical presence. Having this vision will help you understand how appropriate a proposed design may or may not be. If a prospective agency does not ask for or offer assistance with your corporate messaging, consider interviewing more vendors.

3. Never Settle – Should your agency provide a design already in existence, do not be afraid to start the process again. Your brand has intrinsic value that is difficult, if not near impossible, to asses through cash worth. Talk with your agency about this. Most respectable agencies will not want to settle for providing their clientele something that has already been created. In the event you cannot immediately start over, define a plan to evolve the mark over a period of months or quarters. Your marketing effort and graphical representation is going to evolve. This is a natural and required process. It would not be out of the ordinary to plan out this evolution. As long as the plan takes into consideration your business goals, market perception, target audience and product offering – and works to uphold their significance – your plan will be set for success.