Tag Archives: branding

Redesigned marketing materials for a good cause

Grant Halliburton Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to promote awareness and understanding of teen and young adult mental health. Their goal is to prevent suicide and to strengthen the network of mental health resources for young people. The Foundation provides mental health education, training and support to more than 20,000 students, educators, parents and professionals annually.

We worked with GHF to update their logo in 2009. Recently they asked us to help them update their marketing materials with a more unified look so that their materials can work together cohesively as a packet as well as individually.

The final printed materials from our print vendor have arrived and we are so excited with the results. It’s always exciting to get finished materials from the press, but we were extra excited about these because of some of the unusual finishing techniques we employed. We designed the pocket folder with custom curved pockets as well as a deboss of GHF’s logo for added depth. We also had the pieces printed on an uncoated paper stock to enhance their tactile feel.

We are very pleased with the final result!
A big thanks to Odee Company for their great work on the print production that brought our designs to life.

The benefits of graphic design

The Benefits of Graphic Design

Graphic design is about more than just appearances, and provides many more benefits than simply making something look good. Its importance is often underestimated, but good design can bring many significant business benefits. When used effectively graphic design can boost your company’s marketing and messaging through visual communication, giving it greater power to inform, educate, or persuade your audience. Here are some of the benefits:

Professionalism and Consistency

You want your company to make a great first impression. The use of logos, pictures and design can help create a professional image of your company in the eyes of your audience. When properly applied, graphic design offers visual consistency through all of your marketing efforts, which builds your company’s identity and brand recognition.

Identity and Brand Recognition

Graphic design helps establish your visual identity, which reflects your company’s mission and values. Your company’s branding begins with a great logo then expands to every aspect of your business communications, be it stationery, presentation templates, brochures, ads, websites or video. All of these things work together to build your identity and brand recognition. Your brand should provide an instant connection to your company’s mission and values as well as to the products and services that you offer, and good graphic design can forge that kind of connection.

Communication

Graphic design extends beyond establishing identity and brand recognition. It can be very effective at attracting attention and encouraging your audience to want to learn more. It also can be employed to produce visual aids that can better help you communicate your ideas. An informative image can transmit ideas that cannot be expressed with words alone. You can use professionally designed images to create a positive impression and help strengthen your message.

Build Trust, Goodwill & Loyalty

A well designed brand helps create a professional appearance that builds trust and credibility, which is essential to growing your business. Your brand fosters unity and commitment among your employees by providing them an identity and values to rally behind and promote. Trust plays a crucial role in convincing buyers about the quality of your products or services. Companies that thrive are ones that have developed a brand that is trusted. Good design plays a key role in creating communication that can enhance that trust.

Increase Sales & Market Position

With good graphic design, you not only gain high visibility, but you can also convert your audience into buyers, leading to increased sales. All of the above benefits can contribute to one powerful result: more sales and revenue for your business.

A Strategic Investment

Running a business is a long-term commitment. In today’s ever-growing marketplace, standing out is becoming more and more difficult. Using good design to establish your identity and brand is a great way to communicate who you are, what you do and why it is important.

The use of good design can improve many aspects of your business. Contact us to find out how we can help you strengthen your communication, marketing, and brand through graphic design.

Protecting your brand: Trademark or registered trademark

Trademark vs registered trademark: What’s the difference?

We develop logos, taglines and brand standards for our clients. Along the way, we’ve occasionally been asked about trademarks and the difference between trademark symbols. Here’s a brief overview.

Trademarks protect brand names and logos.

The registered trademark symbol ® signifies that a brand name or logo is a trademark or service mark that has been officially registered with the federal trademark office.

The most important thing to know is that you can not use the registered trademark symbol ® until you have officially registered with the trademark office.

The logo that we created for Waste Management, below, uses the registered trademark symbol.

WM Service Anniversary Greeting

Alternatively you can use the trademark (TM) symbol. The TM symbol can be used whenever you wish to claim a trademark for your brand name or logo without officially registering with the trademark office.

The logo we created for TakeawayTee Foundation, below, uses the TM symbol.

TakeawayTee Foundation

You can find further information and a more detailed explanation from the US Patent & Trademark Office here: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/trademark-basics

One last point: Don’t confuse copyrights with trademarks. The copyright symbol © is not the same as a trademark. The copyright symbol is intended to protect original works (artistic work, literary work, songs, movies, etc). The US Patent & Trademark Office explains it well: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks-getting-started/trademark-basics/trademark-patent-or-copyright