So, to make right, here’s a brand we’re busy working on. Its for a hi-end accessory store in Bryanston called Crystal Soul. The logo is just the first step in the project. We are in the process of creating the crystal in 3d to use in various marketing material.

Have a look at the pdf. Its a brief breakdown sent to the sign company.

A project that starts out as a web site design and transforms into a complete company rebrand are the kinds of projects we adore. “Sure,” I hear you say in a tone dripping with cynicism, “you love those types of projects because the billings are much higher!” Yes – business is business – but higher billings are just a small part of it. Corporate Identity projects are to id what chocolate is to… is to… well… everyone! Its deeply satisfying, there are absolutely no substitutes and once you start, you cannot put it down until its finished!

SI Group is a company based in the south of Johannesburg and the functions of the divisions under the group umbrella range very widely from staffing solutions, other various industrial and corporate sectors and end up rather unglamorously at industrial and domestic tyre sales.

The brief given to us was to rebrand SI Group itself as well as the companies it owned. Rebranding involved an overhaul of all visual elements that represented the group including its corporate identity as well as advertising materials and their website.

Logo Development

Research and presentation of the logo

The new logo (left) and the original logo (right)

Additional options

Based on feedback given at the initial briefing, we decided to keep the idea of using the letters “S” and “I” as the main symbol around which to base the entire corporate identity. After spending time researching and sketching, Sean came up with the icon that was excitedly accepted. In addition to the approved concept, we also presented two additional options, perhaps not for the client to consider but to give extra weight to the icon we thought was the best fit for the group! (“Here are some additional options, but see how badly they translate here and see how ineffective this icon is in this industry, etc., etc,!”)

Typeface usage

We chose a Humanist-style sans-serif typeface because of its legibility as well as its approachability. It may seem weird to personify a typeface with human qualities but Humanist-style typeface families really do have qualities that you would describe a warm, friendly but professional person. Examples of these typefaces include Frutiger (the family chosen for this project), Gill Sans (used for the London Underground since 1929), Calibri (there’s a reason why Microsoft chose it as their default font in Office), Trebuchet MS, etc.

Group division logos

The next step in the project was to create a way to apply the newly designed logo to the various divisions of SI Group. The use of colour was the solution that best suited the differentiation of the divisions but also ensured that there was a very clear link between the divisions and the group.

Colour palette

Corporate Identity guidelines

Poster showing basic logo guidelines (click to enlarge)

Now we could say that the client commissioned us to produce a fully comprehensive Corporate Identity Manual comprising of many hundreds of pages valued at thousands and thousands of Rands. We could, but what medium-sized corporation has the budget to produce a document like that? (If you know of someone or are someone with that type of money lying around: “Hi, we’re id, a company that will gladly take that mentioned money and replace it with a fully comprehensive Corporate Identity Manual comprising of many hundreds of pages!”)

Instead of the Corporate Identity manual, we produced a poster that shows all the division logos as well as colours and typefaces used. Its now framed and mounted on the office wall of the person responsible for branding and marketing at SI Group.

Member stamp

SI Group wanted a graphic element that would be used by the group members to illustrate there affiliation with SI Group. We created a device that is reminiscent of a foil stamp on a certificate. This device is used by division companies on their branding material. The stamp is useful when a division’s logo does not follow the graphic standards of SI Group, eg. Future Force Consulting. See our post on this logo redesign.

Stationery

Stationery requirements for this project were business cards, MS Office templates and email stationery for all current divisions. The SI Group stationery is shown here. The division stationery is the same with the relevant name and colour changes.

Branding Items

Shown here is a small selection of branding items we’ve produced using the new corporate identity. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge.

Website

The irony of this project is that the web site is still an ongoing project. Its been decided to migrate the web site to WordPress (read here about our love affair with WordPress) so that when the site is complete, changes can be made by an employee of SI Group and that same person can administer a News section that will be regularly updated with relevant information. Click on the thumbnail to see the basic look and feel of the new site.

Conclusion

The reasons that Corporate Identity development is both challenging and extremely rewarding are the same:

• You have to become knowledgeable about the company dynamic as well as the products or services they offer.
• You have to produce a high quality product with an often very limited budget.
• You have to think far into the future to make sure your designs don’t date too quickly and that they are malleable enough to survive if the company completely changes focus (without being too generic).
• You have to be acutely aware that the brand you create for the company is very often the first impression that is made to prospective customers and that first impression could mean a successful business transaction or a move to the competitor.

Look at the bottom of this post. See the little Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus buttons? Click on them to share the love and ensure good all round karma! Thanks!

Here’s another reason. This post has been written on my iPad with the super-slick app available on the App Store for the princely sum of $0. It’s great for that spelling mistake your boss phoned you about at 2 o’clock this morning. It’s also great for that ‘Eureka Moment’ when you’re on the beach. It’s another justification to the accounts department that your iPad/Android Tab/Blackberry, etc. is indeed a very valuable business tool.

WordPress is our chosen platform when designing and developing web sites for clients that require a little more than a ‘vanilla’ web site. It empowers our clients to take control of their own content. It allows them to log in to add and edit content from anywhere and from any platform.

If your web site is old and manky and in serious need of a make-over, let’s talk. Then go straight to the accounts department and demand an iPad.

Update real soon!

(Warning: what follows is a little geeky.) Its been about 10 years that I’ve used Carrara for my 3D modeling and rendering and I’ve just stumbled upon the best way to give objects a smooth, round edge. A few clicks that shortens render times from overnight to about 10 minutes. (Okay, done. Sorry).

So, please, raise a glass and toast me, the old dog, that after 10 odd years, managed to learn a new trick. No, please, you’re too kind! No applause, thanks! Thanks very much!

The zip file contains wallpapers for wide and standard screens as well as iPad home and lock screens. Android tablets, you ask? Do they still make those?

→ be_unique_wallpaper.zip (1.6mb)

Be Unique Wallpaper by Sean Sequeira is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Original Logo

Our brief was to update the logo and corporate identity of the company using the same or similar colours to the original logo. We quite liked the idea of keeping the triangular devices and the abbreviation “FFC” which is what they use to introduce themselves. We tweaked the colours slightly, particularly the grey, which is now the same grey used by SI Group companies.

The symbol can be used on its own and in monochrome which makes the branding of corporate gifting and other marketing items far easier. The large red triangle gives a feeling of forward momentum which the client really likes. (The old one also has that, Sean!)

As usual, click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images. If you like this design (or any others in the big idea blog) please share them with your friends/colleagues/aunties/uncles/MDs/FDs/CEOs/COOs/CFOs (?) by using the share buttons below. Thanks!

We designed the “spray” device to mirror the symbol of the existing logo. The device was created in Carrara 3D and refined in Adobe Photoshop. Due to strict laws governing pharmaceutical advertising in South Africa, we can’t show you the logo or reveal the name of the product.

To communicate the “whatever the season” aspect of the product, we created the icons and colour palette. This gave us a tremendous amount of scope when it came to designing promotional items (think wobblers, counter-talkers, etc.). The pattern was also used to add texture and depth to the various promotional items.

Here’s the link to the site: www.starpack.co.za.

Oh, BTW, the 3d rendered logo is our work too!