Our
studio works with company brand identities on a daily basis and has had the
pleasure of working on some great rebranding exercises from initial concepts
and research right through to refining every detail in the brand manuals.
But what
happens when we, Apple Print and Creative, think a rebrand is in order for
ourself... here’s how the process works right on our doorstep and the questions
you should ask if you’re considering it too.
What’s
the point in a rebrand?
It sounds
absurd... but sometimes a company simply outgrows their existing brand identity
(particularly the logo in which it becomes synonymous with). It may use dated
colours, typefaces or images or no longer portrays the company’s service(s)
succinctly. This is where we were at with our own identity - up until 2010 we
were simply known as Apple Print, but in 2012 our creative design service
offerings grew. This enabled us to launch Apple Creative and resulted in two
logos being used.
Are
you attempting to solve a problem with your rebrand?
We were
beginning to wonder whether the two separate logos for each service were
insinuating two separate companies and they just didn’t match-up with our new
company name of Apple Print and Creative. Not to mention the fact that it’s far
more difficult to utilise two logos side-by-side in marketing literature. This
prompted some word of mouth market research with our current clients and
internal staff.
What
does your brand want to convey?
As our
services grew from just print... to print and design... to print, design and
online... we knew that we had to rethink the way our business was portrayed. We
were very proud of the large range of services we now offered to our clients
and wanted an identity to show that we had worked hard and invested heavily in
the very best of equipment to maintain our high quality standards. Our logos
just didn’t cut the mustard any more.
Is
your brand associated with something that is no longer meaningful?
Apple
Print was established over 25 years ago, in 1986. The name itself comes from
the idea of ‘A’ being the first letter in the alphabet and therefore the yellow
pages!! The branding imagery has followed the fruit ‘apple’ as an immediate
association throughout the years and as a small, growing company - that suited.
We were now far larger and had entered a new and exciting phase in our
development when we moved into a stunning new office and expanded our range of
services. We required something more corporate that would not only stand the
test of time, but also not limit our growth.
Is
the goal of the rebrand a stepping stone (evolutionary) or a milestone
(revolutionary)?
This is
one of the most important questions of a rebrand as it reflects the future of
the company. For us, it was purely evolutionary - we didn’t need to reinvent
ourselves and still wanted our existing clients to know who we were, we simply
needed to freshen it up and make it more contemporary. If your company is going
through drastic changes, a revolutionary new brand identity is usually fitting
to ensure that everyone (internally and externally) is aware of the change of
direction. It can also signify a new start and be very motivational for staff.
THE
APPLE PRINT AND CREATIVE PROCESS OF A REBRAND:
1)
An Apple Print and Creative sales executive meets with the client to draft an
initial brief.
As we
worked on this internally, we ensured that a comittee for the rebrand included
the sales team, marketing team, creative team and senior management. This
allowed us to write a concise brief on where we wanted to go with the brand and
encompassed everyone’s ideas of the company.
2)
A member of the creative team meets the client to hone down the brief and truly
understand what the company wishes to convey with their new identity.
At this
point, our creative team got together and analysised the existing logos as to
what worked, what didn’t, whether the colour palette wanted to remain and
whether the typeface still had longevity. This then formed the basis of the
design brief.
3)
The studio researches competitor brands
This
research is invaluable for any project and highlights the routes you should and
shouldn’t take in your ideas.
4)
The studio designs three strong options for a client discussion our
creative team loves this stage. By this point the brief should be clear and the
concepts should be strong. For our own combined logo, the three concepts were
very similar and only differed in typeface and colour. However, for some
companies - this is an ideal place to pitch three completely different and
unrelated ideas to start a discussion from. This is the stage in which the
client is able to see their brief interpreted visually, so our team often uses
at least two designers to brainstorm ideas and make sure all factors are
communicated well.
5)
The sales person and designer will present the ideas to the client at a second
meeting our
design team presented to the branding committee to gauge their initial
thoughts. There was a strong concensus at this point (which infrequently
happens in a rebrand) but luckily it made the further development stage far
quicker. If the initial brief has been taken correctly and the company has a
strong idea of where they want to be, one of the three concepts presented
usually hits the mark. This will be the one that is then developed to form a
fully rounded design. In some cases there is not an obvious route to take, and
it’s only when you begin to see visuals that you can detemine what you like or
what doesn’t work for the company. It’s rarely a case of completely back to the
drawing board, but a couple or all of the concepts may be taken to the
development stage if the route is still not clear.
6)
One chosen idea will then be developed to form a final concept. This
section takes the initial idea to the next level and ensures it meets every
expectation of the brief and conveys the company values. We had a few tweaks on
ours, but as the initial idea was well received - it didn’t need too much
refining.
7)
The colour palette and typeface(s) will be chosen to complement the new logo
and the branding guidelines document will be created. This
determines the sizes and rules of logo useage and demonstrates example uses (eg
on stationery or online). The branding guideline document is essential to not
only ensure that all literature and marketing is consistent, but also
communicate to internal staff why it is happening.
The main
objectives of our own rebrand were to consolodate the two existing areas of the
business into one and make sure that it reflected our new corporate outlook. It
also needed to be flexible and easy to use on marketing materials and allow
continual growth in our services.We decided upon losing the apples in our
original branding, as we felt it stunted where we could go design-wise. We did,
however, feel that the typeface (Dax) was still part of our identity and
portrayed the friendly nature associated with us.
We are
really pleased to announce that this is our new logo, and look forward to any
feedback you may have on it.
Is your
company considering a new brand identity or are you considering starting a
company and require an identity of your own? Our creative studio would be
delighted to discuss how they can help you...
Just call
01635 521654, email info@appleprint.co.uk or pop in to The
Orchard, Abex Road, Newbury Berks RG14 5EY
