i-tees

In my last post I wrote about attending the all day event of Rock The World, given by Savor The Success. Listening to the speakers and meeting other women entrepreneurs, I have learned so much.

Michael Gerber of Origination asked us to write this down: “What do I want?”

For about a week I walked around saying different things to myself and it finally came to me.

I want to make whatever I come across better, whether it’s by creation, design or spreading environmental awareness.

I started thinking about how that is reflected in my company, SNDI.

Before when visitors came to my site there was a splash page and I had you select a link to go inside, but unless you dug deeper, visited my profile page or company page, you didn’t see me, the site was all about design and the portfolio.

I realized that what separates me from other design firms is ME! It’s my visions and conceptuality. What I come up with to brand a client or their product, is what makes me unique. It’s also what helps me retain clients year after year, they trust me, respect my expertise and know that whatever I create is solely for them, to help them shine.

New Branding YOU Better! Logo

So, I have started revising my site by branding the new phrase geared toward clients, “Branding YOU Better!” I removed the splash page and put my photo and a quick animation of a few client projects showing the branding I created for them. This is more direct and immediately separates me from other design studios. Next, my plan is get new headshots, create more graphics that show the continuity and style from print to web for many of my clients, and to add photos and video of my clients with their testimonials and perhaps new shots of them surrounded by the materials I created for them.

I also registered the new domain for Branding YOU Better! and will build a new site there, that is simple and direct. It will have just enough branding samples to make the point, and will use the latest javascript animation or programing techniques so I’m showing by example that I can create whatever a client wants or needs.

I also learned that when you have a design and logo that you’re using, you must make sure that you’re using it throughout your social media as well. I had been using my logos of course but forgot about the backgrounds. So I took that splash page and dropped it into Twitter (@sndinc), and did the same for our Frog Blog, you’ll see that the background on Twitter (@greeninnature) is now the same as Frogs Are Green. All banner ads I create are also using the same appropriate graphics.

This all helps to support my brand and creates trust for clients who know me and for new clients who have just discovered me.

In the last few weeks, I’ve been glued to both the internet and the TV (more than usual) for the latest on the world’s efforts to rescue the Haitian people in their time of need.

Photo from iStockPhoto.com

More than ever, I can’t help but notice the ridiculous ads that come up during the commercial breaks. I totally understand that if it weren’t for these advertisers, CNN or other news channels wouldn’t be on the air, or be able to pay the reporter’s and crew’s salaries and expenses when they travel to places like Haiti and we’ve got to have them, otherwise how would we stay informed. See the reality of it all.

I wonder sometimes what these advertisers are thinking? When I see advertising for luxury cars, luxury vacations, and the pharmaceutical products, most of which we don’t need, how can they put these ads up during times of crisis and think we’ll be interested in what they’re selling?

I must say that when I see an ad where a sports celebrity or company has created a new and timely ad, one where they are saying they will be donating to help the cause, I’m much more likely to respect that company and perhaps buy their product in the future.

Thanks for inventing the mute button. That helps.

A client whose website I am redesigning and updating, wrote to me recently and asked me to compare his website against another he’d come across. It seemed that his logo (icon) was 100% identical to the one on the other site and he wondered in my opinion if it was done by the same designer, or if perhaps, one designer copied the other.

These two companies couldn’t be farther apart in the industries they’re in, so perhaps whichever logo designer did them thought the two different clients would never see each other.

Now I must say that we’re all influenced by other designs, we cannot help it with the media we have before us. Between the internet, magazines and newspapers, TV, books, and all the existing companies with logos already trademarked, it’s a challenge to come up with an original logo design. But when I see two logos and they look like one was traced from the other, I know somebody copied the other, or was produced by the same designer.

What makes matters worse is the other website is an embarrassing health related type of site, and their icon is trademarked, so my client was horrified and now needs a new logo! When he approached the logo designer, the person just said, “Oh, really? Okay, would you like us to design a new logo for you?” I think that designer will not be surprised when he has to appear in court.

I felt I had to write about this because it made me wonder how an “artist,” a true “designer” would copy or use the same exact logo for two different clients. It makes me think that perhaps the company that produced the logos was more of a business and not a real artist, proud of their original designs, because a true artist would never copy their own work or someone else’s.

I know what you’re thinking, in web design we see templates for websites and blogs which are using this system and it works somewhat. You know, I’ll always try to convince my clients to go for an original design, even when it’s a blog. But branding a company, creating a logo/icon is very different and must always be original. This client not only had to remove it from their site, but will need to redesign their business cards, stationery and whatever marketing materials they’d created.

Here’s a link to another blog which talks more about this and shows a few examples similar to this case:
http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2005/09/logo-originality