Jun 2, 2010 | Richard Bird | 0 Comments

What The Heck Does This Have To Do With Creating A New Logo?

The Question
We are working on a new corporate identity program and we began the process by asking a lot of questions about the client company, its business, partners, employees and history.

Suddenly, one of the executives pushed back with this comment, “What the heck does this have to do with creating a new logo?”

Our Answer
Well, we don’t know the answer to that… yet.

What does an Apple have to do with computers (or The Beatles)?
An Alligator and Sportshirts?
A Dog and Radios?
An Egg and Hosiery?

Here’s a closer-to-home, real-world example:

This is R.BIRD’s official, corporate logo, that appears on our executive stationery and adorns the glass wall of our conference room. So, what does this have to do with a design company? I can tell you.

It connects with the company, R.BIRD, in three meaningful and lasting ways:
# R.BIRD is a design company with a history, nearly 30 years now. So, we wanted a logo symbolic of traditional foundations, not current trends or graphic tricks.
# At the same time, we have always been forward-looking. The company was founded on that basis.
# Finally, to tie it all together, my “BIRD” family tree goes back to 1792 in this country when ancestor, Powell Bird, was the first non-native settler in what is now Sullivan County, PA. A true pioneer.

Now, no one in the public domain would know these things. But, everyone can intuitively connect on the first two points. Plus, there’s the added benefit of a story to tell behind the logo that will always resonate and ring true.

These are the kinds of things that come out of asking questions (our surveys, for example) that might, at first, seem to have nothing at all to do with “creating a new logo.”

P.S. The R.BIRD Explorer was drawn for us by Mike Bull and inspired by the style of his well-known “Indian Head” logo for Mohawk Paper company.

+++

Sharing
Here are links to the surveys we created to start this project. Feel free to use them as a model for you own initiative.
Corporate ID Survey for External Audience
Corporate ID Survey for Internal Audience

Related
What Does A Hummingbird Have To Do With Money?
What Does An Apple Have To Do With A Computer?

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