How&How on ignorning “don’t touch the logo” mandates
When How&How was commissioned to rebrand e-commerce platform Big Cartel, one thing was made crystal clear – the logo had to stay the same. “The idea of changing the logo was categorically vetoed in the original scope,” co-founder Cat How explains.
“It’s a designer’s nightmare,” How&How creative director Chris Clayton says. “It makes you question the client’s appetite for change. And how will a new brand system fit with the old logo? But I think we also see it a massive challenge.”
That’s because the team has learned – through many rebrands with different clients – that the logo probably is up for grabs. “In the past we would take it as gospel,” Cat How says. “Now we nod our heads, and smile. Because in our experience, it’s never really going to be it.”
The previous Big Cartel logo
The main reason clients warn designers off changing the logo is that they believe it has brand equity which they don’t want to lose. But, as Rog How explains, this is often overstated.
“For a very mature brand that everyone knows, where they do genuinely have that equity, change has to be more incremental. You’d probably struggle to get Tiffany to change their turquoise.
“But most of the companies we work with are either in a scrappy scale-up phase, or they’ve hit a bit of a plateau and need to unlock that next bit of growth.”
There can also be personal issues in the mix – logos designed by the founder, or a family member, which come with emotional baggage. “We once had to tell a client that their logo – which had been designed by his wife – was really ugly and didn’t suit the brand at all.”
In this scenario, the agency commissioned research to point out where the current logo was falling short. The point is that any brand asset – a logo, typeface, brand colours – needs to work within the broader whole.
“The logo always seems like the biggest deal, but in all honesty it is just one part of the bigger brand system,” Clayton explains.
Any good brand positioning work will interrogate who that company is and what it stands for. It all begins with that strategic work, and most of the time, an old logo won’t work as part of a new strategy.
“The logo has to represent the character of the company and if you have refined the positioning, it will usually have a knock-on effect on the logo,” Rog How explains.
For its work for Big Cartel, the strategy was designed to give the company, which has been around since 2005, a “new lease of life.” The new positioning was built around the idea “Goodbye caution” to highlight the platform as “the go-to for entrepreneurs taking the leap.”
The How&How team presented the client with various routes, some of which included the old logo, some of which didn’t.
The idea was to start a conversation about whether the new direction needed a new logo too. The designers were convinced it did, but they needed the client to get there themselves.
“When you show people the brand evolution with the old logo, and then a new logo, nine times out of ten they agree that the new one is way better,” Rog How says. “They can see it’s been considered as part of the whole system.”
How&How’s new identity for Big Cartel
The new visual direction is deliberately scrappy, from its use of illustration to risograph textures and a punchy tone of voice.
“The new logo needed to preserve the independent spirit that made the original so meaningful to the team,” Clayton says. “Our goal was to evolve it – not replace it – capturing the same attitude and scrappy energy that of the new brand.”
Once they showed the client the hand-drawn new logo in the context of the rest of the design work, it was a no-brainer. “It was impossible to argue with,” Clayton says. “The brand felt so distinctive but all the elements lived in perfect harmony with each other.”
In fact, when How&How sent the client their case study and press materials one main request came back – they wanted to make more of the logo redesign.
The key to all of this, Cat How says, is trust. If you build the right relationship with a client, you gain the permission to push and challenge them, however adamantly they rule out certain things at the start.
“It’s a very gradual dance,” she explains.
“I think clients, and it’s not their fault, come to us thinking they know what they want. It’s our responsibility to show them what they could have, and what they don’t know they need yet.
“It’s not about getting smaller and self-referencing – it’s about showing them how to take a creative leap based on emotion, and strategy, and language.
How&How’s new identity for Big Cartel
How&How’s new identity for Big Cartel
#howampamphow #ignorning #dont #touch #logo
How&How on ignorning “don’t touch the logo” mandates
When How&How was commissioned to rebrand e-commerce platform Big Cartel, one thing was made crystal clear – the logo had to stay the same. “The idea of changing the logo was categorically vetoed in the original scope,” co-founder Cat How explains.
“It’s a designer’s nightmare,” How&How creative director Chris Clayton says. “It makes you question the client’s appetite for change. And how will a new brand system fit with the old logo? But I think we also see it a massive challenge.”
That’s because the team has learned – through many rebrands with different clients – that the logo probably is up for grabs. “In the past we would take it as gospel,” Cat How says. “Now we nod our heads, and smile. Because in our experience, it’s never really going to be it.”
The previous Big Cartel logo
The main reason clients warn designers off changing the logo is that they believe it has brand equity which they don’t want to lose. But, as Rog How explains, this is often overstated.
“For a very mature brand that everyone knows, where they do genuinely have that equity, change has to be more incremental. You’d probably struggle to get Tiffany to change their turquoise.
“But most of the companies we work with are either in a scrappy scale-up phase, or they’ve hit a bit of a plateau and need to unlock that next bit of growth.”
There can also be personal issues in the mix – logos designed by the founder, or a family member, which come with emotional baggage. “We once had to tell a client that their logo – which had been designed by his wife – was really ugly and didn’t suit the brand at all.”
In this scenario, the agency commissioned research to point out where the current logo was falling short. The point is that any brand asset – a logo, typeface, brand colours – needs to work within the broader whole.
“The logo always seems like the biggest deal, but in all honesty it is just one part of the bigger brand system,” Clayton explains.
Any good brand positioning work will interrogate who that company is and what it stands for. It all begins with that strategic work, and most of the time, an old logo won’t work as part of a new strategy.
“The logo has to represent the character of the company and if you have refined the positioning, it will usually have a knock-on effect on the logo,” Rog How explains.
For its work for Big Cartel, the strategy was designed to give the company, which has been around since 2005, a “new lease of life.” The new positioning was built around the idea “Goodbye caution” to highlight the platform as “the go-to for entrepreneurs taking the leap.”
The How&How team presented the client with various routes, some of which included the old logo, some of which didn’t.
The idea was to start a conversation about whether the new direction needed a new logo too. The designers were convinced it did, but they needed the client to get there themselves.
“When you show people the brand evolution with the old logo, and then a new logo, nine times out of ten they agree that the new one is way better,” Rog How says. “They can see it’s been considered as part of the whole system.”
How&How’s new identity for Big Cartel
The new visual direction is deliberately scrappy, from its use of illustration to risograph textures and a punchy tone of voice.
“The new logo needed to preserve the independent spirit that made the original so meaningful to the team,” Clayton says. “Our goal was to evolve it – not replace it – capturing the same attitude and scrappy energy that of the new brand.”
Once they showed the client the hand-drawn new logo in the context of the rest of the design work, it was a no-brainer. “It was impossible to argue with,” Clayton says. “The brand felt so distinctive but all the elements lived in perfect harmony with each other.”
In fact, when How&How sent the client their case study and press materials one main request came back – they wanted to make more of the logo redesign.
The key to all of this, Cat How says, is trust. If you build the right relationship with a client, you gain the permission to push and challenge them, however adamantly they rule out certain things at the start.
“It’s a very gradual dance,” she explains.
“I think clients, and it’s not their fault, come to us thinking they know what they want. It’s our responsibility to show them what they could have, and what they don’t know they need yet.
“It’s not about getting smaller and self-referencing – it’s about showing them how to take a creative leap based on emotion, and strategy, and language.
How&How’s new identity for Big Cartel
How&How’s new identity for Big Cartel
#howampamphow #ignorning #dont #touch #logo
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