Longtime Sign Image customers may notice something a bit different about us lately. After more than 25 years, we made our first ever overhaul of our brand identity and logo. As a sign company, we spend our days helping customers bring their brand refreshes to life. Along the way, we’ve learned a few do’s and don’ts, which we were happy to put to use when planning our own brand updates.
Lesson #1: Build on your legacy, don’t write over it.
When approaching our logo and brand design, we knew from the start that we didn’t want a complete deviation from our legacy logo. Our goal was to refresh, modernize, and simplify what we had. Luckily, Sign Image had been using a very simple Handel Gothic wordmark on the bottom of every single one of the 500+ digital signs we’ve installed. Arguably, that wordmark was just as recognizable as our primary logo, if not more so. It was simple, clean, and highly readable. Our new logo builds on that wordmark, adding color and a few visual elements that promote it from simple text to a graphic we feel both stands out and builds on our brand. When getting started, consider first what your customers recognize, and use that as inspiration.
Legacy logos
Updated logo
Lesson #2: Design for the physical world.
Your logo will exist on clothing, mugs, vehicles, and of course, signs. Your new brand guidelines will need to include Pantone (PMS) codes so your vendors and partners can help ensure your brand matches from screen to sign. One major watch-out here: If you’re going to have a sign with internal illumination, and your brand colors are to be translucent, work with your sign company to see illuminated test prints before locking in your color. Your team will want to make sure your brand looks consistent and readable, even at night.
Lesson #3: Consider timelines up front.
Your logo is used across dozens, if not hundreds, of different situations. Replacing the logo on your electronic invoices can happen with the click of a button, but other branded content such as signs and graphics can take a lot longer. While it’s ok to let your old and new brand sit side by side for a short time while longer-cycle assets are switched over, it’s best to consider the timeline of each asset type early on. In some cases, signage could be one of the items with a longer lead time, especially if your changes will entail permitting. A good starting point is to make a list of everywhere your logo lives, and sketch out how long each will take to replace.
If you’re considering refreshing your brand, give us a call at 989-781-5229. We’d love to talk more in depth about what you’re trying to achieve, and how we can help.