A good brand guidelines document should give the brand room to breath in the future, to accommodate new ideas, and new strategies. They should not be seen as a straight jacket, more of a comfortable smart top you feel proud to wear at home or in a restaurant.

Background
Established Commercial Photographers in Leeds with varied client base.

Problem
Powerhouse was sometimes seen as just another commercial photographer in Yorkshire, abeit one of high standards and with some impressive names in their client base. After 10 years in the business with extensive food, and creative expertise, they were never seen as specialist suppliers of those photography styles (which of course they were). What needed to be done was to establish powerhouse as experts in their fields without alienating existing clients.

Process
Initially we looked at existing designs for the logo, what we wanted to keep, and what we wanted to lose. We needed a logo that would work with all areas of the business. How the logo would work with other elements of Graphic Design, eg a Poster, Flyer or a Brochure, but mainly the Web where Powehouse do most of their marketing.

We looked at Powerhouse strengths, and really focused on them. They were creative photography, Food photography, Pack shot photography, and Interactive photography. We then built a structure for the brand, separating each element of the business into its own distinctive area, a specialist website for each, so that someone wanting food photography wont be looking at pack shot photography.

The existing brand was tired and being treated as word rather than a brand, it changed from letterhead to business card to website, for that reason it was not a strong brand for their competative market. We needed to rebuild that brand as a strong signifier of quality.

After a the initial idea stage we took favoured routes to the development stage and worked it into onto the new business structure. Here we all felt that the structure of the business should be clear through the brand internally, and externally to the potential customer. Although it was necessary to explore a few different routes and ideas, we felt it important for everybody to be happy with the end result.

Solution

From Neil Adams of Powerhouse
Our new brand and website has received great feedback, and turn visitors into actual customers. We worked with Giles throughout the re-brand process, and are really delighted with the results.

In early 2008 Arena Group in Wakefield contacted me about their branding. They were competing in a technological marketplace with a brand that did not do the business justice. The existing logo was designed by one of the directors when the company first formed in 1991, and whilst initially it ‘did the job’, time and the business had moved on. Arena originally specialised in supplying photocopiers across the North of England, but over time had grown to become an all round office solutions provider, offering services in electronic document management, IT and consultancy, in addition to their thriving photocopier sales. Arena had a well respected standing in the market and wanted to sell on an assured quality of service.

The issue:

A tired and outdated brand, with weak formatting and typography. Within that brand however was a trusted icon, the Arena roundel, which was recognised by the company’s substantial client base. The business also needed to show it was integrated under one umbrella brand, whilst able to sell expertise and products to different markets, i.e. not just a ‘jack of all trades’.

Old Arena Logo

The process:

We worked closely with the client to establish what to keep in the Arena brand, what to dispense with and what to develop. To cut a long story short the roundel survived, with a design refinement, along with the name; otherwise it was a total brand overhaul.

A couple of the ideas

First came the initial concept stage where a few ideas were presented to the Arena Group Board. Two routes were chosen to take through to development stage where we would explore the segmentation of the brand.

After the development stage a final decision was made on the design route. We then tweaked, tested and polished the brand until everyone was happy. We tested different Pantone colours and redrew the font to make it unique to Arena. This was only the first stage of building the new brand; it is necessary to look after it and treat it with the greatest of respect wherever it appears on all future company communications/material/literature. This is where Arena are now.

The final Brand

A brand is not just a logo, it is an important business statement. The logo represents the brand, it is how people instantly recognise your brand and therefore your business and the quality it stands for. If your brand is not right, it will give a poor representation of your business and act as a detractor, no matter how great your product is. If you have the right brand, take care of it and use it in the correct way, it will become a trusted representation of your business and a significant factor in your success.