Logo and business card re-design for a Residential/Commercial construction company
When meeting with a new client it's important to have a clear overview of their company function as well as how they view their own business brand. Ideally, I'd really like to understand how the clients existing customers, staff and partners view the brand, which may be at odds or come as a surprise to the owner. I accomplish this via distributed questionnaires and discussions with staff and clients.
Jonathan Kerridge of Vancouver based Lido Properties Ltd approached my design agency, PalbergWERX Creative Direction, to re-make his identity and website. He felt that it could use a refresh, especially since the website was designed approximately 10 years ago and both technology as well as Lido Properties' focus had changed during that time period.
(source: original Lido Properties website screen capture www.http://lidoproperties.com/)
Jonathan's company is a high quality, bespoke developer and renovation expert. He offers complete integration of services from initial architectural designs to final delivery, which allows his clients to enjoy a stress free experience. His target market are home owners with a degree of understanding of the costs associated with beautiful, high quality construction and he also wished to expand his market to include commercial developers.
Jonathan was using a word mark logo with a modern sensibility. The type was perhaps slightly narrow compared to contemporary logos, however there wasn't much wrong with it and I let Jonathan know that. Right is a representation of the existing logo and business card with an unusual white box/black box in the design. Jonathan used the blank space to initiate conversations with new clients after presenting his card.
Lido Properties has been in existence for a number of years and Jonathan wanted to keep the name Lido as it was associated with past award winning projects. However, I thought that the word Properties, might be somewhat confusing to potential new clients. By using the very literal word 'properties' in his name, he might be mistaken for any number of business types, including property management, property development, property investment, etc. I suggested we consider other options and before any work could be done we needed to finalize name choices, after some discussion Jonathan chose Lido Construction Group Ltd. - shown as an example on his old business card design.
(source: Lido Properties old business card)
During my research of the company history as well as the name meaning, I discovered the definition of the word Lido is; a public, open-air swimming pool or beach. Interesting, but it didn't immediately offer any clues to any design ideas connected with construction, architecture or development.
(source: PalbergWERX Creative Direction)
More research into construction as well as Lido's competitors and then it's time to pull out the trusty sketch pad. Here I just casually try a number of ideas without specific goals in mind - I don't want to limit myself too much at this stage.
Digitally, I then begin to experiment with the concept of building blocks - the very stuff that makes up the foundation of Lido's work. Combining a block shape with the letter L, I began abstracting the idea further.
Following that theme, I worked with each of the first letters of the new name, Lido Construction Group (LCG) and by turning the logo on its edge, it created a roof-top as viewed from above. The additional benefit was that the negative space re-inforced the L and C.
While working with the logo, I was simultaneously exploring font variations, of which a few samples are shown on the right. Depending on the outcome of the final logo, the fonts would likely change, but this is a good way to give my client an idea of how fonts can change the character of a logo. One of the considerations while choosing the font was the legibility and readability in an extreme variety of circumstances. My client would be using the logo/word mark on business cards as well as vehicle signage and on-site signage.
The next step after designing a number of logo options and variations of each was to present them to Jonathan. During the initial presentation, I walk my client through the entire process. I begin by showing the original sketches and explain the ideas of each and then move on to the initial cleaned up computer generated designs. It's important to show a progression of ideas so the client can understand the thought process and embrace the concept. After discussion and revisions, I next begin building business cards designs for our next meeting.
After much discussion, Jonathan was still hesitant on finalizing the design. The reason was that he felt strongly that changing the name to Lido Construction Group Ltd from Lido Properties Ltd. would lose his existing SEO as well as confuse clients. Of course, the client has to buy into their company identity and after some adjustments the finalized logo and card were approved.
When developing the business card, there are numerous opportunities to consider special print or manufacturing processes. Below is a sample card that shows the variety of standardized Foils available. and these days, CMYK can also be printed in Foil.
While looking for a printer that could handle the special Foil process, I was also looking for a substantial weight for the card. I felt that the heft of a thick card would also help to communicate the identity of Lido. In this digital age it's even more important if doing a traditional print job to stand out and the extra thick cards would help do just that. The additional benefit of using a thick card was that the edge paint would be another strong element in the overall card identity.
Finally we almost came full circle with Jonathan preferring the original narrow font to any of the options I had presented. He also like the simplicity of the reversed abstraction of the letter L as a building block, resulting in the card shown below.
The card is printed - by Ember Print in Toronto, who did a really fantastic job - on 26pt Silk Laminate, using Red Foil on both the front and back with red edge paint. The final card color is CMYK 66/60/65/50.
"Richard did an outstanding job revisiting and ultimately redesigning my company branding and logo. This particular project involved redoing my business cards. He also sourced a high quality reasonably priced printing firm for me. He was able to move the design process forward and provided me with various options to choose from. Richard understood my requirements and accepted my input. Ultimately he produced a great design. I highly recommend Richard for your design project."
- Jonathan Kerridge, President Lido Properties Ltd.
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If you would like to take your design to the next level,
call PalbergWERX Creative Direction
at 604-356-1144 or email me at PBWX@outlook.com
I can help you undertand your ideal customers and build your brand to take advantage of how you want to portray your image to engage with your customers - increasing your marketing investment!
