special modern blog

I wish

I wish I could say this is my office. Do designers design best in a nicely designed environment? (see more about this space at Lushpad's Blog)

Music Reports has a Shiny New Image

Music Reports provides rights licensing and royalty accounting services for music. We were hired to update their image into a recognizable trademark and to effectively communicate who they are and what they are about. First we solidified their name as Music Reports--only vs. MRI. Then we presented the emotional appeal of the company and its products as it compares to the BMW 750i series:

•    Performance & Efficiency
•    Safety & Security
•    Technological Innovations
•    High Performance
•    Low Maintenance
•    Excellent Handling
•    Exudes Confidence and Power
•    Surpasses the Competition
•    End-to-End Proficiency

Retaining Brand Equity: Change for Design’s Sake?

I was just about to write about the art of knowing when to retain equity in a rebranding job and lo and behold I read this interesting article in Newsweek about Peter Arnell and his Tropicana Juice carton blunder. His firm, the Arnell Group, is the same firm that rebranded Pepsi. (Pepsico is Tropicana’s parent company also.)

Tropicana removed their new cartons after three months on the shelves due to consumer protest. The new carton design was heavily criticized for looking too much like a generic store brand. The distinctive logo is gone and a certain comfortable familiarity was removed. I, myself, realized I had pulled it off the shelf without realizing what brand it was.

There is something to be said for retaining equity. Change for design’s sake is not good for the product. Why would you destroy your brand equity that way?
Why fight convention? If you have trained the consumer, why re-train them? Knowing when to retain equity and how much to retain is an art. Keeping your focus on the consumer is key.

Losing brand equity with radical package changes is more about ego than playing to the appropriate audience. I am not saying it is bad design, I just think Arnell missed the mark by throwing the equity out the window. A little too much ego mixed with too much design? Maybe. Your thoughts?

Speaking Engagement: People Connectors

I've really been researching the power of the Blog. I will be speaking about it at a local networking group of small business owners this Thursday called People Connectors. I will share the info I compile and post it on my site to share with you guys.

Design from a Creative Brief

I'm excited to be profiled in this 15 page spread about the evolution of an identity by Before and After Magazine. If you read the article, what did you think?

Pro Bono Design for Disabled Children of Afghanistan

Music Reports Needs a New Face

The entertainment industry’s leading music rights administration service has a great backstory of how a few guys got together and designed and created what has come to be the largest music database and license reporting service in the world. As usual someone sketched them a logo and it stuck for years. They have now decided it's time for an update and knew right where to come. We beat out all the other firms in line for the job and am excited about creating a new look for them.

Focusing on Hospitality

An architecture and interior design firm in Houston called upon us to freshen up their image. The original name was Portfolio Associates. Their focus is on the hospitality industry and have quite a roster of projects under their belt: Roosevelt Hotel, New York, NY; Hilton Hotel Post Oak, Houston, TX; Hilton Costa Mesa, Costa Mesa, CA (The winner of the Hilton Hotels Corporation 2002 Renovation of the year); Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, GA; etc.

We shortened their name to PORTFOLIO with tagline: for Hospitality, and gave them a more streamlined logotype.

It's Nice to Share

Josh Levine of Neutron really simplified the tangible and intangible part of branding with this chart. Saying that branding is much more than you can see is impactful. I love to collect these useful charts and tools that also help my clients see the big picture. This is a slide called, Steal This Idea, a monthly email series.

Hiller Casting logo to be published in Logo Lounge 5

I am excited to be included in the new Logo Lounge book to be published in June 2009. The announcement states:

This was an incredibly competitive judging session with over 33,000 logos entered for consideration.Your work has been chosen for inclusion in the new book by an international panel of judges from these firms: Karl Design, Glitschka Studios, Design Ranch, Turner Duckworth,  VSA Partners, Frost Design, The Brand Union, and Lippincott.

Taryn Rose introduces a new product line

Taryn Rose is launching a new brand of lotions and leg wear to be sold on HSN, Neiman Marcus, Saks and Bloomingdales. Special Modern Design was hired to create the new brand and design the packaging for it. Stay tuned for a preview...

Evolution of a Logo

Here is an interesting article about what seems to be a rush on large brands updating their logos. "...big businesses...overhauling their images in an effort to beat the economic downturn by staying fresh to existing clientele—and attracting new customers."