Scriptoria LLC: Design Studio

ase Study: ECI, Inc.

Executive Consultants, Inc., came to us with a familiar problem: their business had grown and diversified, and the company's name and slogan ("tagline") no longer communicated the full scope of their business. In addition, their existing logo incorporated graduated color fill elements that did not reproduce well electronically and in some small printer applications.

The question for them was: How do we create a new identity that will build on our past success?

First Consultation

When we met with marketing staff and management for the first time, we focused on the "big picture" issues facing the company:

What are your core strengths?
Who are your customers? What do they say about you?
Who are your competitors, partners, and suppliers?
And most important, who is your target audience—who are you trying to reach?

As we explored their goals, it became clear that simply designing a new logo wasn't going to be the solution to the challenges they faced. They needed to create a new identity for the company, and doing that would almost certainly involve a name change.

Second Consultation

Our second meeting took place after they had considered the identity issues we discussed with them. They had reviewed our feedback and suggestions, refined their plan for repositioning the company, and were ready to discuss a new corporate identity.

We started with their existing logo, and decided that the "mountain" theme was something we might want to retain, as a link to the "old" identity. The company name was shortened to "ECI, Inc." (or just "ECI"). The new tagline was more forceful, positive and direct: "HR Solutions Specialists." And it reflected the multifaceted company that ECI had become.

As for look and feel, they were of two schools of thought. On the one hand, they liked a more classic and conservative look. But a large portion of their business is technology based, so a high tech approach was also an option. They also had some ideas about color schemes. In short, they had a much better grasp of what they were looking for, and what kind of statement they wanted to make.

Initial Designs

Our initial rough layouts ("roughs") for ECI quickly evolved along two lines: a "warm" look that relied heavily on the existing "mountain" theme, and a "high tech" look that took the "mountain" element in a more abstract direction. The warm look seemed to work best in shades of teal and orange, while our initial roughs for the high tech look were rendered in black and white.

Click here to see the initial roughs in PDF format. (Roughs are best viewed in full page mode. See below for information about the PDFs on our site. Also, please note that due to the deletion of early working files for this project, these are a bit "rougher" than usual.)

The response to the first roughs was mostly favorable, with some positive reactions to both styles. "If we go with that one, I will resign," was a joking reference (we think) to the last of the high tech roughs. But even a strong negative reaction is good.

The ten different versions of the first roughs were narrowed down to two or three that everyone liked. We discussed which of the three would work best in a variety of applications: printed, online, display graphics, embroidered shirts, projected on video screens, etc. In the end, everyone agreed on the high tech look, and we talked about the changes to be incorporated into the second round of the design process.

Revised Designs

The challenge of the second round of the process was to introduce some "movement" into the logo, and to have all of the elements (abstract shapes and type) work in concert. The second set of proofs (PDF) shows the actual progression of the concept, in the order that the design evolved.

The first attempt to create movement failed—the viewer's eye was drawn in conflicting directions. But on the third page you can see the version that would became the starting point for the evolution of the final logo.

Once a concept reaches this level of articulation, it becomes a matter of exploring subtle variations, to give the client a sufficient number of options. You can see the progression, from pages 3 through 8. The last variation is the designer's final attempt (and personal choice). This is the version that the client selected, also. Variations of the design were discussed and modifications were made during the meeting, as well.

Samples

The final logo was rendered in three different versions:

	A "standard" version, with tagline.
	A "no tagline" version, for use when rendering small type would be difficult.
	A no tagline version, with fade effect.

The "tag" and "no tag" versions were also rendered in three dimensional style, for use in online and projection settings, as well as for printed sales and marketing pieces. Special "color corrected" files were also generated, for use on the client's Tektronics Phaser 850 printer including a digital version of their letterhead (in the form of an MS Word^© template) to be used for mass mailings, and other large marketing projects.

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Note: The PDF samples posted on this web site are the property of Scriptoria LLC, and may not be copied, modified, printed, posted to other Internet locations or used for any other purpose other than those stated herein. Users of this online service are granted limited perusal rights solely for information gathering purposes.

All other uses are prohibited without the permission of Scriptoria LLC.