Things are coming together for me and Social Business Strategies. Last week, I told you about a change to my blog that’s in the process of being designed by my friends at WebHostBiz (affiliate link). I’m excited to launch the new site and get your take on it soon. Hopefully the new digs will help our conversation here.
There’s also some creative work in process, and frankly I’m blown away by the logo concept my buddy Aaron Shearer has designed.
Aaron and I became friends during our time with huber+co last fall. I knew then that he was a solid developer, but didn’t realize – until recently – his ability as an visual artist and designer. Up until now, Social Business Strategies has existed under my personal brand logo, which you see in the header above. That was intentional. My plan was to first build a personal brand around Nate Riggs, and then use it to launch a company brand. Why? My theory is that, as consumers, we find it much easier to build a relationship with a human before ever building a relationship with an organization.
Back to Aaron and art. When I first approached him with the project, I wanted to make sure that he had freedom to do his thing. These were the basic instructions:
- Use my brand colors of orange, white, black and gray
- The word “social” needs to be a dominant focal point
- Use my select personal brand font, Helvetica Neue somewhere in the logo (for consistency)
- The logo should make use of an icon that could be used as a stand-alone element (without the text)
- Creative guiding words: human, corporate, communications (based on the SBS mission, values and target audiences)
I also had a few ideas around using a representation of a social graph in the logo, but that was it. Aaron took good notes, went away and ran with it.
Beating Expectations
You’re looking at the new Social Business Strategies logo Aaron came up with. What’s interesting to me is that it’s totally not what I had in mind. And that’s awesome. Aaron’s own ideas on the design make much more sense visually, and encompass everything I was looking for in the identity – an iconic symbol that can stand alone, the use of my personal brand font and colors, “social” as a focal point, and a visual story of my three words:
- Human – The little guy who makes the “i” in social is also a stand-alone icon
- Corporate – Notice the tie on the icon. It’s a very subtle accent, but it works. One of the first images that comes to mind when I think “corporate” is the traditional suit and tie.
- Communications – The tiny message bubble highlights this. And while that symbol tends to be widely used today, I think Aaron pulled it off very nicely here.
A Lesson You Can Take Away
Aside from giving Aaron props for doing great work, there is a lesson here that you can benefit from.
At some point in your career, you might need to work with an artist to develop your own logo, collateral or website. Maybe it will be for a start-up business or maybe even for your own personal brand platform. It could even be a new product or service offering for your existing company.
Whatever the case may be, make sure you don’t hold the reins too tightly. Do your homework and find the right artist for your project (maybe even give Aaron a look). Look at their style and work, and make sure it fits with your preferences and, more importantly, the preferences of your target audience. When you’ve made your choice, trust in your artist’s abilities, then get the heck out of their way and let them do what they do. There’s a reason you hired them in the first place, right?
Could I Get Your Opinion?
I plan on using both of these logos, but I’d love to have your opinion in the comments on which color combination you like best.
Do you prefer the one with the orange “Social” or the one with the black “Social?” Why?
Join The Discussion!