I love the idea of a vision statement. Every company should have one, along with their mission statement. If you're not familiar with it, the purpose of the vision statement is to describe of the organization; its size, its basic structure, its sphere of influence. Rather than describing the organization as it currently exists, the statement presents a picture of the desirable future. It's pretty powerful and positive. A look towards the future, which is always great for this time of year. Spring is the ultimate time for growth, renewal, and freshening it up. But when it comes to the vision of your company, in terms of how it looks to the outside, think carefully before making any big changes. Sometimes taking small steps might be all you need.
Color Trends
Every year Pantone comes out with their color forecasts. You might not know the name, but it touches every industry. From fashion to interior design, each season you might see a lot of one particular color. This spring it's "honeysuckle", otherwise known as hot pink. This is more of a trend, so be cautious in using this on any long term marketing. It has the ability to date your materials.
Think about what you already have
Some of the biggest brands have undergone a refresh. Some more successful than others. And with lots of opinions on everything out there. From Starbucks removing the word "coffee" in their name (and along with that the major expense of printing all new materials) to the gap logo redesign, which was quickly yanked back due to overwhelming negative options. Read about the 10 worst brand blunders of 2010.
Build with what you have
Technologies change. Constantly. So for some, by the time they launch a website or send out an email blast, the content might be dated, and the technology not supported on newer systems. So what can you do? One suggestion would be don't use the latest technology. Great sites don't need all the bells and whistles to draw visitors. What it needs is organization and information that is easy to find and access. If someone comes to your site and needs to download a plug in, or it's a flash site and they're on an ipad, you might be turning someone off.
Maybe it is time for a refresh
Think about what you're putting out there. Does the vision you have for the company match the visuals you are creating? Does your marketing tell the story of your business in a way that connects people to your product or service? If not, maybe this spring it's time to freshen up. So often when design studios show samples of the work we show the finished pieces. We often speak of how we came to that particular solution based on the design challenge. Rarely do we show where the client came from. This past year winter and construction design has been fortunate that many of our clients hired us to evolve their image in order to grow their companies, reach out to a new audience, and to help reposition them in the marketplace. Featured here is the first in a series of before and after stories.
