strengthening your branding with color

Having always loved well designed (yet still aesthetically beautiful) products nearly my entire life, I became aware of just how bare the baby market was in well and beautiful designed baby gear and clothing when at the age of 18, I had my first son back in 2003.

I am happy to report that since then and now two more boys later, many new brands have stepped forward that offer intelligent designs for babies (and their parents who shop for them!) :) Not to mention that some old staple companies (Gerber and Carters comes to mind) have found ways to reinvent themselves, staying current and modern. I actually now joke with Billy that we will have to keep having babies simply because the gear keeps getting better and better.

However, I think until recently it was safe to say that it has been extremely rare that I came across "character" designs that weren't tacky, gaudy, loud, and a disservice to the artists who had originally created these beloved characters to start!

Sure every now and then I came across a great vintage inspired comic book character tee or Star Wars tee for my boys, but for the most part I have stayed completely away from anything with characters on it. Even when "character" clothes was given to me I just could not stand to put it on my children. Which is a shame, because children (and adults) love characters (from comic book heros to Thomas the Tank Engine to Pooh Bear and everything in between). Yes, everything had been so poorly designed and executed I used to look the other way...until now.

Behold. Character clothing...without...the characters.

I know what your thinking...this isn't "character clothing", right? But stop and think about it. It is! If you follow our blog I am sure you are aware of the fact that we are HUGE Disney Pixar fans...so needless to say I was thrilled when I came across these Disney Cuddly Bodysuits, brand spankin' new from Disney Baby (which is also new and another smart move on Disney's part).

I think what I love the most is that I KNOW whoever developed the concept for using the colors these movies were "branded" with for these bodysuits was more than likely up against a big fight to get these approved. Let's be honest...they cost more than regular bodysuit packs you can buy, so the company is going to want to know why people will be willing to buy these "plain" bodysuits at a higher price.

I can hear the conference meetings now..."We don't think the consumers will 'get' it." "These look great...now what are you screen printing on them." "Um...we are paying you HOW much to 'design' these?" "What do these colors have to do with this movie???"

Thank God someone over there had the guts to bring these ideas to light because though I have NO babies in my home that would fit into these, I have to admit I just purchased 2 sets!

Leave it to a baby's clothing line to be an excellent reminder of how strongly you can tie your brand to color. This marketing tool should not be overlooked in building brand awareness. Whatever colors you chose to market with...OWN THEM!

I can't tell you how many people tell us they think of us every time they see the color orange...and we've only been in business for just over a year! Imagine how much this color association is going to increase in value to us over time.

I will also add that their other Disney Cuddly Bodysuits that do feature actual characters are just as well designed as the "characterless" designs, so the whole collection is really worth checking out.

This line is not available in stores till Fall, however I purchased my sets over at Amazon (another brand leader).

So let's test how strong these "color script" themed bodysuits (shown above) are tied to their respective movies...If you guessed Monsters, Inc and Cars...you are right.

Take the time today to look over your marketing materials. Are you owning your brand colors?

leo lionni

Last year for our son's first birthday, amongst some other gifts we purchased him, we also started off his library collection.

As his second birthday is fast approaching, I've been carefully considering what books we want to get him this year to expand his collection, and of course a library wouldn't be complete without some Leo Lionni!

While I was at Yuba College I took numerous Early Childhood Education classes to be a better mother. I am so thankful for all the knowledge I gained during that time, and I have to say one of the strongest points I took away with me was how important it is to read to your children.

I am glad I have fond memories of my mother reading to me as a child. Not only did it sharpen my communication, verbal, and writing skills, it also rooted in me a deep love for art and creating.

Do you own any Leo Lionni books? Which are your favorite?

value of good design...

"Questions about whether design is necessary or affordable are quite beside the point: design is inevitable. The alternative to good design is bad design, not no design at all." - douglas martin

It seems like the value of good design has been a daily topic in our studio since, well, always!

At Different By Design we adhere to the highest design standards in everything we create. This tends to cause some confusion at times when we are innocently asked if we can just "throw something together" or told they just need something "cheap" to get them by.

While we understand that businesses have budgets, being asked questions like the ones above at the start of a client meeting is always a huge red flag for us.

Design isn't something that we can "dumb down" or "whip out" for a cheaper price. We understand the value of good design in the business world and we would never jeopardize our client's reputation or our own by creating thoughtless work. Though we are obviously open to discussing client budgets, with design the old adage rings true...you get what you pay for!

I snapped the above picture of Billy in the studio earlier. He was showing me a sketch he had just completed for a redesign of a brochure we are doing for the City.

It makes me proud to work with someone with an equally high work ethic, who puts detail and thought into everything he does. I think it's clear in our work that when you hire Different By Design you are getting the absolute best solution to your design problem.

Inner Visions Consulting & Management Group, LLC

Because who doesn't love a good "before and after"?

When Larry Johns was in the process of developing a web site for his consulting business for nonprofit organizations, Inner Visions Consulting & Management Group, LLC, he had his web site designer throw together a logo for him based off of some of Larry's personal preferences. Here is the logo he was provided (see below) and before using it Larry decided to ask several people their opinion on it, one of them being his daughter Lindsay Warren.

Thankfully Lindsay honestly told him that she didn't think this logo worked well. She knew that a logo should be clean and simple and recommended that her father give us a call (thanks Lindsay!).

After hearing about us from Lindsay, Larry asked Karon Pate, an employee and client of ours through Randy Meyer Investment Management, LLC about her experiences with us. I must say it makes us feel extremely proud and humbled all at the same time when a client gives us a rave review (thanks Karon!).

With these two referrals in hand, Larry contacted us and after a wonderful meeting getting to know Larry and his goals for Inner Visions, we were off designing a new logo for him that would reflect his professionalism, strong ethics, and innovative attitude.

Below is the end result-final logo from our collaboration with Larry. One of the main characteristics of a great logo design is timelessness. Paul Rand, perhaps the most iconic identity designer to ever live, said, "One quickly realizes that simplicity and geometry are the language of timelessness and universality."

With over 25 years experience in business development and management and over 30 years of involvement with many high profile wildlife organizations, Larry brings an unbeatable inside knowledge and expertise with him to Inner Visions Consulting & Management Group, LLC.

While Larry and his team are more than qualified to consult any nonprofit group, their focus is on outdoors, conservation, and hunting organizations.

We decided to play off of the outdoor elements by using the Gestalt Theory to create mountains that also resemble a graph. We had the last "mountain" peak bleed off the logo to represent that Larry and his team can lead your organization and/or revenues as high as you will let them take you.

The mountains can also serve to represent the "mountain of problems" or burden that nonprofit organizations can feel when left to orchestrate everything without the proper knowledge of a strategic plan. That's where Inner Visions Consulting & Management Group, LLC can step in and execute a plan for you and work with you step by step to eliminate unneeded stress so your organization can focus on their mission and growing their sponsors and group awareness.

We decided on 4 mountain peaks because Inner Visions' initials (IV) make the roman numeral for the number 4 which reminded us of the 4 elements and the 4 corners of the Earth which relate back to the focus of Larry's clientele being that they are mainly outdoors, conservation, and hunting organizations.

We chose a clean font that is also condensed because of the length of the business name and we liked how the ampersand played off of the overall look of the design. Calming earth tones were selected for the logo to keep in line with the nature of his work.

Larry, thank you so much for your time and your trust. We look forward to watching the growth of Inner Visions Consulting & Management, LLC and building a long lasting relationship with you! Once again, the pleasure was all ours! Thank you!

"good design goes to heaven...

...bad design goes everywhere."

I love this quote by Mieke Gerritzen not because it makes me happy to see bad design everywhere I turn, but because it simply speaks the truth.

As a graphic design studio specializing in identity branding and print design, we have the privilege of working with many small business owners.

One thing that we absolutely admire in them is their entrepreneur attitude...the attitude to get out there and make things happen.

While this "do it yourself" attitude is crucial to a small business' survival, taking a "do it yourself" attitude to your branding is a huge mistake.

See, a great graphic designer worth your time and money isn't getting paid to just make things look pretty or look "good". Real graphic designers add value to your business. They understand your business philosophy and marketing position and the collateral they design for your brand advances and strengthens these core values.

I own scissors...but I am by no means a hair stylist (just ask our almost 2 year old son who I lovingly attempted to give a bang trimming to). Simply owning the tools (for example a computer or a pre-made, one size fits all template) does not make you a designer.

Hiring a professional designer that understands his (or her) trade is one of the best things you can do for your company, because the truth is bad design is everywhere and sadly businesses are judged by what they look like.

If you want to be above your competition and have design work that is concise and in alignment with your brand's message, you need to direct your "do it yourself" attitude into running your business and hire a trustworthy, professional graphic designer for all of your design needs.

As Kodak CEO George Fisher says, "In the end, what customers really see is what designers design. That is the ultimate tool that a company has in order to be competitive in the marketplace."

Professional designed business collateral helps your business to:

1. Look established. Do It Yourself business collateral from printed at home business cards to template designed email ads scream amateur or "start up" business to potential clients. While there is nothing at all wrong with being a new business, looking well established helps to gain trust in the consumer's mind.

2. Stand out. Bad design is really everywhere...we see it constantly in our local newspaper and monthly coupon mailers we receive...we find it stuck to our windshields when leaving parking lots and it even looks at us off the menus of the restaurants we eat in. Bad design hinders or can completely ignore your main objectives, while good design helps you stand out from competition and reinforces your businesses' branding values.

3. Build a consistent image for your company. I can't even tell you how many times we've seen a business use multiple designers for different collateral; one for the newspaper ad, one for a magazine ad, another for a flier design...the result is a weakened brand image. Using a professional designer who understands your values will help you grow a consistent image which will also establish you as being trustworthy as well as being more cost effective because the more consistent you are in branding, the more likely your brand will be recognized and on the forefront of consumer's minds when needing to make a purchase in your line of work.

4. Establish you as a leader. Take an example from world famous Apple. Apple uses good, innovative design (in branding and in their products) to continue to reinforce their leader role in the electronics industry. Good design will set you apart. And as long as you are backing the promise made in your marketing, it will make you the only option to consumers. It will make your competition wonder what you will be up to next.

Recently when our economy took a big hit, consumers became more aware of where they spent their money and instead of making mindless purchases, they carefully thought out which companies and what products were still deserving of their hard earned dollars. Now more than ever, you can't afford to have ineffective and even potentially negative design representing your business.

Here at Different By Design, we pride ourselves in being educated in our field and becoming "mini experts" in the fields of our clients. We would love to discuss your design needs or if you aren't even sure what your brand values are or what your brand "stands" for, why...we'd love to help you with that too!

Feel free to use the "contact" button on our site to reach us or call us directly at 530.790.5762

target (product-packaging love)

In our household, we love Target. Wait...make that Love (with a capital L)....this Love is pretty serious! :)

One thing we really love about Target is their amazing gift cards. Last winter we picked up these Target gift cards that came with a little Lego set to build Bullseye (Target's mascot). Needless to say the boys were ecstatic to find these in their Christmas stockings. We actually have one sitting over at the studio.

Then today as we were browsing around we came across these Target gift cards that double as Bullseye water guns...of course we had to pick up some!

The truth of the matter is that people would buy Target gift cards whether they were fabulously designed or not...the fact that Target still goes out of their way to be a leader in all of their branding efforts makes them our all time favorite place to shop.

Can't wait to see what they will think of next!

pleasantly plump knits (product-packaging love)

When we were expecting our 3rd son, I came across the most adorable baby booties on Etsy. I am a very tactile person and was initially scared to buy the booties online without touching them first to see if they were "itchy" or not...I am very picky on what I'll let come in contact with my newborn's delicate skin. After I saw Ann of Lou & Lee blog that she had bought a pair for her son, I of course trusted her judgement and happily started a collection of booties for our little son Isaac.

In fact, Meghan, who lovingly hand knits each bootie, beyond thrilled us when she named a pair with a color combination I had requested after Isaac (shown)! It makes my heart happy every time I see them sitting in her shop.

Well, she recently announced on her blog that she was going to change up her packaging to be more eco friendly. I won't lie. I was so attached to the previous packaging that I was a little hesitant to the announcement of change, though I admired her efforts in moving towards "green" packaging.

Needless to say, when Meghan released the new packaging design on her blog, I was immediately smitten. It is perfection!

Not only is the new package and tissue paper 100% recycled content, I loved that Meghan kept wit her previous packaging theme of growth and earth but instead of executing that idea with astroturf (as she had done) she includes a little package of wildflower seeds with the booties. The type on the seed packet reads, "My wish for you is to grow strong & true."

Um. LOVE!

If you are in the market for a baby shower or are shopping for your own baby or babies of friends and family members, these little booties are the perfect gift.

The quality is outstanding and I mean c'mon...if you are going to cover up precious, tiny baby tootsies, it better be with something pretty darn cute! Meghan's pleasantly plump knits more than pass the test, not to mention she is the sweetest person to work with. I have all of her little handwritten notes she included with my orders saved in Isaac's memory box.