BRAND STRATEGY
CONTENTS Part 1 Brand Tenets... 3 Purpose Organizational Beliefs Design Values Personality Keywords Part 2 Brand Marks...7 Horizontal Lockups Horizontal Stacked Lockups Vertical Lockups Avatars Part 3 brand VISUALS...11 Signature Color Palette Signature Typefaces Signature Elements
PART ONE BRAND TENETS
Purpose 4 We champion small organizations and encourage them to build bold businesses. It has become increasingly easy to launch a business, and with that there has been a surge of ordinary businesses racing their way to the bottom, competing for the lowest price. We hate ordinary, and we believe extraordinary organizations are rooted in design. Extraordinary organizations take the time to engineer each interaction, from the way you answer the phone to your packaging experience and the look and feel of your website and everything in between. We re in the business of helping our clients construct their own unique experience. We help them clarify their vision of who they are, strategize how they can apply that vision through their image, and lead them through the implementation of that plan to create meaningful, functional brands and websites all while guiding and cheering them on along the way.
Organizational beliefs 5 Design is a Design is business asset strategic We believe design is about strategic planning and execution, not decoration. Design thinking is vital to building an extraordinary organization, so we only work with those who understand the business value of design and are willing to make a investment in it for the long-term good of their company. We believe in engineering each component of your customer s experience to reinforce your organization s purpose and brand image. Our work is highly customized and we bring everything back to your goals, rather than personal opinion.
Organizational beliefs 6 Boldness trumps Simple is blandness beautiful We believe that in today s over-saturated market, it is impossible to grow into a strong organization without being willing to commit to a highly differentiated position. You simply cannot be everything to everyone, and you ve got to be willing to make a few enemies on the road to forming true fans. We believe there is power in simplicity. The world is complex enough, and overcomplicated designs tend to be more confusing than catchy. That s why Strong Design has developed a refreshingly simple style that strips away all the distractions and reinforces your message.
Organizational beliefs 7 The medium is the message in one-another We believe even the smallest details can enforce or erode your organization s brand image. Insignificant choices like paper stock or wording are actually quite significant and can make or break an interaction with a customer, and the temporary gains of taking shortcuts are rarely worth the long-term losses. Assume the best We believe mutual trust is critical to each of our relationships and subsequently, the success of the project. Good work cannot come from doubt and distrust, so we go into each new project assuming the best about our clients and expect the same from them in return.
Organizational beliefs 8 There is purpose in our process is critical We believe that our most strategic and effective work comes out of a carefully-planned process. Our process has been created to help us discover, define and develop the right strategy and tactics for your project, and if you want the best results, skipping steps just isn t an option. Communication We believe in having open communication and setting proper expectations. In our experience, the best results and relationships come when both sides talk frequently, clearly and honestly. Our team isn t afraid to speak up, and we love it when our clients do too.
DESIGN VALUES 9 Exercise craftsmanship Design is a craft that is honed over many years. In our materials, we look to show off our craftmanship, by sweating the tiniest details. We don t need to be flashy to put our skills on display. In fact, we often choose to employ subtle, perfectly designed elements, such as typography, to demonstrate our craft. Provide a blank canvas At our core we must provide a blank canvas on which to communicate with our clients or communicate their message. Because of this, we choose minimal design elements over flashy, showy graphics so that the true message doesn t become obscured or over-powered.
personality keywords 10 Bold We exercise a spirit of bold, courageousness throughout everything we do whether in our stark simplicity, strong typography or signature shade of red. Effortless We carefully walk the fine line between scarcity and abundance in order to create a feeling of easy, effortless elegance, resulting in materials that stand the test of time. Accessible Although we do have a sophisticated image, we never want to come off as sterile or robotic. We work hard to provide a warm, helpful environment that our clients can relate to and feels rooted in tradition.
PART TWO BRAND MARKS
HorizONTAL lockups 12
horizontal stacked lockups 13
vertical lockups 14
avatars 15
PART THREE BRAND VISUALS
Signature color palette 17 PRIMARY SWATCHES Ruby PMS 1797 C12 M95 Y94 K3 #d13138 Dark Ruby PMS 1807 C0 M100 Y96 K28 #a8353a SECONDARY SWATCHES Aubergine PMS 7449 C72 M100 Y77 K40 #48182c Dark Aubergine C55 M85 Y56 K65 #3f1829 Smoke PMS 432 C80 M64 Y53 K44 #303e48 Dark Smoke PMS 433 C80 M69 Y58 K67 #1d252c
Signature typefaces 18 PRIMARY TYPEFACE MUSEO SANS ACCENT TYPEFACE CASSIA Your words are worth protecting. abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 We re in the business of helping you construct your own unique experience. We help you clarify your vision of who you are, strategize how you can apply that vision through your brand image and website, and lead you through the implementation of that plan cheering you on and guiding you along the way. Your words are worth protecting. abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEfghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 We re in the business of helping you construct your own unique experience. We help you clarify your vision of who you are, strategize how you can apply that vision through your brand image and website, and lead you through the implementation of that plan cheering you on and guiding you along the way. Weights include thin, light, book, regular, medium, bold and heavy plus italics Weights include light, regular, semibold and bold plus italics
Signature elements 19 DEEP GRADIENT This pattern is used as a background. Its red-to-plum color grade creates a rich experience with depth.
Signature elements 20 OUR BELIEFS BOXES AND LINES We use thin lines and boxes as a way to separate and segregate elements within a page and direct the attention of viewers. They are inspired by vintage graphics and connote a feeling of detail and craftsmanship.
Signature elements 21 HASHED LINE PATTERN This pattern is most often used as a background. It is typically used in a tonal manner to provide a texture that is so subtle that text and graphics can still be overlaid upon it and easily read.
Signature elements 22 ACCENT TYPOGRAPHY An experienced designer can turn words into a visual feast. We aim to show off our craftmanship by letting our typography do the talking. On sales-level pieces we use typography with precision to enable the message at hand to show through. On campaign-level pieces, we employ a handful of accent typography alongside our signature typefaces. As long as it makes sense, we choose interesting typography over graphics.