Company Design- Design Brief

Here it is. The brief.

GreenTeam.
Friendly. Professional. Holistic. Responsible. Green.
These words embody the personality of GreenTeam. We help homeowners give their home a holistic greening by going farther than the other energy-efficiency consultants. The other guys just scratch the surface, tell homeowners what improvements to make, then leave. We actually stick around and make those changes happen. We’re also different from the competition because we look beyond the hardware and appliances to help clients make every aspect of their home healthy, green and responsible. Sure, we’ll help them replace that rusty, energy-eating, circa 1960 water heater that’s hiding in their basement, but we’ll do more. We’ll give them eco-friendly landscaping, increase their recycling capabilities, use eco-friendly products in every step of the process, and more. We’re not merely about saving money on energy bills; we’re about creating green lifestyles within the home. At GreenTeam, we green everything and the kitchen sink. Our clients not only enjoy the monetary savings that come with making your home green and energy-efficient, but experience the pride of knowing that they are making a difference in the world. We pride ourselves on making the home-greening process, as well as the results, easy, enjoyable, and professional. Friendly consultants, healthy homes, environmental responsibility, and the fresh ideas that make it possible are what GreenTeam is all about.

Our Audience:
Progressive. Responsible. Eco-Friendly. Eco-Maniacs.
The trend of “Going Green” is sweeping the nation, but certain demographics have pursued green ideals with a special energy and dedicate. Those tree-hugging, florescent-bulb-buying, Whole-Foods-shopping, Hybrid-car-driving folks who are willing to go the extra mile, or two, or three to be green are exactly who GreenTeam speaks to.
More often than not, these people tend to be well-to-do, considering most of the green lifestyle choices aren’t cheap. This group is also predominantly female, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never see a man carrying a re-usable canvas grocery bag and eating organic granola. Men can go green too.
They can be men or women, hippies or yuppies or both, but one thing they all share is the desire, passion and dedication to lead a more green, responsible life.

Our Objectives:
Convey our philosophy. Attract the right demographic. Welcome new clients.
Due to the unique nature, high commitment level, and potentially high cost of GreenTeam’s services, the demographic of people who desire and can afford our services is very small. This means that we need to get the attention of as many people in that demographic as we possibly can. We need those passionate eco-friends to need us as well. They have the passion, the drive and the pocket book to use as services, as long as we can spark their desire, keep their attention, and speak their language.
This means our design has to speak to our well-off eco-maniacs by portraying environmentalist, professionalism, and class, but still being friendly and, to use a cliché, “hippie”-esque. Those grown-up granola babies need to want to gobble us up. We’re their ally in the crusade to be green, and they need to know it.

Company Design- Business Idea

We were each assigned a category from which to create and imaginary business, and I ended up with "technology".
I wanted to find a market of technology that isn't being tapped, which was tricky for me, since I'm not the most tech-savvy person around. I don't know what those Blackberry-carrying, Blue-tooth talking tech connoisseurs want. I also don't know much on the cutting edge scientific side, with all their gene-splicing, photon-splitting, fuel-cell creating genius. I couldn't even tell you how a hybrid cars works. So creating an imaginary technology business?Hmm. Dilemma.

But then I thought, hey, technology doesn't have to be about gadgets and buttons, flashing lights or exploding particles of matter. I can be more simple, practical and down-to-earth than that. So I about ways that I wish I had access to more technology.

I wish I could make my home GREEN.

I know there have been all sorts of innovations that can improve the eco-friendliness of a home. Many of them are as simple as replacing insulation, caulking windows or even buying different lightbulbs. So I did some research, and for the most part, if you want to green your home you have to DIY. Do It Yourself. There's plenty of magazine articles and brochures on how to "green" your home, but not too many businesses that will help you do it. So there was my idea. A home-greening business. So say hello to my project, my baby, for the rest of the semester... "GreenTeam."

Logo ReDesign- Final Revised

It's always good to get the opinions of other before finalizing a design- sometimes your eyes just get lazy and can't see things that an outside observer can easily spot. That luckily happened during our final critique- so I made some key changes to my final logo design. The group pointed out that no matter the scale of the logo, the words "City of" were simply too small, as well as simply unnecessary. They also felt that adding the word "Wisconsin" to the logo would be an improvement, and I completely agree. There is, after all, more than one Madison in the United States. Adding the name of the state seems so obvious now, but it didn't even cross my mind during my design process. I guess that's why they say two heads, or in this case, a dozen, are better than one!

Logo ReDesign- Final

Well here it is- my final logo. I did use the capitol dome as the main focus of the logo- simply because it is, without question, the most recognizable and classic icon of Madison. The logo would have seemed strange without it. The sunburst in the back of the Capitol is actually the design from the Memorial Union Terrace chairs, another Madison icon. Those not from Madison might not have the frame of reference to make that observation, but the sun burst still works as a design element to add energy and life to the logo. For Madison residents, it adds little extra treat once they notice it. It will make them feel "in the know" to be able to catch the visual reference. I chose red because, firstly, it's Wisconsin the Badger color, so red has a strong emotional connection for Madison residents. I chose a more sophisticated, less saturated, less "collegiate" feeling red to differentiate it from a UW logo, but it still retaining the visual connection.

Logo ReDesign- In Progess

After answering the questions from my last post, I began to narrow down the imagery, ideas and style I wanted to incorporate into the new logo. I created a style board which features images of Madison landmarks & icons.

I included text and images created a Frank Lloyd Wright because his architecture is well-known and iconic in Madison (the Monona Terrace, First Unitarian Meeting House, and several residential homes), and Wright himself has become a kind of local hero. 

I also included images of the locally famous Memorial Union Terrace chairs, which have long been strong and widely recognized Madison icons. 

Of course, images of the capitol dome are also included because, let's face it, that really needs to be in the logo. No way around it. It's the strongest Madison icon and the fact that this logo is for the official City of Madison, it's simply just necessary. An official Madison logo without the capitol would be like an Nike product without the swoosh. 

I've posted the board here- feel free to take a look!

Logo ReDesign- Questions?

So... before one starts to design a logo, it's a sorta kinda maybe important to do some research. If a logo is going to be successful, it has to represent the brand/product/entity properly and it has to appeal to the desired demographic. The only to figure out how to do these things through a workmark and/or logo is to really dig deep and ask lots of questions. Here are some as they relate to my redesign of the City of Madison logo.

Who is the audience?-  Mainly and simply, the residents of Madison. This logo is the official City of Madison logo. It's not for a business or a company, it's for an e

ntire city. The City of Madison website (www.ci.madison.wi.us or www.cityofmadison.com) has resources mainly for people who already live in Madison, but also has some for tourists and potential residents as well. Knowing Madisonians, the majority of the people who already live in Madison have an unusually strong connection to the city in which they live, so this logo needs to speak to and reinforce their love of and pride in the city. For those people who may see the logo, but don't live in Madison, the goal of the logo is a little different. Rather than reinforcing a positive emotional connection to Madison, the logo needs to help create or encourage one.

What are you conveying?- This is a tricky and complicated question. First off- this is an official Ci

ty of Madison logo, so it needs to conveying at least a little authority or professionalism. However, knowing Madison with it's laid-back style and relaxed nature and from looking at the current logo, which has neither of these traits,

 this is an idea we can consider loosely. Second- Madison is know for it's eclectic, progressive, and, well, "hippy" ways. A very rigid, official logo just wouldn't be appropriate.  The logo needs to convey a the spunk and uniqueness that Madison is so proud of. 

Why is it important?- While this question was largely answered in the paragraph about the audience, I'll rehash a little bit. The logo is put on official Madison documents, the Madison government website, and other pl

aces where it is necessary to simply represent Madison. Whether that be to current residents who are fiercely proud of the city, or to potential residents who are just discovering Madison, or to an official government worker who is reading an briefing sent straight from city hall, with a couple words and an image the logo needs to say what Madison is all about. Which is a mouthful.

Brewers Logo- Why So Great?

I'd never really paid much, if any attention to the Brewer's logo before Ange posted it on our class blog along with a promise of brownie points for whoever could explain what makes it such a great logo. I don't know if I have the answer or not, but I certainly noticed something about the logo I'd never caught before... but before I get to that neat little tidbit, here's the basics. 

It's blue and yellow. So it screams, BREWERS! Duh. It's a baseball mitt and ball. So it screams, BASEBALL!. Duh. Getting a little more technical, it's simple, so it reproduces well at very small or very large sizes. That same fact also makes it easy to remember and recognize instantly. It's also fun & friendly, like baseball should be. The thick lines, rounded shapes, and even the Brewers colors themselves convey those feelings. 

So that's everything I analyzed out of the logo. But there's one more thing that, I think, makes this logo great. And maybe I'm dumb or oblivious for never noticing before, and maybe admitting this will be really embarassing for me once I hit the "publish post" button on this entry, and I'm probably the only Wisconsinite who hadn't noticed..  but here goes....

It's an "M" & a "B"! For Milwaukee Brewers! The mitt!  The team's initials are hidden right in there. The top fingers on the mitt form an "M", and the thumb, palm and ball make a "B". Those sneaky sneaky Brewers... I guess you learn something new everyday. 

First Post

I just created this brand spankin' new blog for my GD 2- Logo & Identity class, and it just looks so plain and sad without any posts! So this post is really a post about nothing, but I just couldn't leave my blog completely blank. It's exciting to think that by the end of this semester, this space will be FILLED with sketches, roughs, finals and critiques. Let's just hope getting to that point isn't too much of a stress-fest. We'll see.....