There’s something happily surreal about sipping on your morning coffee and reading the newspaper when you stumbled across a story about a client’s success story. Very nice indeed.

A few years ago we designed the logo, brand identity system and website for a proposed state of the art sports training, medicine and therapy complex in Burnaby called The MultiSport Centre of Excellence. After years of delays, the construction has finally begun with a ground-breaking ceremony.

Congratulations to all involved in the project!

A few months ago, Mac Donald’s launched a new TV campaign in France ‘come as you are’. The campaign itself, created by EuroRSCG, is pretty nice but what really caught my attention was the logo: it has turned green!! Just like that, without a warning or at least a press release. French restaurants will shortly be painted in green too.
MacDonald’s and France always had a strong love/hate relationship. Synonymous of obesity, bad health, bad working conditions, the fast-food giant struggled to seduce consumers in a country that takes food seriously: it has to be both slowly made and slowly enjoyed. We made up the words ‘MalBouffe’ or ‘bad grub’ to describe their so-called food and ‘MacJob’ to describe a low-paid, unrewarding, rubbish job. One restaurant in Paris was on strike for a year, another one was dismantled by farmers and anti-globalization activists, and so on.
But today, you can get a BigMac on a 6 cereals traditional French bun, and a ‘green’ restaurant opened in Paris a year ago. Following this example a new pilot ‘green’ McDonald’s is scheduled to open its doors on July 14 in North Carolina, built with sustainable materials and integrating eco-friendly technology as well as electric vehicle charging parking spots.
It seems to be a very successful strategy: surprisingly France is now their world’s fastest growing market.
So a green logo to convince everybody that you are now sustainable and healthy? that’s a bit cliché design-wise. But hey, this is McDonald’s… That’s good news if they are moving in the right direction.

Last night I visited the the brand new Vancouver Convention Centre for the first time. While there I took special notice of the convention centre’s new identity and its applications. At first I must admit the logo baffled me a bit as group of us stood looking up at the huge colourful logo on the wall. Someone asked me what the violent-looking slash of colours hanging beneath the photography-based wordmark meant. I found myself struggling to find the right words.

Designed by Vancouver-based Karacters DDB—in fact the entire brand and integrated marketing program has been developed and rolled out by DDB Canada, with their local partners Tribal DBB creating the website component—the logo is meant to represent “the inspiring play of light and water one experiences” when in the nearly all glass building surrounded by mountains and water, according to Karacter’s Creative Director James Bateman.

While I understand that the design team wanted to avoid any literal references to the city, mountains, or even the building itself—which I think could have been done quite subtly actually—I found my initial reaction kind of mixed, feeling that the graphic language was rather busy and not entirely feeling the connection to the inspiration of nature. Either way, it’s certainly a brave use of visual language to use dynamism in an attempt to capture and communicate the inspirational feeling of the location of the conference centre.

I’ve already heard various opinions being bandied about—some positive, saying they think it is a fresh expression of the Vancouver experience not seen previously. Others have been more critical, claiming it looks sloppy and already dated—my favourite being the comparison to a blood splatter pattern (which seems almost apros pos these days). But what I’d really like to know is what the public think—they are the target audience, not a bunch of design wonks.

Sometimes I think that some of us with designers’ eyes get distracted by issues like complexity of a graphic (ie. a logo made with photographic elements) and the difficulty of its application when flat vector shapes are commonplace, rather than enjoying the clever underlying layers of meaning. I will say that struggling for words as I did trying to explain the identity might be OK. Doesn’t that happen sometimes when we’re awe-struck by nature’s beauty, the very thing that inspired the logo in the first place? I’m just saying.

So? What do you think of the new Vancouver Convention Centre identity? We’d love to receive your thoughts as comments below.

PS – Readers of this blog seldom agree on all things design, but I think we can all agree that this was a huge project for the team at Karacters and we offer our congratulations on its launch and offer our best wishes of luck that it becomes an enormous success for them!

WHERE

There are few corners left in the urban environment that don’t have a coffee shop, and very few are consistently good. In fact, even that great tasting cup could be produced with beans that victimized the people who grow, pick and sell them.

Sourcing fairly traded, organic beans is one thing. Finding the best, the most flavourful and highest quality beans is quite another. You have to be part connoisseur and part Indiana Jones it seems. Then you have to get those beans here, roast them properly, grind them just so and then apply a combination of art, science and skill to capture all that in a cup.

Most people don’t think about all the things that go into their daily caffeine fix. Our job, along with our friends at Octopus Strategies and the guys at Elysian Coffee, was to create an identity to start to change that.

IDEAS

Elysian has a reputation of making the connection between sourcing the right beans and making a damn fine cup of coffee. In fact, they elevate the experience to something more akin to what you’d expect of fine wine. Oh yes, there’s an exact and perfect way to make a cup of coffee at Elysian (and drink it). The new brand we were asked to create needed to express this to those already in the know, and engage and enlighten those who will soon discover.

Elysian is more than just a retail coffee shop. Owned by two guys who have carved out a niche for themselves as highly engaged, experienced, methodical and passionate consultants to the coffee trade, they were also the first to bring the Clover coffee machine to Canada. If you want to start a coffee business these are the guys you want showing you how. They like to explain that they are “quietly disruptive”, rocking the industry boat just so, but enough to make waves.

Elysian is a reference to the café in the movie Sweet Smell of Success, and to the Elysian fields which were the final resting place of the blessed chosen by the gods in Greek mythology. We set out to capture a combination of the historical meaning of the name with their newly enhanced brand characteristics. Our goal was a new, fresh identity that appeals to industry clients and retail customers alike. A tall order.

WORK

We initially set out to bring a stronger element of the roman and mythological connection from the name to the logo, but what we ultimately realized was that the unusual name itself achieved this. Thus freed from iconography and styles of the past, we created elegant, welcoming, approachable and precise typography to echo the clean, clear and pure taste of the coffees clients will experience.

With the logomark we sought to evoke a sense of lightness, the idea of layers (of flavour and dimension) and a precision that represents Elysian’s approach to making coffee. There are five colours that were selected for the brand ranging from dark brown to pale bronze. Two of these colours are used in the logo itself and all suggest the warmth and richness of coffee. Applied to store signage, coffee packaging, business cards and more, this brand has great appeal for a unique coffee experience: Clean, modern, fresh and humanistic, watch for more from this quietly disruptive brand.

Some projects can really be both exhausting and very rewarding. After weeks and weeks of hard work, numerous revisions, and a couple of late nights putting the finishing touches (while eating bad delivery food)….we are very proud to have designed the new brand identity for Airwave. ‘Airwave wireless lighting controls’ is a brilliant and innovative technology developed by our client Ledalite, a Phillips-owned company specialized in lighting products. At first sight, it looks like a simple switch but it actually wirelessly communicates with luminaires using simple kinetic energy. So in other words: no wires, no battery, no complex installation, just stick it on your wall and that’s it! Smart! More details to be found on Ledalite website.

We developed a clean and fresh identity that reflects the main attributes of the product, by suggesting the recognizable symbols of the ‘on’ button and the wireless waves. Moreover, our identity had to coexist with the family of existing logos, such as MesoOptics Technology (also designed by IB a few years ago). Check it out here.

Alongside we designed two brochures for the Pique and Float lines, the first two lighting fixtures to integrate that new technology. Stay tuned for a new case study on Float.

WHERE

Following the launch of the Industrial Brand blog in 2004 we quickly realized that food and drink was so much a part of our lives it warranted the creation of a completely separate venue for the topic. Thus, in January 2005 we launched “In The Kitchen: Gastronomic adventures and insights from the minds at Industrial Brand Creative”. With a focus on food and dining in Vancouver, the blog also chronicled subjects of general food and cooking-related interest in both daily briefs and longer articles.

Once we started inviting others from our peer group into the fold to write on the blog, over time it became apparent that it had outgrown its life as merely an extension of Industrial Brand. As such, we set out to create an new identity for the blog, one which would give it independence and more accurately reflect the vibe of its many contributors.

IDEAS

The first task was to create a new name. Brainstorming with our core contributors many options emerged, some serious and others either hilarious or inappropriate since we wished to be regarded as a credible source of food and related information. Having identified our key message as “We’re so passionate about food we worship it”, the name Foodists was decided upon. Foodists links our passion for food to something akin to the level of worship; it’s about our collective devotion to making, eating, enjoying, sharing and exploring good food and drink.

To accompany the new name we created a fun, friendly logo featuring a portly, smiling Buddah-like character so excited about food he’s levitating (who hasn’t had that feeling before, during or after an amazing meal?).

Rather than simply re-skin the existing build of the blog with our new identity, we recognized the potential to create a unique, functional, interesting design to impress readers, potential advertisers and food (and design) industry folks. The new design also allowed us to continue with the diverse range of content spanning new food discoveries, adventures, travel, products, reviews, recipies and more, and have it organized in a practical and engaging way.

WORK

What has emerged is Foodists.ca, with its playful identity and simple, colourful layout designed to provide friendly appeal to a broad audience: like-minded, passionate food worshippers with enlightened appetites. Instead of opinions, the site offers “meditations”. Rather than recipes or tips, we share “guidance”. And, as opposed to the standard product or restaurant reviews, we celebrate our finds in the “worship” section.

Posts have increased dramatically, as has the site’s audience. We are planning further updates and promotions, including our first contest/give away with a prominent cookbook publisher. Stay tuned.

Launch website: www.foodists.ca

WHERE:

Why re-brand Industrial Brand?

The logo we created when Industrial Brand first formed in 1997 no longer reflected our capabilities and the calibre of work we provide to our clients. We also felt that the name needed to be reexamined. The “Creative” added on to the name was just that, an add on required when we registered the company. Having it as part of the name seemed disingenuous in the way that people who say they are ‘cool’ rarely are. It was time to re-brand.

IDEAS:

We could have been our own worst client if we had not followed the same strategic thinking and methodology that we use with all our clients. It started with agreeing that we would fully submit to the process, meaning that we were completely open to the possibility of a name change and other radical departures. And we agreed we would not be sentimental. That said, the company has built up a considerable amount of brand equity and we would not let it go lightly.

Away from our office and daily studio distractions we spent a day doing our Brand Discovery. With the aid of silly squeeze toys, previously collected client/prospect/vendor surveys and other inputs, we delved deep into our DNA.

What eventually emerged was that we were not too far from where we needed to be. The name would stay, but we would drop “Creative”. The corporate colours stayed in the family. The biggest changes would be the logo and the emergence of a new tag line.

With a name that includes the word “Industrial”, thin, light typography just wouldn’t suffice. In exploring our options we realized that revealing the process of its formation as an inherent quality of the mark would be analogous to the very work and craft we practice. This led us to a study of the deconstructivism movement; art and architecture characterized by an interest in manipulating ideas of a structure’s surface or skin, non-rectilinear shapes which serve to distort and dislocate some of the elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope.

Buildings such as the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris exemplify this notion, with its mechanical infrastructure taking prominence on the outside of the building rather than hidden within its walls. Similarly, the fine craftsmanship of a Ferrari engine is often displayed under a clear bonnet for all to appreciate. And so, we agonized over a million iterations and ways to simplify, tweak and clean the lines of our logo. The new Industrial Brand logo celebrates all that is industrial and mechanical, itself resembling pipes and infrastructure, and represents both process and panache.

Our old tag line, “We’re not wired right” remains true, yet hardly resonates with our intended audience, or provides the sort of guiding light beneficial to us and our clients. “WHERE IDEAS WORK” does just this, becoming a statement of not only what goes on within the studio and the people that compose it, but it also says something about the outcomes we deliver.

WORK:

We felt that the customized letterforms from our logo were so unique that we needed to expand the design into a complete typeface. This gave us the tools to create interesting conduit-like constructs that have become secondary brand elements.

New identity and tagline in place and typeface complete, the task of applying these to every possible brand touchpoint was a daunting one. There are the obvious ones such as our corporate website and blog, stationery such as business cards and letterhead, office décor and signage. But digging deeper, there are well over 50 distinct documents, displays, promotional items, treatments and files that needed to be completely broken apart and recreated, plus new ones. Regardless, we took the opportunity to ask ourselves whether each had the right utility and function moving forward. If not, we improved, discarded or replaced it.

Our tag line has also become a unique way of dividing our content, including use as primary navigation for our website with WHERE being information about us, IDEA as the concepts and thinking behind things, including insight into our process, and WORK as the place we present our portfolio.

The result was a phenomenal amount of work to do while still servicing our current clients. While we’ve achieved our goal of a public launch for November 14, 2008, it is also a work in progress as we continue to roll out elements. If we’ve truly achieved our objectives, an interaction with Industrial Brand will not reveal the sheer effort behind the work, only convey the message that we’re an experienced, respected, passionate and slightly warped team with vision and a culture WHERE IDEAS WORK.

Launch website: www.industrialbrand.com
Launch blog: blog.industrialbrand.com

WHERE

If you haven’t ventured up Burnaby Mountain in a while you might be surprised to see how incredibly it has changed. UniverCity is the award-winning , sustainable and master-planned residential neighbourhood adjacent to Simon Fraser University. Since its inception a decade ago, it has become an international beacon for urban planners searching for an example of long-term sustainable community planning.

Our task was to examine the UniverCity name and evolve the identity then create a new website and other materials to appeal to all levels of community residents, developers, investors and government.

IDEAS

Following a number of workshop sessions on defining the communication goals and messages for the Trust, we developed a complete Brand Essence for UniverCity. This became the establishing work to lead us to naming options and, within a mandate to preserve as much of the equity of the original identity, establish a new and more vibrant colour palate and a completely revised wordmark.

WORK

We developed graphic standards and integrated the new brand look into all printed communication materials, and a new website. Additionally, we devised several unique direct marketing initiatives to get the attention of the development community, and get developers the tools they need to start talking about UniverCity in their own sales materials in a consistent manner. To respect the sustainable mandate of the community, all printed materials were printed on recycled, carbon neutral stock and printed at Hemlock Printers, one of the most environmentally-friendly forward printers in Canada.

The new site had to appeal to all target users on different levels and integrate marketing and sales tools such as image libraries for real estate developers. Areas of functionality such as open forums that in the past had caused problems were removed in favour of top-down blog-like content and information delivery. A simple to use CMS back-end has revitalized the administrative staff’s enthusiasm for posting, and has even had an impact on the communication avenues now available to them.

Initial feedback on the identity overall has been very well received by all. New wayfinding and more vibrant signage has dramatically improved navigation through the area and the overall look and appeal of street-level signs and banners. Feedback from the development community on waste-saving development calls-for-proposals and attention-getting, breakthrough marketing has helped the Trust immensely and solidified their leading position.

“The SFU Community Trust has been working with Industrial Brand for the past two years and we have found them to be an accomplished and highly professional firm that has shown a strong commitment to our organization’s needs. We have found Industrial Brand staff to be responsive and willing to think broadly and creatively about the projects we have engaged them with, and have found their outcomes to be consistently above our expectations.” - Jonathan Tinney, Director of Community Development, UniverCity

Launch site: www.univercity.ca

WHERE

To more accurately reflect the brand character and tone of the present company and coincide with this animation company’s upcoming ten year anniversary, in 2008 we sought to transition from the technical and impersonal planet-themed identity we originally did when the company first launched.

IDEAS

Rather than abandon all brand equity, we sought to transition from a technical and impersonal planet-themed identity to one that softens and personifies the company. Having a significant portion of their work come from family programming of their own creation also provided an opportunity to introduce a more whimsical design evocative of childhood and nostalgia. The use of a child launching a paper airplane silhouetted against another planet is symbolic of potential, dreams, aspiration, creativity and imagination, and creates an even stronger connection to Mercury’s tag line: Imagination Advanced.

WORK

New cards, stationery, signage and many other elements snapped the industry, employees and others to attention, and had them asking about the fresh new look. We delivered the new identity together with a comprehensive Styleguide , an Industrial Brand proprietary online brand guide and resource. Styleguide has allowed the client to take the reins and apply their new identity to new promotional items, motion graphics and website amongst other elements.

“Industrial Brand is an ideal creative partner. Edgy, intelligently targeted creative combined with unmatched skill at technical execution.” - Clint Eland, President, Mercury Filmworks