I was asked to set in at Parsons School of Visual Art and Design in NYC.
The school had an energetic vibe. The class discussions revolved around the importance of difference with logo design, website design and brand development. The student brought a naive viewpoint and interjected some interesting thoughts and they could understand the conversation well. The conversation about logo design, website design and development revolved around a set of ideas... All clients have a unique fingerprint, a unique story. Finding what is different with each clients', logo design, website design and brand is the key. Different is good. Different is what gets images, and ideas noticed. Have you ever heard of the same thing, the ordinary, being noteworthy? Have you ever heard someone say, "The logo design was so memorable because it blended into the crowd?" You never will either. Different is what defines one idea from another, one logo from another, one website from another. Different is what makes anything memorable. Different alone will not effect a real change for any business. The key to marketing is finding the white space, defining what a business does best and finding its own unique place in the marketplace. Then defining it in a relevant and engaging way, as in logo design, website design and branding. The young minds full of innocence and excitement and expensive fashions was invigorating and fun to see. I was even impressed with the uniqueness and artistry of some of the students work. Even the simple assignment of a self portrait using a grid seemed to truly inspire some of the students.
Thank You to, School of Visual Arts | Eugene Lang College in New York City
Self portrait illustration made of typography.
Self portrait illustration made of typography close up.
Self portrait signature made of unique typography.
Self portrait illustration with surprising color.
Self portrait illustration using dots.Self portrait illustration using dots close up.
Self portrait illustration using dots.Self portrait illustration using dots close up.
Tanya's Soup Kitchen logo design is Tanya herself and a bowl of soup in the same image. The Tanya's Soup Kitchen logo design is a visual manifestation or metaphor to show Tanya is the equal of a true artist. Tanya puts herself into her creations, her art, her soup.
In the logo design Tanya's face is the bowl, her mouth is the spoon, her eyes are splashes/droplets and her hair is the steam. All the shapes and lines of this logo where drawn and drawn again then scanned into digital form and re-drawn digitally. All the edges and curves were smoothed and softened to invite the viewer and remind the consumer of how beautifully delicious Tanya's soups really are.
Tanya and the Tanya's Soup Kitchen logo design and brand identity have become interchangeable, recognized as one-in-the-same. All the graphic design in Tanya's brand identity reflects and has become the symbol for Tanya's attitudes and personality. Tanya has become more than a proprietor of a sheik restaurant, she has become a food goddess and a beacon for sub-culture lifestyles and attitudes. The lines early anticipating a bowl of Tanya's amazing soup often extend from one side of the restaurant to the other and even out of the door. Tanya has become famous in the Wichita area and well know in the highest perches of the food industry.Join the attitude at
http://www.facebook.com/tanyassoupkitchen
http://www.facebook.com/tanya.tandoc
http://tanyassoupkitchen.com/
Tracy Holdeman is founder and creative director of Insight Design Communications, executive creative director of WhisperNewYork. His logo design, brand identity, website design and graphic design work has been recognized with over 100 national and international awards.
Points of Light Institute introduces logo design and brand identity by Tracy Holdeman. The brand is designed to attract new generations to civic engagement and will reach 83% of all school children in all 50 states.
New children’s education brand launch by New York based Whisper, and Whisper team member, Insight Design Communications, of Wichita, Kansas USA. Insight Design Communications specializes in exceptional logo design and branding across all mediums. A New York City based organization with a rich 15-year history is growing. Children for Children has joined forces with the Points of Light Institute, to create a new movement igniting the power of young people everywhere. Children for Children is growing to become…generationOn. The new logo design, brand property, was nationally unveiled during the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, hosted in New York. The logo design appeared on invitations, programs and news media backdrops. Previously, the new brand logo and corporate identity was featured during the NASDAQ opening bell ceremony in New York City. The logo design appeared on the NASDAQ big board and the logo design was featured on the big screen on Times Square.
The new generationOn brand property was created by Steve Cranford, CEO of Whisper. Cranford developed the market positioning, the property name, and the verbalized 5- and 30-second story behind the name. A Whisper team member, Tracy Holdeman, Executive Creative Director Whisper and Insight Design Communications, developed the brand logo design, brand identity and other corporate identity and graphic design elements for the new identity. The logo design will be seen all over the United States, especially in major cities like New York City, New Jersey, Boston, Washington DC, Miami, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Denver, Atlanta, Los Angles and more.
About Insight Design Communications
Insight Design Communications is a graphic design studio specializing in exceptional logo design, brand identity, corporate identity and brand design across all graphic design mediums, including website design, social media marketing, print, advertising and environmental design. Tracy Holdeman is Executive Creative Director of Wichita based Insight Design Communications, and New York based Whisper. Tracy is one of the unique talents in the realm of visual communication. He has been a valued brand design partner of Whisper for more than a decade working on engagements accross the United States like New York, Washington DC, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Los Angles, Denver and around the world.
About Whisper
Whisper is a brand asset creator. Whisper creates value with branding. Whisper is a brand property developer. Rooted in communications strategy, Whisper creates intellectual real estate to generate returns, through effective market conversation designed to attract a wide audience. Whisper works with organizations so they may own the conversation® among competing product choices. Whisper client engagements span a variety of industries with organizations from North America to the Middle East and Pacific Rim
About Points of Light Institute
Points of Light Institute mobilizes transformational people to answer humanity’s call, whether for those struck by the headline, and the everyday. We show the way for people to tap into their own resilience and power to help others, and in doing so transform not only the lives of those we help, but also the lives of those who help. For people who answer this call, they are themselves transformed. As the largest volunteer mobilization network in the nation, Points of Light Institute includes more than 250 Action Centers that reach more than 83% of the nation’s population and extends into ten countries. generationOn is now a part of this powerful network, which delivered some 30 million hours of volunteer service valued at $615 million over the past year. For more information: www.pointsoflight.org
About generationOn™
generationOn, newly created within the Points of Light Institute, is the largest youth volunteer service organization in the nation. generationOn combines the expertise of Children for Children and other Points Of Light Institute offerings, such as Kids Care Clubs, HandsOn Schools and the HandsOn Action Center-driven programs, together under one banner. generationOn includes over 30 youth programs that engage more than two million young people in all 50 states and internationally, and 1,800 Kids Care Clubs throughout the 50 states and internationally from China to Saudi Arabia. Benefits: Young people who volunteer just one hour a week are 50% less likely to abuse drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes, or engage in destructive behavior. In a study of high school dropouts, 81% reported that opportunities for real world learning, such as the opportunities provided by generationOn programs, would make their classroom experience more relevant. Service learning in the classroom has been shown to increase attendance, improve academic performance and motivate achievement as students see the results of their work creating a positive impact on others. generationOn Engages: Teens, Tweens and Younger: generationOn is created as a brand property that kids may embrace and call their own, by helping young people develop as healthy, empowered, creative problem-solvers and leaders. Parents and Families: Equipping parents and influencers to unleash and affirm the power of young people to identify and solve challenges within their community. Teachers and Schools: By providing curriculum, tools and resources to educate and excite kids about service and civic engagement. Nonprofit Community: Building capacity for organizations across America to engage and value young people and families as volunteers. For more information: www.generationon.org www.childrenforchildren.org generationOn Opens NASDAQ
Tracy Holdeman is Executive Creative Director of Whisper and Insight Design Communications. You can see Tracy’s logo design, graphic design, brand design and website design work at InsightDesign.com, LogoDesignWichita.com, LogoDesignWichita.Blogspot.com, LogoDesignWichita.com/denver, LogoDesignWichita.com/dallas and LogoDesignWichita.com/kansas-city
This is what Greg Menefee, the marketing director, of JBS Swift & Company said, “It isn’t often that a graphic design or a single brand identity program can totally change perceptions of a company, its people, or products but it is safe to say that the 1855 Brand logo design, branding, website design and photography design is doing just that. Already we have secured wins in the NE United States (NY, NJ, CT, PA), Atlanta with Halperns, Tucson and Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and a huge addition in Denver. Our new partnerships with Rastelli’s in NJ, Halperns’ in Atlanta, Out west in Vegas, Freedman / Sysco in Denver are bigger than mere industry/distribution wins. These four companies are huge players with tremendous reputations and successes in the industry - with their business the ripples from the 1855 Brand launch have become waves.”
We developed everything from logo design to New York bus signage to website design to retail signage and brand packaging and everything in-between. Most importantly we designed the brand identity, the strategic visual and implemented it on hundreds of items.
The 1855 Brand Promise:
HISTORY. EPIC EATING EXPERIENCE. PERFECTION.
HISTORY.
1855 Brand™ premium meats are a celebration of master butcher and company founder Gustavus F. Swift who, back in 1855, began hand selecting the world’s finest meats with an unmatched passion for excellence. The legacy of this visionary small town butcher began humbly with a $20 loan, courtesy of his father, to buy a neighbor’s prized heifer. Buoyed by his dream to deliver the freshest, safest, highest-quality meats to customers across the country, he invented and patented the first refrigerated rail car. It would become a cornerstone of the 150+ year heritage of groundbreaking G.F. Swift innovations in meat quality, safety and processing. 1855 Brand premium meats pay homage to our founder and his heritage with a premier level of quality that would make G.F. Swift proud. And while his legacy of industry firsts will never be rivaled, establishing your own legacy is what 1855 Brand premium meats are all about. After all, your legacy is the one that matters most.
EPIC EATING EXPERIENCE
G.F. Swift 1855 Brand™ premium meats are an epic eating experience. For those who truly know their beef and pork, this is nirvana. We start by selecting the finest cattle and hogs in the nation. Then each cut is hand selected for exquisite marbling, creating unmistakable flavor and incredible juiciness. Swift 1855 Brand premium beef and pork is then perfectly aged to ensure sublime tenderness. That’s important, because marbling and aging remain the keys to indulgent flavor and tenderness. And while our lofty quality standards set 1855 Brand premium meats apart, it is our unprecedented commitment to verifying such incomparable quality that puts our premium meats on another level. From animal selection and product quality to food safety and delivery of finished cuts, the 1855 Brand quality verification program is so exacting, even perfection gets a long look. It’s all part of delivering a consistently exceptional eating experience, every time.
PERFECTION
All 1855 Brand™ beef is a statement maker. That’s because we start with the biggest selection of the very best cattle in the nation, bar none - at incredible availability. It becomes even more special as we hand select and hand trim each cut, using only the highest quality upper 2/3 USDA Choice beef. We then apply the industry’'D5s most demanding quality standards for marbling and aging at every turn, and execute tight trims for higher yields. To understand just how superior 1855 Brand beef is, all it takes is one heavenly, tender and juicy bite. It all happens in a limited number of select state-of-the-art plants located in the heart of America’s cattle country. From sourcing to food safety processes to tight trims, we maintain quality control over everything.
The 1855 Brand launch included logo design, stationary system, website design, brand packaging, direct mail, retail hanging posters, outdoor advertising, photography design and art direction, large and small case dividers, 3’ wide case header, cap and apron, back-of-house poster and educational material, flexographic shipping packaging and all elements of graphic design.
This logo design, brand identity and graphic design elements will appear in Kansas City KS, Greeley CO, St. Louis MO, Washington D.C., Denver, CO., Dallas, TX., St. Louis, MO., New York, NY., Los Angeles, CA., Oklahoma City OK, and more. Tracy Holdeman is Executive Creative Director of Insight Design Communications. You can see Tracy’s graphic design work and website design work at InsightDesign.com, LogoDesignWichita.com, LogoDesignWichita.Blogspot.com, LogoDesignDenver.Blogspot.com, LogoDesignDallas.Blogspot.com, and LogoDesignKansasCity.Blogspot.com. Tracy Holdeman is a professional logo designer and brand designer with extensive experience in creating logo designs for business.
JBS™
1770 Promontory Circle
Greeley, CO 80634
970.506.8000
Thanks to our Guest Blogger, Jeff Faflick, Marketing Director at Carlos O'Kelly's.
Inspired rebrand.
Long time regional Mexican restaurant chain Carlos O'Kelly's rebrands.
Carlos O'Kelly's rebranding was designed to reach a new, younger audience, changing the way, people perceived the 30 year old restaurant chain. Once Carlos O'Kelly's determined that, rebranding was necessary, the next question was how much? Would Carlos O'Kelly's, need a radical rebrand, a subtle rebrand, or somewhere in the middle? One of the, influential individuals at the forefront of this rebranding effort was Jeff Faflick., Jeff is the Marketing Director at Carlos O'Kelly's and has been in the marketing and, advertising industry for 26 years. "Our existing brand was towards the end of it's lifecycle, our vision was to captivate a new younger audience while keeping the vast majority of our current customer base intact" said Faflick. Carlos, O'Kelly's moved first to define their brand in the realm of ideas. Carlos O'Kelly's brought in Tracy, Holdeman, Executive Creative Director of Insight Design Communications. Tracy guided, them through the brand promise process. Once their brand promise was in place, Insight developed a number of logo designs and creative solutions. Eventually, Carlos O'Kelly's, focused on the "twisted pepper." Upon completion of the logo, Insight created, all the brand identity materials, including new menus for lunch, dinner and carryout, as well as, carryout bags and various store graphics. Throughout the the rebranding process, Carlos, O'Kelly's worked to develop a new set of menu items which focused on more hand, held foods and unique flavor combinations to inspire a new clientele. "Some of the dishes were not finalized until the last hour. That process of renewal will be a consistent practice at Carlos O'Kelly's". said Mr. Faflick
The brand promise boiled down to "Inspired Mex", which in the Carlos O'Kelly's vernacular means is an entire set of ideas.
Inspired Mex
Carlos is redefining the Mexican dining experience. We believe that those things that inspire us will inspire you, too. Think inspired food served in inspired ways by inspired people. We’ll do the searching, the finding, the refining and you can sit back and enjoy the rewards of our efforts.
Limitless
Inspired Mex is not a destination; it’s a journey. If you come along with us, we promise there will always be something new and exciting around the next bend in the road -- endless opportunities to delight. after you order it, and just the way you want it.
Fresh
We make our salsa fresh everyday. Our food is made from scratch and we oven-bake it to get the fully developed flavors of a home-cooked meal. Everything we bring to your table is made one plate at a time, just after you order it, and just the way you want it.
Quality
Quality is the result of doing a thousand little things right. The best ingredients brought together in the best possible way by people who care about what they’re doing. It is the caring that makes all the difference.
Unique
Inspired Mex is Mexican with a twist. Having a name like Carlos O’Kelly’s gives us the freedom to bring the flavors and fun of Old Mexico together in new and interesting ways. Generously sprinkled across our menu are signature items that are uniquely Carlos.
Family Owned
Our family has owned and operated Carlos O’Kelly’s all the way back to that first inspired moment in 1981. Why does it matter? Who loves something more than the creators? Who is going to care more about the restaurants’ reputation than the people who have spent 30 years cultivating it? It matters to us.
Carlos O'Kelly's logo design.
Carlos O'Kelly's menu design.
For over a century, J.P. Weigand & Sons, Inc. might be the most viewed logo in Kansas. J.P. Weigand & Sons, Inc. has been instrumental in the growth and development of residential, commercial and industrial real estate in the city of Wichita, the Wichita, KS. area, the Kansas City area and parts all over the State.
We decided immediately that the process for changing such a historically influential and important brand logo and brand identity should be a deliberate one. J.P. Weigand & Sons, Inc., with over a hundred years of equity in the name and several decades of equity in their brand logo would be best served to avoid any drastic change. But, their logo, designed in the 70's, was poorly thought out and caused readability and usage problems that at minimum needed to be fixed.
Before, the J.P. Weigand & Sons, Inc. logo used a clunky type for the word 'Weigand' which had little negative space around and inside the letterforms. For example the "A" became a solid blob, and the letters bled together which made it difficult to read at a distance. We opened up the letterforms in the word 'Weigand' making it much easier to read at a distance. Also, the basic oval shape was divided by a white strip that made it impossible to use against a background color. Weigand was stuck using a white background with the their logo which made their signs disappear in the marketplace. To correct this we enclosed the oval shape so the brand logo could be used with background colors. This was a simple, but important fix because it allowed for designs that use color more dramatically to differentiate Weigand’s marketing material and realtor signs from a marketplace filled with predominately white signs.
We also made adjustments to color and added a piece of history. We changed the bright blue to a deeper more substantial, blue befitting the regions real estate leader for over 100 years. We added the historical signature of founder J.P. Weigand, created by hand form vintage letter forms, to elevate the illustrious history of the J.P. Weigand & Sons brand.
All in all, the Weigand brand is now positioned more appropriately in the marketplace. It has a sense of history and emphasizes a reputation of excellence, and quality, which is a perfect fit with their brand promise.
The logo design, tagline and brand identity are used on corporate signage, website design, facebook, realtor signs, direct mail, brochures and collateral material, advertising, on-line marketing and more.
Tracy Holdeman is Executive Creative Director of Whisper and Insight Design Communications. You can see Tracy’s logo design, graphic design, brand design and website design work at InsightDesign.com.
Swiss Arabian’s Darbuka brand perfume borrows its name from an Arabic drum. The drum’s expressive and vibrant rhythms along with Henna are the inspiratio
Location:
Dubai logo design
Style:
Illustrative logo design
Industry:
Beauty logo design
The Garden & Gift brand logo uses a leaf instead of a bow on the gift package. The logo also uses a casual pen and ink illustrati
Location:
Logo design Kansas City
Style:
Illustrative logo design
Industry:
Brand logo design
We developed Vornado's Brand Promise, a new strategic brand identity and retail packaging identity that changed Vornado's future. The solution came in radical simplicity and a revolutionary anti-branding information architecture. We even re-named all of Vornado's products the same name for each product category and developed a new universal tagline for each product category. Crazy simple. Insanely simple. All the air circulator products are now called 'Whole Room Air Circulator" which is the brands "unique relevant benefit". This also allowed us to position Vornado and the original--leaving the competition to imitator status. Plus, we made the package design communication ultra clear by fully explaining what an air circulator is and what it means relative to a fan with the tagline, The tagline reads, "The fan that circulates all the air." Now Vornado's brand and brand packaging is differentiated from competitors and clearly positions Vornado as the definitive category leader and innovator. It's so simple and so clear it dominates the retail shelf. Until this new brand packaging Vornado failed for years to gain space on Target's lucrative retail shelves.
With this new packaging, they not only got on the shelves but, according to Mark Zarich Director of Sales at Vornado the buyer actually said, "The packaging was the best in category." The brand packaging is selling so well Vornado has doubled their SKU's.
The package is built as a sequential graphic design structure with each panel leading to the other building one concept on the previous. The graphic blue strip on the front right edge with the cut out arrow encourages turning the package to the blue panel which explains how Vornado circulates all the air. The graphic green strip with the cut out arrow on the blue panel encourages turning the package to the green panel which explains how whole room air circulation saves energy and money and makes a room more comfortable. The graphic black strip with the cut out arrow on the green panel encourages turning the package to the black panel which list benefits. The front panel states and explains Vornado's "unique relevant benefit" while all the other panels support that assertion. It was all developed out of the 'Brand Promise" and that's what we mean when we say strategic graphic design. What we developed with and for Vornado was, "Intelligent. Superior engineering. Innovation". From this we created the new brand packaging identity which Target said was the best packaging in the category and it got Vornado on Target shelves for the first time in their long history. Relatively the same products just different brand strategy and packaging. We didn't just say they were "Intelligent. Superior engineering. Innovation" but we designed an intelligent and innovative package and branding that showed superior engineering. The contextual approach, brand strategy, logo and graphic design embody the brand promise.
Insight Design Communications is a breakthrough brand design studio with extensive experience in brand packaging. Client: Vornado. Work: Logo Design, Brand Promise, Brand Strategy and Architecture, Brand Guide or Corporate Identity Brand Manual, Brand Packaging for all categories; Wholeroom Air Circulator, Wholeroom Heaters, Wholeroom Humidifiers, Wholeroom Personal Air Circulators or Fans and Wholeroom Air Purifiers. Brand Product Brochure and Brand Story Brochure and Vornado Trade Show Graphic Design.
This logo design and brand identity will be visible throughout the United States and in cities like Kansas City, Kansas, Wichita, Kansas, Dallas, Texas, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Denver, Colorado, New York, New York, Los Angeles, California, and Europe and Asia.
We didn't just say they were "Intelligent. Superior engineering. Innovation" but we designed an intelligent and innovative package that showed superior engineering. We even re-named the products and came up with the new tagline. All the products are called 'Whole Room Air Circulator" which is their "unique relevant benefit". But what does that mean to the average consumer? The tagline "The fan that circulates all the air." explains it in one line. The package is designed sequentially, each panel leading to the other. The graphic blue strip on the front right edge with the cut out arrow encourages turning the package to the blue panel which explains how Vornado circulates all the air. The graphic green strip with the cut out arrow on the blue panel encourages turning the package to the green panel which explains how whole room air circulation saves energy and money and makes a room more comfortable. The graphic black strip with the cut out arrow on the green panel encourages turning the package to the black panel which list benefits. The front panel states and explains Vornado's "unique relevant benefit" while all the other panels support that assertion. It was all developed out of the 'Brand Promise".
The Vornado logo and brand packaging can be seen across the U.S. including cities like Wichita, Kansas City, Dallas, Denver and major retailors like Target.
Location:
Logo design Wichita
Style:
Initial logo design
Industry: