Good Design is in the Relationship

I’ve been chanting this mantra for years. If there isn’t a foundation of mutual respect and understanding between designer and client, then it’s likely the proposed project will fail or at best, be mediocre.

Sad. That’s why it’s so important for me to start building the relationship even before the ink has dried on the first signed project proposal. I see my clients as people first, they’re running their business, I’m running my business second, their payment to me third. So, it’s no wonder I’ve have always gotten paid.

Let me give you what I hope is a non-freeze dried, i.e. yawn, case study of evidence that good design is in the relationship.

Middle of last year I was hired to design the logo mark for SocialNicole LLC. It was an interesting process as I had not created for a social media/digital strategy business before. The beauty of it all is that it turned out to be a true collaboration in the design process which resulted in the appropriate and fitting result. The best part is the logo mark continues to get rave reviews and is working hard to bring her business the recognition it deserves. [ See logo mark below ]

Recently, the client (Nicole Harrison of SocialNicole) asked me to create a logo mark for her weekly Twitter Nonprofit Talk, I was thrilled. Nonprofit Talk is fast approaching its one year anniversary. In a very short time frame, it has become a unique, lively online community that spreads across continents and time zones. Its popularity stems as a forum for non-profit professionals to come together to share ideas, address concerns and issues facing non-profit organizations today. Discussions surround a specific topic, often there is a guest expert to answer questions and is moderated  by Nicole Harrison or at times a guest moderator.

Had I not worked with Nicole on her business identity and not built a trusted working relationship, the process of creating a logo mark for Nonprofit Talk would have been much more challenging, especially when Nicole expressed
she had no preconceived notion of what Nonprofit Talk should look like. The one thing I had to go on was that Nonprofit Talk would soon be debuting as an offline, meet-in-real-life forum for the local non-profit community. As Nonprofit Talk is evolving, it became apparent to both of us that it needed a branded look and feel.

Below are the results, along with written rationals for the logo marks I presented. I always provide rationals for clients, so they can understand the logic behind the design as well as sell them on a concept. Part of the presentation is to show logo mark designs in a variety of marketing applications. This further sells the concept ~ nothing is better than seeing design test driven and working.

Concept One: It’s Your Baby

We don’t know which came first, Nonprofit Talk or SocialNicole. No matter. It’s your creation and it’s taking off. The concept is to keep NP for nonprofits big, bold, (think TV and radio broadcasting logo type treatments) and established with the word “talk” having the same typeface as SocialNicole. (Harrison)
This makes for a branding “offspring,” so when your audience sees NPtalk and then sees SocialNicole, there will be that branded connection.

The badges continue to connect with the SocialNicole brand with their various colors picked up from the SocialNicole logo. On the back lists aspects of Nonprofit Talk.

So Where’s the Hashtag?
The hashtag is more a Twitter tool than anything else. To include it into the logo doesn’t add, but takes away from its aesthetics and balance of the design. Just sayin’.

Note: The taglines I’ve applied ~ they are just placeholders. I’m sure you will come up with something much more brilliant than my fever induced brain will ever manage.

I admit, I was working through a nasty cold bug at the time. As it turned out, the client, Nicole, loved the tagline, fell in love with the logo mark (it felt so right), and immediately saw how the badges could be used in print, but as on online badge that could used to promote Nonprofit Talk as well. From this designer’s perspective, I had a blast.

This has turned out to be a big win-win for Nicole and myself. She now has a branded look and feel to take her creation to the next level. As a sponsor of Nonprofit Talk, I have an extended exposure for my business.

I did say logo marks as in plural, didn’t I? There is a design camp that says only give the client one idea, because it’s your job to come up with the right solution in the first place ~ i.e. you should have a good relationship with your client to understand what they are looking for. The other design camp, is give the client choices. I tend to fall into camp no. 2. In this case, I gave Nicole choices. See below:

Concept Two: It All Started on Twitter

This is a little more buttoned-down look and feel and thinking of your audience, the nonprofit world.

The concept surrounds the two “t”. Nonprofit Talk started and took off online via Twitter, hence the light blue color. Very soon, Nonprofit Talk with be meeting in real life, face to face. That’s why the two “t” face each other as if engaged in conversation.

The bookmark giveaway has the logo on the front. On the back shows aspects and characteristics that make up Nonprofit Talk with the typography applied in a conversational way. Note: This logo mark was a hit, but the first won out for the reasons mentioned. The bookmark idea has since been adapted for the chosen logo mark.

 

 

Concept Three: It’s All About The Conversation

This has a light-hearted feel that suggests welcoming, helpful, engaging. I took the two “Os” in nonprofit and turned them into conversational bubbles. A clean look, but maybe too cute? On the other hand, Nonprofit talk does take on serious topics that nonprofit organizations have to deal with, but the environment is bubbling with good ideas and sharing knowledge.

So Where’s the Giveaway Promotional Thingy?
Thought I would wait until you saw this to fully draw one out. Not sure ~ a tee-shirt, post-it notes or notepads, coffee mug….

I had debated about showing this last idea. It feels a bit like I’ve seen this before and well, some ideas shouldn’t go past the drawing board. For Nicole, she was delighted to see all the designs and have one the fit Nonprofit Talk perfectly.

 

Related Articles

• Five Must-Have Skills for Nonprofit Social Media Managers (nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com)
• Validation Designed. (grandciel.wordpress.com)

Advertisement