Our Process

Developing a Brandmark for Penniac Wilderness

Introduction

Whenever given an opportunity to develop a brandmark for a company, whether brand new or existing, there are a number of factors to consider. An initial meeting with the prospective client helps to outline the goals for the project, any insight or ideas that they may have, and ultimately ‘why’ they feel like a new brandmark is the next step they are interesting in taking.

The Process

Wondering how the whole process generally works and what you can expect for a timeline? This PDF will outline everything for you

Identifying the 'Why'

With any new marketing project, the very first question that should be asked is ‘why?’. Why are you looking to develop a new logomark? What are you hoping to accomplish?

In this instance, Jonathan from Penniac Wilderness reached out to us via a mutual contact. He has been operating a growing YouTube channel for the past couple of years, documenting the building of an off-grid cabin in Penniac New Brunswick.

Outside of running this channel he also facilitates expeditions to a number of the world’s most amazing locations including Mount Kilimanjaro, Denali, and even the Everest Basecamp.

He was looking for a way to clean up his existing brand’s identity while building a look and feel of the second, related venture.

While he did have few ideas he had been contemplating, he turned to us for our expertise.

Not only were we able to successfully build an identity that he is proud to show off, but we were also able to spark a few additional ideas for him along the way!

Check out the Penniac Wilderness channel on YouTube and follow along as they build and live a life off-grid in Penniac, New Brunswick.

Initial Concepts

After an initial meeting it is time to get to work. Its the fist chance to explore the shapes and layouts that match a client’s vision, business, and more importantly, their target demographic. I like to approach this first round of concepts in black and white as I ultimately do not want a particular colour to steer a clients decisions.

In this instance, we provided the client with six different approaches. The goal at this stage is to at least to get a clear sense of the direction they would like to take things. Every once in a while, like we did on this particular occasion, you knock it out of the park!

Refinement & Colour

After taking some time to review the designs, the client was torn between concept 001 and 004 and there was some discussion regarding the possibility of using both sets. We advised that in order to do that there would need to be some common elements between them, so that was one factor that had to be kept in mind when approaching the first round of revisions.

At this stage, provided we have a clear understanding of client direction, we start approaching things with colour to help bring the logomark to life. Taking a look at full/single colour options as well as how the logomark can be presented on darker backgrounds is important to ensure branding versatility. In this instance, we also took a look at secondary marks and how brand consistency could be maintained regardless of the application.

Stylescapes

At this stage, creating ‘Styescapes’ is a way to really showcase the brandmark and how it could potentially interact with the real world. It is a great practice to see how it looks within different scenarios helps to make the brand look and feel real.

The Decision

Ultimately, the client loved both designs for various reasons. While I assume, they will use on set as their primary presence, they asked for the second version as well for use down the road on some apparel and additional projects.

Regardless, we were happy to provide them with both.

Brand Identity Guidelines / Brand 'Bible'

Whenever we develop a brand identity for a business we always like to include a complimentary Brand Guidelines document to ensure consistency moving forward. It outlines how the logomark, typeface, colours andadditional design elements are to be used. Not only does it provide a client with a fail-safe guide on how to best showcase their brand, but takes the guessowrk out of the process for any third-party users.

Penniac Wilderness
‘Hex’ Logo

Penniac Wilderness Adventures
‘Hex’ Logo

Penniac Wilderness
‘Round’ Logo

Penniac Wilderness Adventures
‘Round’ Logo

Packaging & Delivery

Exporting and packaging/organizing all of the assets is the final and one of the most crucial steps in the process. This deliverable is where the clients first gets hands-on access to the wide assortment of their brand new files!

Extra care is taken to ensure there is no guess-work when they need to grab something or hand off an asset to a third party for sponsorship, partnership or other opportunity.

Final file delivery is generally organized as shown in the image below and generally contain:

  • JPG
    The most common image filetype. Jpgs have a solid background.
  • PNG
    The most versatile type of file for work online as they generally have a transparent background allowing them to be placed on top of an existing background image,
  • VECTOR
    Vector graphics can be presented in a variety of file formats including *.ai, *.eps and sometimes *.pdf. These graphics are mathematically structured and will not pixelate or distort when scaling. They are the most versatile file types for designers and are needed for processes such as embroidery or large format printing,

Ready to Start?

Hopefully this page has illustrated both the quality of our work and what you can expect from the process of developing a brandmark.

Not only does a logo have to reach your target demographic effectively, but ensuring it is displayed consistently across all platforms will aid in keeping it memorable and the first place prospective clients will look when they are in the market for your product or service.

If you have any other  questions or concerns, please feel free to take the time browsing the rest of our site or simply reach out! We would love to chat about your next big branding project!

Cheers,
Ryan Lavigne – Owner, FireWing Media