One of our favorite types of projects is the construction of a new brand from the ground up. Getting to help a small business owner build their initial brand, the face of their company moving forward is what led most of us into this business. In this new project for Dickerson & Son Trucking, that’s exactly what we got to do with a wonderful, family-owned dump truck company right here in South Carolina. Take a look at what we did to help build a wonderful new brand.
Logo and Branding
Designing a Logo and building the visual roots of a brand is an interesting process. To develop the right visual aesthetic for a company you need to understand the people, mission, and values behind a brand. In this case, the client conveyed to us a series of concepts they wanted to be communicated such as power, family, friendly, professional, and something out of the ordinary. We also learned that their truck was nicknamed “The Red Wolf,” which gave us some interesting pieces to begin logo design with.
Our designer began with some more vintage designs, conjuring images and the feel of older gas station branding. This led to a variety of different designs we presented for the client. The client came back to us with a pre-existing logo they had taken a real liking to. Our challenge then became to try and create an original logo for them using the elements of the existing logo’s design that they have fallen in love with. It’s a balance between satisfying a request while also creating the logo they deserve.
The end result is a logo that balances both of those needs perfectly. Elements of the lettering, coloring, and vehicle design from the original logo concepts are used to make a logo similar to the one they love, but unique to them and their brand. Humans are visually oriented creatures, so this happens more often than you’d think. Fortunately, our team has a lot of experience with requests like these and the knowledge to make something truly unique out of it.
Brand Guidelines
From that logo design, we were able to construct a set of brand guidelines. Guidelines like these are important as we move forward with a project since they develop the design “bones” for a given brand. The colors, imagery, and fonts are all consolidated in a document that becomes the design rules as we move forward. One interesting thing to note is that your logo fonts and web fonts are going to be different. Not all fonts are universal and thinking they are is a really common, and often upsetting, mistake in building a brand. Our design team counters this by including both logo and web fonts so you know what it will look like in any case and we can still provide you with a unique look.
Business Cards
We used those design rules as we built business cards for Dickerson & Son Trucking. The bold colors provide a great contrast that draws the eye, and the “working font” of the brand is solid and clear to the eye, conveying that quality of strength the client wanted to convey. An additional element used here was the hexagon background behind their logo on the card. This took the design to the next level, allowing the logo to pop with an element that could easily be carried to any other branding such as print pieces, vehicle wraps, websites, etc.
Website
The website is often the final piece of the project our team assembles. Using the brand guidelines we’ve established, as well as an in-depth onboarding interview with marketing and copywriting experts, we work to build that first digital impression for potential customers. For Dickerson & Son, the challenge was to apply thoughtful design elements with a straightforward user experience. Their business requires great use of design to create the brand identity while creating a simple, direct call to action and message for potential customers.
We echoed those design elements of color and clean design elements as we built the site. An additional element we added was photography. Images of trucks in work were complimented by bold call out text helping to highlight strategically placed calls to action. Since this is a local, family-owned company we decided to reflect some of that in certain design elements as well. For example, under the traditional “Areas Services” headline that appears on websites, we opted for something other than a map and instead used an image of the state of South Carolina with the image of the state flag imposed on it. This creates a feeling of local pride and support that can prove vital for small businesses.
The primary call to action for this client was to be contacted by the potential client. This presents a potential challenge since more compact sites like this one have a harder time determining when the purchase decision will be made. Our team countered this by placing a lot of calls to action to contact the company, strategically located with images that reinforced the services and brand being conveyed.
How did we do?
We love building new brands for new companies. At our core, this is the very type of project that brought us all into this line of work in the first place. We’re happy for our friends at Dickerson & Son Trucking and wish them nothing but the best for their future endeavors. We’re sure they will do great!
Your Stingray Branding Team
No matter the size of your business or your industry, our team can help take your marketing to the next level. By harnessing the skills, experience, and knowledge of some of the best experts in the business, we can craft your digital marketing strategy and experience to maximize results. If you need help with your marketing, or just have some questions about where you’re at today, contact us! Our team would love to help you!
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