I just finished a quick read of The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier. Jen, our brand strategist, had it sitting on her desk and it beckoned me with the promise of answers on how to bridge the distance between business strategy and design.

Below are a few take-home lessons from the back of the book. I was really able to digest these thoughts. Not just fluff and brand speak, these are tangible truths that directly translate to how we approach branding. Neumeier encourages using them to … read more

I’ve always been fascinated with design of informational symbols, referred to in the industry as iconography. This art form has played a pivotal role in shaping our cultural and educational environment. Approximately 32,000 years ago early man decided to paint images on the inside of caves to document stories. Roughly 5,000 years ago, Egyptians used hieroglyphics as a means of communication. These early artists saw the power of communication through symbols.

Well-designed icons are like beacons rich in symbology. Today we see many icons daily and most of them communicate very effectively, … read more

Annual report season is upon us and we have seen our fair share this year. While these publications are often seen as a necessary and a somewhat boring financial publication, we believe that they can actually speak worlds about your organization’s brand – to customers, shareholders and employees.  Annual reports should act as a vehicle to elaborate on successes and introduce new initiatives for the coming year. Allowing an organization’s personality to shine through in an annual report is essential for all those who read it, as the publication … read more

What is your personal brand?

This is the same exact question I asked a friend of mine recently as he complained about the challenges he has been having trying to find a new job. He looked at me skeptically and rolled his eyes.  How can branding help him find a job?   He told me that he was applying for jobs in a very conservative industry and that ‘branding’ will not work.   His view of branding was fancy colors and catchy taglines.  I explained that … read more

As a small business owner, I want to be sure a potential employee will be a good fit to our organization.  Hiring the wrong person costs money, damages the team dynamic, and is an overall unpleasant experience for all involved.

Over the years, we’ve managed to rely on value-based hiring to guide our recruitment process.  To be honest, I thought we made the term up until I started writing this blog post.  After a quick Internet search, I found that this is actually an existing term … read more