I have recently signed up for Bloggers Unite, which is an effort by all bloggers to draw attention to human rights issues at the same time. Here’s a description from their Web site:

While the words might change from country to country and are sometimes taken for granted, human rights represent one of the universally agreed upon ideas - that all people are born with basic rights and freedoms that include life, liberty, and justice. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations.

Bloggers Unite For Human Rights challenges bloggers everywhere to help elevate human rights by drawing attention to the challenges and successes of human rights issues on May 15. What those topics may include - the wrongful imprisonment of journalists covering assemblies, governments that ignore the plight of citizens, and censorship of the Internet. What is important is that on one day, thousands of bloggers unite and share their unified support of human rights everywhere.

Please visit the site and sign up to join me.

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

Thanks Ande and Charles for passing along this awesome link about retro designs. As you probably know if you’re a loyal OE Insights reader, I am a big fan of the use of historical elements in design. If you’re the same way, you’ll probably love this link.

CELEBRATION OF RETRO DESIGN

Here’s one of my faves:

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

In a world where brand marketers are so busy looking for the next “hot” medium to help extend their brand, many need to look no further than their physical environment. Based on our experiences, environmental graphics are one of the most often overlooked marketing mediums from a marketing strategy standpoint.

Wikipedia defines environmental graphics as a form of design embracing many design disciplines including graphic design, architecture, industrial design and landscape architecture. In short, they are graphics that enhance an environment and that function in wayfinding, communicating identity and brands, information design, educating and inspiring, and shaping a sense of place.

Most people only consider environmental graphics those that are within an enclosed space; however, we also consider designs that are manifest in open spaces as environmental graphics as well. Traditionally though, environmental graphics take many forms, such as: Murals, Window Graphics, Conference Room & Office Exhibits, Sculpture, Lobby Displays, Signage, Banners, Reception Desks, Trade Show Exhibits, Store Design, Point of Sale Materials, and Framed Art.

Environmental graphics, done well, can have a number of positive effects on a brand, particularly for companies and organizations that rely heavily on their customers to visually experience a space. First and foremost, the graphics help drive home the essence of a brand, which gives consumers a positive first impression. These graphics set the tone and mood of the environment, and quickly help communicate key company messaging to space inhabitants. In essence, environmental graphics will enhance and shape an overall brand experience.

Although they are very powerful in defining a brand, environmental graphics have a number of other functions. An often overlooked function of environmental graphics is wayfinding which is essentially helping consumers effectively navigate a space. These are especially important in hospitals, airports, campuses, stadiums-highly trafficked venues that rely very heavily on wayfinding to enjoy a game, ease a hectic travel day or possibly save a life or get a woman to the delivery room on time. After all, confusing or frustrating anyone ensures that they won’t leave with a positive association with the brand.

As an organization, we believe consumers have evolved-they are no longer affected by the advertising alone. But rather, they are more connected to the full experience- the enjoyment and recognition of a brand. Environmental graphics are an excellent way to enhance this experiences and ensure continued interaction. So if your environment is not working for your brand, consider the investment to enhance it and reap the rewards.

If you’d like to learn more, please feel free to visit the Society for Environmental Graphic Design’s Web site at www.segd.org .

If you’re interested in having an amazing design + communications firm out of Baltimore survey your environment to locate opportunities to better use your environment, give Orange Element a call at 410.244.7221.

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

We’ve had a special guest this week at Orange Element. While she’s not a great designer and is incredibly hairy, Saskia has served as a fantastic office mate. She’s been calm and quiet all week and has been motivating us to push our designs while her home has been undergoing some construction. We will miss her next week.

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

Aaron and I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning to play 9 holes of golf at The Golf Club at South River down in Edgewater. I have to admit, sometimes life is really, really good. What an amazing day for some golf - thanks to our friend Charlie Birney for inviting us out to play today. He puts together a group of people on Fridays in the summer to play some golf, network and raise money for charity. If you’re interested in playing, shoot me an email - we can always use new people for the ‘Friday Morning Irregulars.’ It’s $15 to play and it all goes straight to charity.

Speaking of Charlie–he’s an amazing guy. He’s both a client and a friend. As the Managing Director & Managing General Partner of The Brick Companies, Charlie does a lot of really important things for the company, but perhaps some of his most important work is for The Brick Companies Foundation and the company’s sustainable initiatives.

We also want to congratulate Charlie for being elected President of the National Golf Course Owners Association! It’s a huge honor and we know Charlie is going to be great for that organization. If you’re interested, Golf Course Industry Magazine just did a feature about Charlie in their latest issue and you can read it HERE.

Garret Ohm
www.orange-element.com

As a group that works creating and communicating great brands every day, we’re keenly aware when a brand needs help. These brands have become somewhat stale, are insignificant, or are just dated. This often happens when brands have been around for a while, regardless of size or industry. Factors could include: aggressive competition, becoming ‘lost in time’ with an aging consumer base, or industry changes that render a company’s brand irrelevant.

Many companies try to overcome this situation by rallying with their marketing departments to put together a complete rebrand of the company, hoping to capitalize on the buzz this can often create; however, rebranding a company from the ground up might not be their best bet for several different reasons. For one, rebranding a company tends to erase history in the mind of the consumer. If there is any existing positive brand equity with the brand name or brand mark, a dramatic shift can result in the loss of that goodwill.

Budget concerns can also prohibit a company from completely rebranding. For many companies, rebranding involves not only revision of the corporate stationery, but also storefronts, vehicle graphics, signage, collateral, sales kits, etc. These are large capital expenditures that can be unwieldy, particularly for companies with multiple locations and complex sales and distribution channels.

So what does a company looking to be more relevant do to reenergize its brand?

We recommend exploring a brand refresh. This involves revising a brand’s positioning and branding elements to ensure that messaging is not only strategically sound, but that the brand’s look is brought back up-to-date. These elements provide change in the right direction, while still preserving much of the brand’s existing equity.

One of the most well known examples of a brand refresh happened recently when BP realized that despite solid sales, its brand had begun to be lumped in with those “other big oil companies” that were gouging customers at the pump and polluting the Earth. Knowing this wasn’t an accurate description, they recognized the need to redefine their brand.

The refresh took the form of revising their logo and graphics from looking like a brand from the 1970s to one that looked forward thinking, as well as revising their overall brand message to one that depicted them as a fuel company that was doing positive things for the world, both socially and environmentally.

Before:

After:

Like with BP, a brand refresh done right can provide your brand a much needed spark that allows it to better compete with other companies vying for a slice of your market share, without alienating or confusing your current customer base.

At Orange Element, we’ve done a number of these for our clients over the years, and would love to give your brand a look to see if we can bring it back to life.