#3 Curlz

Curlz is a font you see on invitations for events that are supposed to be fun and exciting, but its overuse has caused it to look silly and amateur.

#2 Papyrus

With its rough edges and antique look, you’ll notice Papyrus used in the massage and spa industry, for (Mediterranean) restaurants and menus, representing jewelry shops, and on organic food packaging. Papyrus has become so commonplace that it’s a poor choice for any company wanting to stand out.

#1 Comic Sans

Originally designed as imitation comic book lettering, Comic Sans is one of the most overused fonts created—there are even sites dedicated to banning the font. Comic Sans is childish, immature and never taken seriously.

The fonts listed above should never be used to represent your brand, but the list goes on… Click here for a full listing of fonts to avoid »

Why does it matter what fonts I use?
Choosing an unsuitable font makes your brand:

• convey the wrong message
• look unprofessional
• illegible and unreadable
• look too generic
• confusing and unmemorable

What if I can’t find the perfect font?
Hire a design firm, because:

• design firms have tens—if not hundreds—of thousands of fonts at their disposal
• designers are aware of trends and fonts that may soon look dated
• if a perfect font can’t be found, a custom font or type treatment can be created
• design firms work hard to make sure your brand is unique and conveys the proper message

So, whether you’re flowing content into your website or typing up a document to be used in-house, refrain from using the fonts listed above and you’ll find yourself a few steps closer to a more professional, memorable brand.

Lets start with your image to the outside world:

• A poorly conceived/executed logo (1.) will not connect with your prospects; (2.) can deliver the wrong message about who-you-are and what-you-do; (3.) give the idea that you have poor quality standards; (4.) may be too generic to be memorable; (5.) is hard to read on business cards; (6.) will confuse people about what you do
• A logo that hasn’t been updated in years (1.) will tell your customers you are too cheap to keep your image fresh; (2.) may no-longer represent the company and its values; (3) will project a lack of interest in your own business and brand value; (4) looks boring and not fun to work with

Now, let’s consider, more importantly, the image to your employees:

An old logo that hasn’t been updated will tell employees  (1.) “We don’t care about the future of the company;” (2.) “We are cheap and don’t understand the intrinsic value of our Brand;” (3.) “We don’t understand what the current Brand represents or where it is headed;” (4.) “We fear or are against change or improvement.”

A poorly conceived/executed logo tells your employees (1.) we do not connect with our employees; (2.) delivers the wrong message on who-the-company-is and what-the-company-does; (3.) gives the idea that we have poor quality standards; (4.) steers potential applicants away from applying by having them think, “If they don’t invest in their image, they probably won’t invest in me either.”

Next Printing Cost:

I’ll have to preface this with some basic info – a professionally developed logo is successful in black and white, one color – possibly two color. When contrasted with some poorly planned logos that are full-color for no good reason:

• Printing cost for full-color, all of the time, will normally double or triple any printing job’s cost (Example: business cards for a two-color logo can run about $100, but the cost can easily jump to $200+ for full color on the same paper stock)

Imagine printing letterhead, envelopes, and business cards for an office of 10 people. If you have professional designed stationery with a two-color logo, your cost may be $2,000 depending on paper stock and quantities. For similar paper stock and quantities, using a logo that is full color, you will easily spend $5,000. So, you can see that anything you saved on the logo redesign is eaten away by poor planning and execution.

Another problem with an unprofessional logo, we have seen this more times than I like to admit, is when the logo is created in a non-scalable format. They had a friend put something together in a desktop publishing program and they only have one file format and it isn’t scalable. Each time the logo is used on different media such as on letterhead, then billboards or shirts, the company they contract with has to re-make the logo, OR turn it into a two or one color, OR (the worse) stretch the logo to fit the size so the final print/production is warped, fuzzy or pixelated.

We have encountered several poorly conceived, badly executed logos that are not helping the companies they are supposed to represent. So, if you are concerned about how much a good or great logo will cost you, it is nothing compared to what a BAD LOGO will cost you.

Think about what big prospects have walked away from your company because your brand looks old, confusing, or poor quality. How much did that logo really cost you now?

Professional designers shouldn’t be overly influenced by their personal
interests when considering a logo design. Designers get paid to solve
other people’s problems, not chase down our own artistic pursuits. On
the other hand, designers who become indistinct from business people run
the risk of losing a creative dominance, so finding a balance is essential.

Attempting to describe the process of logo design is similar to trying
to answer the question, “How long will it take to generate a good idea?”
Some designers wrangle with a visual branding project for almost a year
or longer. Other designers will have a workable solution in mind after
the first client meeting. Because timelines can be dubious, designers
learn to trust a creative method. Usually, this method starts with the
knowledge and appreciation for the project’s vision and context. Then
the designer draws from research, goal-oriented creative briefs, and
industry trends.

Good designers prefer to not touch a computer until the idea in mind is
mostly resolved and crafted, instead sketching dozens, up to hundreds of
thumbnails. Creating many ideas throughout the creative process can be
an effective way to reach a great solution, but quantity doesn’t assure
quality. Visually and conceptually refining the idea and/or initial
artwork will follow this period of brainstorming, providing a period of
careful evaluation and resolution before being considered for a logo
design option.

U-Haul moving trucks – fun or pure marketing genius?

We’ve all seen them, they’re hard to miss on any road trip. You probably even look for them, trying to find the one from your hometown. I’ve even seen U-Haul trucks on Roadtrip Bingo games.

Making people look for these fun, iconic trucks is only part of the U-Haul marketing plan. Look at the trucks closer. U-Haul is explaining to you why their trucks are better. On the back of the truck they refer to the low deck and even show you the height of other truck decks. Closer to the front, you see the term “Gentle Ride” and on the truck door it generally says Automatic and A/C. You may have never thought about it, but those are important qualities to most people. Qualities you may assume are on all trucks until now because U-Haul has raised doubt about their competitors. So now you ask before you rent a truck if it has A/C and an automatic transmission.  Another addition to the subtle sale pitch is the space above the cab known as “Mom’s Attic”. The term “Mom’s Attic” is cute, fun, and makes me think of my mom putting her china and other precious cargo up there away from the heavy furniture.

The entire truck differentiates U-Haul from all of the other competitors. Think of other moving trucks – they’re boring, boxy, and honestly not memorable (except for the series of Budget trucks with the stick figures – memorable, but they don’t differentiate).

Some of U-Haul’s new trucks have a scene showing a truck all packed up making you think about moving. It’s neat and organized – giving the appearance that moving can be easy and it has a little something for everyone including a basketball, lamp, and toolbox. They even use U-Haul boxes to cross-sell that service and get their name out there a few more times.

I promise you won’t look at another U-Haul truck the same way next time you see one driving down the road.

Awesomely terrible yet memorable.

Local advertising is critical for B-to-C companies, but why do so many local companies tend to throw money away with their ads? You can immediately recognize a local commercial by the poor video and sound quality, but here is a list of other giveaways that label commercials as ‘local’ as well:

No Plan – First of all – most local companies advertise because they want new customers. Most companies get this right, but fail by not making a plan of what they want to accomplish, how to measure their success, how they will go about doing it, and who they are trying to attract.

Miss the Mark – Most local companies try to do all aspect of advertising themselves and stretch beyond their knowledge base and end up wasting money because they’re advertising to the wrong people. Many times small business owners advertise on their favorite stations rather than their customers’ favorite stations. Would you rather hear your commercial or have your customer hear your commercial?

Sell Only on Price - Unless you have a streamlined method of manufacturing a product or a better method of providing a service, you should not sell on price alone. Be competitive, but not cheap. People perceive quality by price and if you offer something for $99 and your competitor offers their service for $125, consumers assume their pricier work is better. So you say your product/service has more to offer than your competitors – then tell me!

Don’t Go For the Gold – Local companies usually advertise their entry services and attract transactional customers instead of well-paying, repeat customers that they can build a relationship with over time. For example, Design the Planet does not say, “We design business cards”. Instead, we develop brand identities including logo, icon, stationery, website, brochure, tradeshow displays, advertising campaigns, etc. Can Design the Planet design a business card? Yes, but why lead people to us for a 2 hour project; instead, we look for 50+ hour clients. Look for the “cash cows”.

Being Cheap – I mentioned production value before, but many times local ads are cheap because of their time slot, infrequency of showing, and/or with the channel itself. If you can only afford the late night TV ads on a lesser known channel a few times a night, it’s time to look elsewhere. TV is not for everyone (I’d argue its almost not good for anyone). Use your money wisely and remember people need to see information 3 times to be recalled.

All Your Eggs in One Basket – I am amazed when a company calls and talks to me about taking over their marketing and I’ve never heard of them. They are amazed and when I ask them where they advertise, it’s on a channel I hardly watch or a radio station I never listen to; so how would I know about them? Look for opportunities using different mediums, channels, times, shows, communities, etc. Sometime a small sign at the local park can be just an impactful as the high-dollar TV spot because of it’s placement.

Let 'em have it.

Not Memorable - Have you ever seen a commercial and not remembered it? Yes you have. Commercials should stand out and have a reason to be remembered. This can be hokey or campy too. Do you remember the Special Man? What about 1825 Tulane? If you do, you’re from New Orleans. This ad for the Montgomery Flea Market is a horrible ad, but it’s memorable and we talk about it all the time in the office because it’s humorous.

No Differentiation - This is one of the biggest problems with local advertisers. They do not differentiate themselves from their competitors. Why buy from you and not another company? You should have a list of reasons, but one is all you need to be effective. Differentiation can be location, turnaround, quality, expertise, niche market, custom vs generic, certifications, etc. If you don’t have anything that differentiates your company from your competitors then you shouldn’t be in business.

Advertising & marketing is about education. You must educate your prospective customers how you are different, why you’re worth their time, and why you charge more (or why you’re cheaper). I recently hired a company to install new windows in my house because they told me why they were better than their competitors and trained me how to tell the difference in their products/services. Without this education, I would have only been able to choose based on price. Do you sell price or quality?

If you would like to review any of these suggestions or if you’d like help planning your next campaign, please drop us a line at 504-391-1550 or info@designtheplanet.com.

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Current Logo Design

New Rebranded Look for 2010

The Holiday Inn rebrand shown below was genius and it went far beyond the company’s logo. Many times people confuse a new logo for a rebrand. A rebrand is a new look across the board and that is exactly what Holiday Inn did. Holiday Inn required all of their franchises to update their properties to the new look or leave the company. As the recession was really developing, Holiday Inn had little mercy for the franchise owners dragging their feet and the company cut ties. I have seen many former Holiday Inns and I see why the company cut ties. Holiday Inn upscaled their company image to be a preferred place for families to stay for vacations as well as frugal business travelers. The former Holiday Inns can mostly been summed up as “hell holes”. [I can not account for every one of them since I'm obviously not seen all of them, but the ones I've driven by or the few I've stayed at as a last resort where just horrid.]

Classic Holiday Inn logo

Revamped Holiday Inn Rebrand in 2007

Just remember a rebrand is not just a new logo, but a new company attitude, a position change in the market, or a rebirth of a very historic logo. Also, many small companies fail to inform their brand community that they made the change so they look like they were bought out or worse, a different company altogether. Obviously a small company is not going to international news like Gap, DoubleTree or Holiday Inn, but a simple email, letter, or small advertising campaign will go a long way.

As a designer & marketer, I love seeing rebrands. Some are very successful and others are not so much. At least Gap listened to their fans and brand community via social media and public mockery on TV, radio & print. Some advertising experts say this may have been a stunt to get media attention. Just this morning, the Today Show on NBC mentioned the brand going back to the classic logo then immediately asked why that was considered news.

Do you have a favorite brand that did a great rebrand or maybe another brand horror story? Do tell.

One thing was obvious to me – some companies get branding and others do not. Case in point, the M&M Store is a 3-story behemoth of a store that sells clothing, jewelry, magnets, kitchen wear, custom M&M colors, more clothes, purses made of wrappers, coin banks, etc. (You get the point hopefully.) The entire store was colorful, entertaining, branded, and even smelled a bit like chocolate. One thing that particularly impressed me was how the store carried out the brand consistently throughout the store. Even the freight elevator was marked with a cute M&M character with a witty saying [look right] instead of just a sign. Very clever and it keeps you in the brand experience. The yellow M&M even holds the box upside personifying his dimwitted nature.

Across the street is the Hershey store with an elaborately designed exterior that is even more inviting than the M&Ms store. Walking into the store, my wife & I both had visions of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory in our minds. We were sadly disappointed. The store is unique for a typical mall store, but for Times Square, the inside fell flat. We walked along the crowded aisles and found our favorite candy and bought a shirt for my brother-in-law (he loves Reeses) and stood in line to check out.

After leaving the Hershey store, something stood out to me. You can not buy a bag of M&Ms at the M&M store. They had M&Ms, but they were all in tins, mugs, creative packaging, and the like. Most of the items in the Hershey store, I could buy at any drugstore or grocery store. Also, I noticed the noise, lines, and chaos at the Hershey store even know the M&M store was much louder, had more people, and had more going on. This is because the Hershey store was an store that sold candy not a place to experience a brand.

This was an eye opening experience for me that showed my money does not make the brand experience. Although, the brand experience makes money. We spent 3 times as much at the M&Ms store and went back numerous times throughout our short vacation.

If you’re in NYC, check out these two stores and the new Pop Tart World. Pop Tart Word just opened the week before we visited Times Square and they’re doing a lot of great things. It is not quite M&Ms yet, but you can make your own Pop Tart t-shirt, create a custom box of the pastries, and enjoy their Pop Tart cuisine. I think was a little too old for Pop Tart World’s impact, but I’m glad we found it (new means not on maps.)

Well, this prospective client did not sign and he used the Recession as his excuse. A few months later, the kitchen store was closed. The story picks up last week when my wife & I were out shopping for mattresses. (Yes, a glorious, fun-filled evening ensued – not really.) After checking out a store in the mall and a regional chain, we headed off to this high-end mattress store. I thought I was saving the best for last. I was wrong.

We pulled up to the store just after 8pm and the lights were dim. I was surprised to see this, but we ventured on. We got to the door and found that we missed them. We didn’t miss them by minutes because they closed at 8pm, but we missed them by 2 hours because they closed at 6pm! WHY WOULD A B-TO-C COMPANY THAT SELLS HOME FURNISHINGS BE OPEN MONDAY-SATURDAY FROM 9AM-6PM.

I will never shop at this store because I work Monday thru Friday and my wife works Tuesday through Saturday, both during the day. I can not make it to the store without taking time off work which to be honest, is not worth it for a mattress. Also, I would assume most of their clientele, people that can afford their mattresses, have a job. I do not understand why a retail store would close at 6pm. This would be like me, a professional services company, working from 5pm to 11pm.

My prediction for the future – this mattress store will close much like their kitchen store not because of price, service, product, or differentiation, but because of their lack of accessibility (meaning their hours).

[By the way– there are 4 other mattress stores within .5 miles of this store, all of which are open to 9pm & Sundays. Location may have been another problem.]