Warren is a forensic engineering and consulting firm that provides technical investigation and analysis of personal injury and property claims in order to uncover the real truth — origin, cause, responsibility and cost of an event — with unmistakable clarity. They believe that every cause leaves a trace and will therefore work tirelessly to get to the bottom of every case. With this in mind, we updated the Warren brand to be as distinctive and straightforward as possible.
The two downward-pointing arrows in the negative space of the Warren “W” further extend the brand promise of getting to the bottom of it. A warm color palette differentiates Warren from competitors — often red, black, and white — while also aligning to the idea that real truth is not always “black and white.” The primary color is yellow-orange because of its bright energetic qualities and its correlation to safety — think school buses, yellow lights, and construction machinery. Warm-toned monochromatic photographs of places and situations where a Warren expert often investigates are shown in pre-disaster states to provide a sense of assurance rather than fear. This extensive identity upgrade is already delivering real results for Warren in new business opportunities and new cases. Among the design deliverables was a full stationery package and a search-friendly website designed in collaboration with friend and one-time Weconian, The Pixellary.
Lady Liberty, silhouetted against a waning violet sky, dances and sways to the rhythms of a silent melody, beckoning weary passersby to come. Come get your taxes done at Liberty Tax Service and get $50 cash back on the spot! She is no marbled statue standing tall above the New York Harbor; she is an underpaid teenage boy with a mustache and a knack for public humiliation.
It’s not summer either — it’s tax season — the time for all red-white-and-blue-blooded-Americans to hunker down and settle the score with Uncle Sam. Considering how long Americans have been paying taxes, it seems only logical to market your tax services with a 127-year-old symbol of American freedom. Somehow though, this skirted man-boy’s spirited rendition of the Dougie seems to cheapen that idea, doing more to frighten potential customers away than draw them in. Though there’s some correlation between taxes and freedom, this method doesn’t accurately represent the benefits of their provided service. It’s the obvious solution to the problem and it’s too flashy. Furthermore, it’s from a company that started in Canada.
If every company advertised without accurate representation of their product, we would all be in for quite a ride. Luckily though, marketing is so much more than obvious. It requires a full awareness of the problem, the intended audience, and what has and has not been done before in order to uncover a fitting solution. Marketing is most potent when it is invisible, showing no signs of shameless pandering. It must do almost nothing but communicate the benefits of the product being sold.
One pertinent example of successful marketing would be this year’s H&R Block advertisements. The speakers are always shot in grayscale over a black background, which makes them seem inherently honest while also giving prominence to the green logo as the only colored object in each ad. The use of motion graphics and line drawings in the second spot brings the story to life in an unexpected way not found in other tax commercials. Finally, the quirky background music provides an element of delight that perfectly compliments the pleasantly lighthearted stories.
I’m not telling you where to get your taxes done this year; but if I were — as a curbside, dancing, singing statue of liberty — would you really listen to me anyways?
One of my design professors always quoted this phrase to us in class — whether he coined it or not I don’t know — but one thing is certain: it stuck. Though it took my classmates and me several semesters to really understand what it meant, the phrase is one of truth that still remains relevant to me today. Design is a funnel — a collection of thoughts and ideas sanded down to their bare bones; an eradication of anything that serves no immediate purpose; a culling of the fold; a filter; a razor; a window; a riddle; arithmetic.
When used accordingly, design can be much more than choosing a font, organizing a grid, or drawing a logo. It can be a way of thinking. But how does one tap into such a process?
In Debbie Millman’s “How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer,” Pentagram partner Paula Scher likens the process of creativity to pulling the handle of a slot machine. She says that we must allow for a period of unconscious processing so that all our past experiences, opinions, inspirations, likes, hates, etc., can “sort of run around in a circle” until they align with the particular goals of a given brief. In other words, it’s the funneling down of one’s acquired knowledge and past experiences until all that’s left is a logical resolution to the problem at hand. It’s not not quite magic or invention, though the end result may feel like such. Design is just the simplification of ideas — a funnel for the mind.
I got my first CD player when I was in the third grade. (Author’s note to the younger generation: a CD, or “Compact Disc,” is an optical disc that digitally stores data that’s read by lasers — yes, lasers). As a result, I spent many evenings locked in my room listening to CDs and pouring over the booklets that came with them. I loved learning more about the artists, reading their lyrics as I listened, then moving on to another once the 3-disc changer reset back to one. I cherished those CDs and held onto them for a long time — until, of course, the discs got scratched.
My next logical stepping stone in music listening had to be mp3s. (Author’s note to the older generation: an mp3 is patented encoding format which uses a form of lossy data compression…oh, never mind. Just remember they play on electronic devices). While I have enjoyed the benefits of this portable format, I’ve always felt that there was something missing from the experience. It feels disingenuous to take a track that was intended to be no. 8 on someone’s carefully laid out album and stick it on a workout playlist in between Kanye West and Justin Bieber. And perhaps worst of all, I’m less inclined to spend time solely with the music I’m listening to because I’m always on my computer to be doing something else. The Digital Age has relegated music to something of a background noise.
As a graphic designer, I feel it’s important to be intentional with everything I do — including listening to music. This is partly why I love vinyl records. (Author’s note to the younger generation: vinyl records are flat discs with an inscribed modulated groove through which a needle renders sound. / Author’s note to the older generation: people still listen to vinyl). In fact, vinyl has made a bit of a resurgence in the last several years. The medium offers clarity of sound, a longer lifespan when taken care of, and my favorite part—bigger artwork! The cover art is perfectly sized for that empty spot on your bedroom wall between your bookshelf and that vintage 60′s-inspired floor lamp.
Vinyl is large, tactile, and weighty, providing a greater sensory experience to users and a plethora of possibilities to packaging designers (the latter can be seen below). It requires listeners to manually choose albums and then listen to all the songs in the order they were intended to be heard. It requires listeners to slow down and pay attention to the music. It requires listeners to listen, which is something that often gets lost in this “listen-while-you-work” playlist happy world. I’m not by any means saying it’s wrong to listen to music while doing other things (I would have Spotify on right now if it didn’t distract me from writing). I just think it’s important every once in a while to slow down, turn off the computer, and intentionally enjoy a good record. Luckily for me, vinyl necessitates just that.
Below are some of my favorite records. They help demonstrate how designers can get more creative with the medium as well as the important role design plays in the record industry.
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St. Lawrence Place is a 30-home community where homeless families can find skills and shelter that foster independence and free them from the grip of poverty. We recently helped them update their brand with a new brand platform, an enhanced case for support, a new logo and identity package and the launch of an easy-to-use website that appropriately explains the “why” to donors and the “how” to those seeking assistance. Check out their new look below and then head over to www.stlawrenceplace.org to see the work they are doing to help break the cycle of poverty.
There is a rising consciousness that we are all connected, one to another - human beings, nonprofits, small businesses, corporate America. This blog is devoted to the study of the intersection between people and the thoughtful brands with which they identify.
The two downward-pointing arrows in the negative space of the Warren “W” further extend the brand promise of getting to the bottom of it. A warm color palette differentiates Warren from competitors — often red, black, and white — while also aligning to the idea that real truth is not always “black and white.” The primary color is yellow-orange because of its bright energetic qualities and its correlation to safety — think school buses, yellow lights, and construction machinery. Warm-toned monochromatic photographs of places and situations where a Warren expert often investigates are shown in pre-disaster states to provide a sense of assurance rather than fear. This extensive identity upgrade is already delivering real results for Warren in new business opportunities and new cases. Among the design deliverables was a full stationery package and a search-friendly website designed in collaboration with friend and one-time Weconian, The Pixellary.
