Refined Logos

All of my logos are in various directions ... these are the 5 that I choose to refine and the many iterations that I did while working on them.   They are all still pretty rough, mostly just digitized of my sketches.

Logo Roughs

These are my 100 logo roughs.  70 logos/symbols and 30 word marks.

Good:

3, 14, 23 and 30

46 and 52 ... any other ones?

~J

New Name, more Identity

After going through critique in class last Wednesday I knew I needed to come up with a better suited name.  I did some searching into Greek and Latin words for home or house.  I also looked at lesser known languages and what their words for house or home were.  How people would read and speak the word was a concern, so I stayed away from really complicated or long words.  After picking my favorites, I asked a few people what they thought and picked a Greek word. 

The new company name is Meno, and the "o" has one of the triangle (^) accents above it.  I liked the metaphor that gave to the visual look of the word.  I also liked that while people might pronounce it differently, it is pretty straight foreword.  The word itself means "stay at home, stay where one is, to be lasting, remain, stand"  which I felt fit perfectly with the idea and mission of my company.  

To give a better idea of what my company is here is a couple personas of people that might come to us:

Persona 1

A young couple, married for a couple years looking to buy their first home.  They are new to the housing market, and eager to own their own home.  They are both smart and intelligent people but don't know a lot about owning their own home.  They want to make sure they can truly afford the home they want to purchase and know how to manage their finances so they don't ever run the risk of going into foreclosure.  They have a consult, learn about energy and cost saving things they can do in their home and get some informational materials they can easily have on hand in their home.

Persona 2

A single parent with two kids.  They (he or she) work full time and barely make it by month to month.  As a result, they have accumulated a lot of credit card debt and are starting to get behind on their mortgage payments.  They know that they need to do something soon to try and turn it around or they will be loosing their home.  He or she comes in for a consult, they go over her home situation and where she could be saving money.  They look at financial statements and figure out how they can save money and to make sure they can pay their mortgage.  They also figure out what he/she can do to start chipping away at the credit card debt.  

Persona 3

An older couple has lived in the same house for 30-40 years.  They raised their kids there and while the house is in decent condition, it is older and a little too big for just two people.  They have both been retired for years and now the husband has decided to take a low paying job just to help with their bills.  The house is paid for, but they are behind on their bills and medical payments for their daily medications are starting to pile up.  Their biggest asset is their house and living off Social Security and a very low paying job just isn't cutting it anymore.  They are in serious danger of loosing their house.  They come in for a consult and we discover that the biggest attachment to the house is emotional.  After getting background on them and doing some research we recommend several apartments, condos or assisted living that would suit their lifestyle and budget.  We assist them in doing some repairs in their current home so it will sell faster.  They managed to not have their home taken away from them, but they did have to move and now they are managing their bills and budget much better in a housing situation better suited for them.  

These examples are the types of people that could come in to our company as well as the types of services we would provide.

We really are a full service agency where people can come to at any point in the life of their home.  We want to help people avoid the trauma and stress that a home can cause by helping them at any point they are at with any needs that need to be met.  If we cannot supply those things ourselves we will recommend a good place that they can go to get those services.  

Brand attributes and associations with home:  home, convenience, helpful, moral, ethical, loving, caring, kind, approachable, friendly, family, people, money saving, nature, security, memories, peace, comfort, status

~J

Design Brief - Brio

This was my design brief as of last wednesday ... 

Brio is a company whose heart is focused on the home and what that means to each individual.  By providing a variety of services for a variety of customers, Brio hopes to help homeowners stay away from foreclosure and the possibility of loosing their home.  

The services that will be provided include consulting, information sessions, installation, product purchasing, and renovation of homes.  These services can come into play at a variety of times in the life of a homeowner.  These stages would be preventative measures, in trouble, and on the verge of loosing their home.  In the last case we would be able to provide therapy and relocation assistance.  The needs of the homeowner are our biggest concern.  

The audience that we would be serving is anyone that owns a home.  The types of people that would come to us could greatly vary.  However, they would all have a want or need to save money in their homes and stay away from foreclosure.  The age range, sex and demographics of this group could vary greatly.

Our company will be about saving people's homes.  The home is important to many people because of the memories it holds and the status and meaning behind it.  At Brio we strive to be loving, caring, and kind.  We want to project an image that is convenient, worry-free, and cost effective.  We want to be known in the community as a part of the community and not just another cookie-cuter business.

By choosing our company, a customer can gain many valuable things.  A new homeowner could come to learn how to save money and be cost efficient in their homes.  Someone who is struggling financially can gain financial consulting and we will hopefully be able to turn them back on track.  Someone who is close to loosing their home might need relocation assistance or therapy to help get through the trauma of loosing their home.  We will offer all of these services in a variety of ways, each tailored to the customer and their individual needs.  While our services are not non-profit, our ultimate goal is to give affordable solutions and services so we are not a financial burden to our customers.  

While we have some competition in making a home energy efficient, our company takes a stance in the market by focusing on keeping people in their homes.  Our energy efficient programs and "go green" attitude toward saving money is only one small aspect of our business.  However, our ultimate goal is keeping people in their homes.

The objective of our identity is to be a friendly and approachable company.  We don't want people to feel ashamed or afraid to use our services and our identity should tell people that.  It should represent convenience and cost-effectiveness.  Ultimately the idea of "home" and what that represents to each individual will drive the company and the way that we operate as a company and with our customers.  

~J

My Company ... nameless for now

After thinking some more about my ideas and doing a little more reading on the things that I was thinking about doing I have decided on my company. We will do several things, depending on the customers needs, wants, and financial ability.

1) Evaluate a home for places that a home owner is loosing money
2) Suggest improvements to save money and/or go green
- from changing to florescent bulbs to more expensive things like new windows or appliances
3) Have a lower cost way for home owners to purchase these products/services from us
- we will buy direct from suppliers and provide things to the customer at a lower cost than a major store would
- we would also be able to help with installation processes or recommend out to good and inexpensive companies for these types of services.
4) Help organize community between neighbors to help multiple homeowners in the same area to share and live in community to save money and live greener.
- this would include showing neighbors how to share energy costs, resources, recycle together, and even help each other out financially if one family needs the help to keep their home.

All these services would be offered in two ways. The customer could set up a consultation and we would come to their homes and deal with them right from the comfort and convenience of their own homes. Or the customer could also choose to come in to our center and learn about different things they could do or pick the services they want. The costs would vary depending on the services the customer would choose, and nothing would be too expensive since the goal of the company is to help people stay in their homes. The amount of involvement of our consultants is up to the customer and they could even just use our services to purchase cheaper supplies to update their homes.

The mission of the company is: To help homeowners stay in their homes by saving them money, building community and helping the environment at the same time.

As far as names go, at this point I haven't had any major light bulb moments for great names. I will be thinking and searching for good ideas throughout the rest of today. Any suggestions are greatly welcomed.

~J

Research and Ideas

Our next project is to create our own company and then there will be other projects to follow.  This blog is to encompass some of my research and ides for a company based off the U.S. Housing Crisis.

Part of the housing crisis problem is not just about people not being able to buy homes of keep their homes, but also people loosing their homes after natural disasters.  A lot of people can't afford to rebuild or repair their home after a natural disaster or even fires and therefore loose their homes.  While there is assistance available for those in the immediate time of need, there aren't many national programs that help people rebuild their homes outside of volunteers.  Some of my first ideas are based off the idea for a company that could help get people back into their homes.  

- a company that helps organize volunteers in disaster relief zones for people to rebuild their homes (local "extreme makeover" on a much smaller scale)

- company that helps people who are working to rebuild their homes (sends volunteers, buys supplies in bulk to sell at a lower price to help those who need assistance rebuilding or fixing their homes)

- company that gives scholarships based on need/merit (like college scholarships for homeowners)

Anoter problem is that people are not able to build their own homes and are forced into homes they don't like, can't afford, have problems and just generally they don't like and doesn't fit their needs.

- a possible idea to fit this market would be a way to help people figure out how to build their own homes in this housing market

I'm not sure how feasible this would be considering urbanization and you have to live in the right area where new subdivisions are going up or where you can afford to rebuild or extremely remodel an already existing house.

The most obvious thing to help with the housing crisis is to keep people in their homes and away from foreclosure.  A possible idea is to help people deal with their finances so that they can better manage paying for their home.  

-a way to do this is to create a company that helps people update their homes so they save money in heating and energy costs

-OR a company that would create extra living space so that they can gain a source of income from a renter

-OR educating people on how to save money in their homes, better manage their budgets, update and home improvement to save energy costs etc.

The ideas that I like the most and feel that I could create a company out of that I would like and enjoy are:

-educating people on how to save money in their homes, better manage their budgets, update and home improvement to save energy costs etc.

- a company that helps people who are working to rebuild their homes (sends volunteers, buys supplies in bulk to sell at a lower price to help those who need assistance rebuilding or fixing their homes)

Stay tuned for a final decision and company info.

~J

Not Perfect, not great, but Infinitely better

So here is what I came up for the redesign of the 2012 Olympic Logo.  These are the roughs, I ended up picking the one in the upper right corner with some minor tweaking and a different color choice.  The project is over, but feel free to comment anyway.