In the fall of 2016, our creative team at USGBC took on the exciting challenge of developing a brand identity for Arc, GBCI‘s state-of-the-art platform to help collect, manage and benchmark building data to help improve sustainability performance. We were starting from scratch, and wanted to make sure we got the message for this brand correct. 

When branding a product, there are a handful of things to consider. You want to think about your audience, your mission and even the emotions you want the brand to encompass. And before your pen hits the paper on any new logo design project, thorough research is essential to success.

Strategy is becoming an increasingly important part of the branding process. It all starts with asking the right questions. We wanted Arc to feel sophisticated and simple, and we wanted the logo to suggest forward motion.

Our creative team prepared lots of possible logo examples for the Arc brand, which you’ll see below. It’s important to look back on old versions of design to see progress and how you found a successful brand solution. One of the most important things to remember as a designer during a branding project is to stay flexible. Often, a strategy that sounds great on paper doesn’t translate visually. And conversely, a really awesome visual solution may not encompass the appropriate strategy in the end. Flexibility is key. 

Another key point to remember during the process: a logo is just one part. Although getting a logo designed and finalized is important, what you’re really creating is a whole brand experience. That logo needs to work across many platforms and be versatile enough to create that brand experience. 

After months of designs and feedback, we landed on our final Arc logo. And with that logo, we developed a small brand guide to show the entire experience. From there, we took this experience and translated it to arcskoru.com. 

What have you learned from your own logo design experiences? Leave your tips in the comments. 

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