You’ve probably heard what I have to say about Microsoft. In fact you’re probably bored of me mentioning problems with Internet Explorer, Word and Frontpage. Despite their dysfunctional software we still use them day in and day out and there’s no arguing that they’ve made an impact on the way we work.

They introduced Office to our world which has become the industry standard all in one business tool. 20 years on their releasing the latest version, Office 2010 with a new look.

Microsoft design has never been trend setting. Their logos, packaging and websites are always pretty standard, clean cut but nothing exceptional unlike its adversaries and colleagues such as Apple or HP.

The logo for Office XP set the brand 10 years ago symbolizing 4 pieces to a puzzle, each section in a different colour representing the office apps (word, powerpoint, excel and Outlook) as well as keeping with the windows theme. It had a slight playfulness to it which was nice but also a little cheap.

The new logo was a big improvement. Cleaner, dynamic, and modern with a small step away from the puzzle pieces. Tying into the new web tools built into office, the logo represented a new facelift that the suite went through but overall it still wasn’t mind blowing. Alongside were new icons which were nice, functional although a little cryptic in some cases.

The 2010 logo shows another step forward in the building of a brand. Moving full circle from the puzzle it’s now a dynamic unified representation of the office suite rather then one that’s separated by shape and colour. The whole design has been meshed into one symbol intended to reflect a suite
that works on multiple levels. Arrows moving from space to space (app to app) creates an energetic and streamlined approach, symbolising a cohesive func
tionality but is it an improvement?

Yes it is but is it mind blowing? Not really. It’s a nice logo and again a step in the right direction but just not there yet. Its layed out well but a small clash is still present between the font style and new icon. Throwing out the old colour scheme was a brave and admired step and the new orange which replaces it is modern and vibrant but is it a bit too orange?

Where MS take a step forward with the logo they also take a huge step back with a new icon set. More cryptic then ever we have an array of colours and letters to remember. Inconsistent typography and a mixed style of buttons. Gradient upon gradient creates mess whilst colourful yet confusing sums it up.

The ideas behind the new identity are strong. A unified, userfriendly and modern approach for the suite but overall in terms of design it’s just pretty generic and quite possibly “unprofessional.”

3/5

Marketing a coaching business is not the easiest of tasks. Do you target the public or the corporates? Its a regular and common problem NLP coaches face and one that was solved visually with Infinity Associates. Having worked for corporations and starting up an array of businesses themselves, Chris & Adria Bannocks combined their creative yet disciplined skillsets for their new venture, Infinity Associates.

Chris and Adria wanted to develop an idea that they’d already put into place (Acuminous LTD), an early phase of an NLP and lifecoaching company which needed a new lease of life, a visual rebrand to match the new strategy behind the business. Based on a modern approach to training, coaching and personal development, it’s a a higher class of service, one which was original, professional yet appealed to both corporate and personal customers with a dynamic twist.

We began with the corporate identity in which Acuminous changed to Infinity Associates and then just to Infinity. Exploring ideas and themes we concluded whether the new company would have a dynamic and techy look or a warmer more friendlier approach.

After many revisions and concepts we designed the new logo along with a subrand to package a particular offering from Infinity, “Brainslim.” Following the logo we developed a matching website with modern functionality such as podcasts, downloads and blogs, all tied up into a CMS to control by the client.
The idea was to make a site which was useful to clients by offering them free advice on personal development. Within 6 weeks Conceptstore helped rebrand Acuminous into www.Inifnityassociates.co.uk.

Late last year an old client of ours came back for a new commission of work. With a wealth of experience he’s been knee deep in the recruitment industry for years and acquired a firm grip of the next trends in the world of recruitment.

After initial research and development we started the project back in January this year. We created the brand imagery and web design within a few weeks and then went onto develop the site. A month later after ironing out all the creases the site was finally ready for launch.

Within 6 months of conception RenewableEnergyJobs along with Green Leader (the renewable energy blog) is now the number 1 recruitment site in the renewable energy sector.

A big pat on the back for the owner Sam Newell, who marketed the site like a madman and saw the project through from concept to completetion. Overall, a great team effort from Sam and ourselves made the site possible.

A job Well done.

Last year we rebranded and redesigned Dutch by design an online retailer of niche interior home products by Dutch Designers.

Having great PR in national newspapers the site was doing well but lacked a sense of style to match its products.

Within weeks we had rebranded and redesigned the website and waited for DBD’s development team to launch the site. A year later their developers have finished.

Dutch by design the new site.

I jumped at the chance to re- brand Ayloffs Primary School in Elm Park Essex. The school itself is going through a long drawn out merger to become a super primary school in two years time.

The brief:

- 2 colour logo, yellow and purple with green as a second option.
- Vectorised logo (no problem)
- Would like to see a tree or an elm leaf incorporated in the logo
- Must be fun
- Also consider the list of name research that had been created by the students.
- Possibly contain children in the logo

Sounded like a great brief but I could see problems emerging already. Trying to create something fun with the use of two flat spot colours (especially yellow and purple) was going to be tricky.

Another challenge was the elm tree, after doing some research, I found that each one looks completely different to the other (unlike say, an Oak tree).

The third challenge was the children. I had a few ideas involving silhouettes of children running and jumping. How was I going to get reference photos of 5-11 year olds? Taking random photos of children is not the best idea.

Theres no such thing as a problem, only a solution. Off I went.

After creating 7 different concept ideas, I choose 6 to show the client although I said I would only provide 5. Typically out of 5 designs I would expect that 2 are hated, 1 is liked, 1 is very appealing and 1 is almost perfect. Overall its safe to say that 3 will definitely go through to the next round with 1 already being a firm favourite.

The problems I expected above all came true, with the biggest problems being the flat colours (no gradients) and a new problem discovered through experimentation.

A tree is typically and most recognizable as green and brown. Creating a tree silhouette in another colour (say purple) is fine, the image of a tree is so powerful that’s its easily conceived as a tree BUT its not very fun or modern.

Answer: create an abstract tree BUT

An abstract tree using the colour purple or yellow doesn’t look like a tree.
After much deliberation heres the best of the 6 I presented.

I had my favourites out the selection and thought they would go down well with the Head mistress but this did turn out to be one of those rare occasions where none of them went down well.

After another chat I found out that what the school actually wanted was something a lot more childish. They showed me a mock up drawn by a teacher and asked me to reproduce it.

After many minor alterations and some professional amendments here’s the final piece.