How a logo can inspire a brand

December 29, 2011  |  by Chris Ralston

Last year, we were charged with developing a new logo for the Lawrence Arts Center, a downtown neighbor and an organization whose mission we strongly support. The arts center was celebrating its 35th year and wanted an updated mark that would refresh the brand and better reflect its core offerings in exhibition, performance and education.

We wrote earlier about how this work taught us that specialty brands have a lot to learn from the world of art. Today, we’re focusing on one element of this, the transcendency of a specialty brand’s meaning across every aspect of experience. As an example, I'd like to describe our approach to designing the logo for The Lawrence Arts Center so that its use in any context would have meaning and elicit the desired response of “That is me.”

Inspiration in Illumination

Our work on the logo began by making a deep dive into the meaning of art and how people create. We concluded that art is not simply an object; rather, it’s an expression. We targeted an instinct, not a type of person or group, because the urge to create exists in everyone. This groundwork gave us a rich field to explore for visual solutions. 

As creatives, we often find inspiration in illumination. We’re used to being seers in a sea of lookers, and we relish the chance to share what we see through our work. I spent a lot of time observing the Arts Center from my apartment window and was particularly struck by the evening sun on the building’s steel roof caps. When I squinted, those three arching shapes seemed to leap onto the pages of my sketchbook.

A quote from artist Jasper Johns helped pull it all together: “Take an object. Do something to it. Do something else to it.”

When overlapped, the arches created a wing-like shape that suggested openness, unfolding and flight—all key parts of expression. A tagline grew from this visual idea into the phrase “Find Yourself Inside,” which became a dual invitation to the community to step in and explore not just the place, but themselves.

Susan Tate, executive director of the arts center, was a key partner in the logo development process. “We considered that art is central to the human experience; that there are many disruptions between the urge to create and creating, between wanting to actually go out and experience and actually experiencing,” she said. “A direct invitation to cross our threshold was necessary for most people.”

The mark had to do more than just rebrand the arts center, it had to encourage people to walk in the door. The building is a beautiful, yet austere, structure of brick, steel and glass. Inside, it’s alive with activity. Children and parents stream through the doors to an arts-based preschool; nine studios are open for art classes of all types for all ages; five gallery spaces showcase stimulating work; and two theaters feature engaging performances. All are spaces for watching and doing.

One year later, we’ve been happily watching what the arts center has been doing with the logo.

“We love our logo as a reminder of the place in which we are teaching and creating,” Tate said. “And we continue to move it from the page to more unexpected locations.”

Last fall, sculptor Steve Richardson perforated the side of an oil drum with the logo shape. When a fire is built inside, the logo is illuminated and marshmallows are roasted for passersby during Final Friday events. But Richardson outdid himself this year when he built a kiosk for patrons to sign up for art classes. Constructed of fiberboard, steel, glass and computer keys, every surface and angle is inspired by the logo. Outer components are clad with woodcut panels by printmaker Nicolette Ross, many of which feature the logo shape.

From T-shirts to temporary tattoos to social media, the mark has fast become woven into the Arts Center’s sense of itself.

“The logo has become not only recognizable in its own right, but also has elevated the identity of our facility as people begin to recognize its architectural details, often really seeing them for the first time in this new brand,” Tate said.

Specialty Brands Are, Well, Special

Enthusiasts have a very strong connection with the brands they choose, making every experience more personal and meaningful. They expect more, not only from the products or services themselves, but also from the company that designed them. Because of that, specialty brands shouldn’t attempt to market themselves like their mass competitors, either in form or by attempting to outspend them. They should instead complement very targeted communication with experiential and personal interactions that enable them to connect with their audience in ways that aren’t possible for mass brands.

And in that light, considerable thought and care must be applied in designing any element of the brand, to ensure it communicates appropriate meaning and symbolism across many contexts. Accepting anything less makes it that much harder to differentiate from mass brands, and if a brand is not perceived as that different from its mass brethren, why would anyone choose it?