Lippincott Brand Strategy and Design

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt from Lippincott on Vimeo.Repositioning...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:14:27 -0400

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt from Lippincott on Vimeo.

Repositioning a historic brand to signal a new, strong chapter in its history

PTC brand video - 1080p from Lippincott on Vimeo.

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:58:50 -0400

PTC brand video - 1080p from Lippincott on Vimeo.

Video

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:31:18 -0500

Video

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 13:28:00 -0500

Powering the creative era In a world that is highly connected,...

Wed, 02 May 2012 15:48:00 -0400

Powering the creative era

In a world that is highly connected, digital, and hyper-communicative, there is a growing need for images and visuals to further aid our self-expression.

Imagery colors our daily speech—we often speak of opening our mind’s eye, using metaphors to shed light on new meanings and weave contrasting concepts together. Shutterstock, as a leading stock image agency, empowers individuals to unleash their creativity through its constantly evolving collection of high-quality assets as well as its unique, intuitive tools and services.

Introducing Shutterstock’s New Look

Wed, 02 May 2012 15:44:20 -0400

Introducing Shutterstock’s New Look:

“Shutterstock has unveiled a new logo and visual identity, the result of months of development and a sign of our commitment to creativity and innovation.”

Industry Setting Unitrin provides automobile, homeowners, life,...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:00:49 -0400

Industry Setting
Unitrin provides automobile, homeowners, life, and health insurance to individuals and small businesses through several subsidiaries. Over the past several years the company had transformed itself from a diversified financial services holding company to a more focused insurance company.

In 2010 Unitrin acquired the rights to the Kemper brand name and wanted to determine how to leverage this new intangible asset across its businesses.

Challenge
Management had questions regarding future brand strategy:
• Does “Kemper” have equity? Where and how can the brand be leveraged? How should we invest in the brand?
• What is the overarching brand strategy? Should we use Kemper more broadly?
• What is the best brand architecture?
• How can we bring the brand to life? To what extent do we want to signal change to the market?
• How do we engage employees and inspire brand-aligned behavior?

Strategy
We recommended adopting the Kemper brand across all channels (businesses) and created an overarching brand positioning around providing customers with the confidence that Kemper will be there when needed most. We designed a unique new identity to represent the Kemper qualities of being trustworthy and attuned to customer needs. The gold color reflects the warmth and approachability of the Kemper brand and its team members and creates competitive differentiation. Used consistently with the visual and verbal components of the identity system, the elements communicate the brand essence “With you in mind.”

Result
In August 2011 Unitrin rebranded as Kemper and launched the new brand to all audiences. The new name, strategy and identity represent the tangible and visual qualities that bind the businesses together and structure how Kemper communicates its benefits—from helping agents grow their businesses to protecting customers and their most valuable possessions. Today, Kemper represents a broad set of insurance businesses unified under one strong brand and with one set of core principles.

Credits:

Client: Kemper - www.kemper.com

Brand Strategists/Designers: Lippincott - www.lippincott.com
Creative Director: Connie Birdsall, Brendán Murphy
Designers: Julia McGreevy, Aline Kim, Bina Kijmedee, Peter Chun, Chet Purtilar
Production: Jeremy Darty, Brendan deVallance, Gladys Fabara
Brand Strategy: Michael D’Esopo, Shelby Brea, Jessica Trief

Industry Setting Pointing the way to an insightful...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:54:47 -0400

Industry Setting
Pointing the way to an insightful future.

ForeSee is a growing force in online customer satisfaction measurement solutions for private and public sector organizations in the United States and internationally. Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan and founded in 2001, the organization has continued to expand its capability through acquisition.

Challenge
In this rapidly growing and fragmented space, ForeSee competes with a broad range of companies, from generalist online survey companies to more specialized measurement and analytics firms. This had led to a lack of clear differentiation between ForeSee and its peers.

ForeSee engaged us in developing a corporate positioning, brand architecture, messaging strategy and visual identity design to harness and express the true strength of the organization.

Strategy
We developed a new positioning platform focused on “Confident Insights” and “Decisive Results” and developed a brand architecture system optimized around customer experience to more effectively communicate the core differentiation of the brand. To help express this positioning, we simplified and strengthened ForeSee’s visual identity and communications. The new identity leverages existing equity in color and direction but with a radically simplified form that points to powerful foresight.

Result
The new logo acts as a catalyst for the new visual identity system, built on the concept of translating vision into actionable insights that help drive ForeSee’s clients’ businesses. The entire ForeSee organization has engaged in the energy and spirit of the company, activated through a comprehensive brand education and training program. The renewed pride, personal responsibility, and actionable goals keep ForeSee driving confidently toward an even brighter and more insightful future.

Credits:

Client: ForeSee - www.foresee.com

Brand Strategists/Designers: Lippincott - www.lippincott.com
Creative Director: Connie Birdsall
Design Direction: Daniel P. Johnston, Alex de Jánosi,
Designers: Elena Gil-Chang, Bina Kijmadee
Strategy: Steve Lawrence, Shelby Brea
Production: Jeremy Darty, Brendan deVallance

2012 REBRAND 100 Showcase - C Spire - Rebranding by Lippincott

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:51:55 -0400

2012 REBRAND 100 Showcase - C Spire - Rebranding by Lippincott

Industry Setting Cellular South is the largest privately held...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:49:15 -0400

Industry Setting
Cellular South is the largest privately held wireless provider in the United States and the nation’s 9th largest carrier, with 1,100 employees and 75 retail locations across five Southeastern states. The company was built organically, outgrowing its name and regional perception over time.

Challenge
To signal the transition from regional player to national competitor, and to build recognition for new products and personalized services, Cellular South needed to make a bold change. An aggressive rebranding and name change would help drive new customers through their doors as they entered national markets; the challenge would be to do this while energizing—not alienating—existing customers.

Strategy
The mobile phone has become the hub of our lives, informing, entertaining and connecting us. This increased role brings increased choices and complications. Cellular South’s new brand positioning, “Inspiringly Intuitive” and corporate name, C Spire, promise a new wireless experience that makes it easy to get the most out of our phones.

The new identity signals the company’s emergence as a bright star in wireless. The symbol, composed of a glowing “C”, represents how C Spire brings it all together for customers. The rays, or spires, vary in length to suggest how C Spire personalizes each customer’s experience.

Result
C Spire has launched as the nation’s first and only wireless provider to introduce personalized wireless services. “Our new brand and strategy reflect what today’s consumers really want—truly personal experiences based on their individual desires and needs,” said Kevin Hankins, chief operating officer of C Spire.

Credits:

Client: C Spire - www.cspire.com

Brand Strategists/Designers: Lippincott - www.lippincott.com

Creative Director: Connie Birdsall
Designers: Jenifer Lehker, Sam Ayling
Strategy: Michael D’Esopo, Hilary Folger

2012 REBRAND 100 Showcase - ForeSee - Rebranding by Lippincott

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:35:08 -0400

2012 REBRAND 100 Showcase - ForeSee - Rebranding by Lippincott

2012 REBRAND 100 Showcase - Kemper - Rebranding by Lippincott

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:32:37 -0400

2012 REBRAND 100 Showcase - Kemper - Rebranding by Lippincott

Brands that bridge the divide

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:10:41 -0500

By Rick Wise, Lippincott CEO

Charles Murray’s new book Coming Apart (Random House, 2012) posits that the cultural divide and everyday norms of experience between typical mainstream Americans and upper income elites is growing to dangerous proportions. Murray explains that increasingly these two groups are separated by the work they do (blue collar versus managerial or professional), the places they eat and shop (Applebee’s versus Chipotle), and where they live (coastal metropolitan area or small town heartland). This divide is only exacerbated by the increased political rhetoric around income inequality and the ongoing breakdown of mass media channels.

But I would argue that many brands play a powerful role in creating common experiences and bringing Americans of all stripes together, and that in some ways Americans have more in common—when viewed in terms of the brands they consume—than ever before.

Brands like Nike, McDonald’s, and Walmart have always had broad appeal (100 million Americans a week visit Walmart) and have worked in recent years to broaden the customer segments they reach even further. Nike, by expanding the range of price points it offers and sports it serves; McDonald’s, through broader menu options and restaurant updates; and Walmart by upgrading its fresh produce and meat, selling desirable brands like Samsung, and adding sustainable and organic products to shelves…

The pervasiveness and dominance of digital platforms like Google in search and Facebook in social networking mean that we are increasingly sharing the same on-line experiences. And on the eve of the Super Bowl it is impressive to see the extent to which the NFL has become a truly universal national pastime, transcending regions and income levels.

There are also a number of brands that have crossed the divide between mass and elite to bring both sides closer together. Some brands have brought elite experiences mainstream. Target has brought fashion and upscale brands like Missoni to the mass market. Thanks in part to Moore’s law and the decline in price it allows, Apple and its iPhone have gone from coveted to common, spurring a broad new appreciation for design in the process. Starbucks has brought the Seattle coffee house scene to every town and mall in the country, dampening the appeal of traditional tinned coffee in the process. Brands that have moved from mass market to elite include Converse, whose once-pedestrian Jack Purcell sneaker brand became a hipster fashion phenomenon with new fabrics and styles; and In-and-Out Burger, a cult favorite on the West Coast and a guilty pleasure of the Hollywood elite. Of course, the granddaddy of that trend is Levi’s, a brand that transformed blue jeans from utilitarian clothing for immigrant laborers to ubiquitous fashion uniform for the twenty-first century.

It’s interesting to realize the important role that brands can play in weaving a common social fabric and in strengthening the shared experiences of Americans in these challenging times.

2011 Reel

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:10:11 -0500

2011 Reel

Time to retool the message factory “It’s amazing to...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:02:00 -0500

Time to retool the message factory

“It’s amazing to think that the Google search engine is only fifteen years old, closer to ten if you think in terms of its actual commercialization. Over this period, it has been a tumultuous time for marketing…”

Delta presents: Designers take flight More Here

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:47:00 -0500

Delta presents: Designers take flight

More Here

Lippincott Holiday 2011 (by Lippincott)

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:23:29 -0500

Lippincott Holiday 2011 (by Lippincott)

More shots of our work from the book “Relogo -...

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:34:00 -0500

More shots of our work from the book “Relogo - Re-designing the brand”

Pick up your copy from Sandu or Amazon

Lippincott has logos from First Citizen’s, Delta, GLAAD...

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:25:00 -0500

Lippincott has logos from First Citizen’s, Delta, GLAAD and Meredith in this book publication.

(via Sandu Publishing Co.,Limited/Hongkong/Guangzhou/Beijing 三度出版/香港/广州/北京)

ForeSeeing Arrows

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:06:22 -0400

ForeSeeing Arrows

Established in 2001, ForeSee Results “measures satisfaction across customer touch points and delivers critical insights on where to prioritize improvements for maximum impact.” With 200 employees and 58 million completed surveys ForeSee Results has become one of the most reliable tools for measuring customer satisfaction and is quoted regularly in the media. In August, the company announced it would be shortening its name to ForeSee and introduced a new logo designed by Lippincott.

ForeSee is also announcing today that it is shortening its name (from ForeSee Results to ForeSee, to align with how it is already known in the marketplace) and introducing an updated logo that will reflect the evolution of its greatly enhanced capabilities. The new name and logo will roll out gradually and strategically on ForeSee communications and consumer-facing surveys over the next six months.

“We’ve made it our mission to link the customer experience to the bottom line since day one,” said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee. “The update to our logo and name reflect our expansion and growth over the last few years into a company that helps other companies drive future success by confidently prioritizing the efforts that they know will achieve business goals.”
— Press Release

The old logo didn’t need a customer satisfaction survey to figure out that it was horrendous. The elements — thick brush arrow, whispy serif, tiny sans serif — were bad enough on their own that they should have never been brought together. So improving on it wouldn’t bee too hard and the new logo achieves it without having to try too hard. It’s a nicely typeset rounded sans serif, it’s well spaced out, and it does a very good job in translating the capitalization of the name’s two words with the color change and by putting “SEE” in the triangle. The implied arrow of the complete wordmark makes for a great evolution of the old logo. The softer red also makes it less smarmy and look more like a sophisticated tool worth paying thousands of dollars for and it makes for a more trusting endorsement mark of survey results.