Rebranding: The ContentSparks Logo

 This is the fifth installment in our story about the rebranding of our business. Be sure to check out parts One, Two, Three, and Four

After selecting our new name, we needed to start rebranding our visual image and all our marketing materials.

The first, and arguably the most important visual element to rebrand, was our logo.

Melanie McDonald at Distinctive Design Solutions was responsible for the design work. We initially asked for two logo design concepts to be developed, knowing that we would select one of those and refine it to meet our marketing vision.

So that she could better understand what we had in mind, Melanie sent us a very detailed logo questionnaire to complete. It forced us to drill down on the marketing messages we wanted our logo to represent, including the personality of our brand and the image we wanted to portray.

The look we wanted was professional AND vibrant – two characteristics that aren't always put together in the same sentence.

The logo had to be something that was modern (but not too abstract), instantly recognizable, and that would work in a variety of sizes and on both light and dark backgrounds.

The sparks would need to be colorful and dynamic to reflect the core theme of sparking, or igniting inspiration.

We knew we wanted to use a strong orange somewhere in the logo to represent the sparks of a fire. We were thinking about using a blue/green/purple palate of colors but left the choice to Melanie for the first round to see what she recommended.

When we saw the initial design concepts, one of them clearly stood out more than the other.

We all liked Concept 1 much better, representing, as it did, an interesting combination of a pencil and a sparkler. Integrating a writing implement and sparks of inspiration was definitely a good direction for the logo.

We were also looking for something that we could adapt to use for sub-branding, including the new product groups we were planning. Concept 1 lent itself better to that aim.

With Melanie’s help and some feedback from a few other people, we spent some time refining the logo. We wanted a slightly different look for the pencil, and a different palate of colors for the sparks. After a few rounds of tweaking, we settled on the final version.

We think it represents what we stand for: professional, customizable content, written with flare, to help fire up your business.