Comments on: Umbrella Brand?

by: Jools Thatcher

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:05:53 +0000

Hi Ryan, I appreciate the effort that you are putting into your rebranding exercise.

I am a part-time design student in Melbourne and a partner in a small but flourishing consulting business covering both hardware and internet services (including design of course).

We are currently going through the rebranding process ourselves, principally because our existing logo and website are both totally inappropriate.

Businesses do change and we started out on a “suck it and see” basis and now really need to put forward a professional image more in keeping with what we do.

As a design student the process is both fascinating and illuminating, so thanks and I look forward to seeing your logo develop.

Jools

by: Spacemonkey

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 15:55:20 +0000

I love the Carsonified! approach, as it is fun, indicates action, and is somewhat unique while still being easy to remember.

People around me have been claiming that I’ve been “Mitchitizing” them for so long I can no longer remember when it started. I believe it was the late eighties.

/me runs out and buys mitchitized.com

by: Elliot Jay Stocks

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:45:26 +0000

Hey guys. Arik is completely right. DropSend, Vitamin, the ‘Future of’ events, Carson Workshops… they all have their own unique brands and personalities. The new Carsonified brand is not going to alter that.

Even if you think of something as huge and corporate as Tesco (the supermarket), they still have their own individual brands: the Finest range, the Organic range, the Value range… they’re totally separate in their own right, and the packaging design for them doesn’t really get much more unified than a small Tesco logo in the corner.

The same totally applies with us: expect to see a ‘Carsonified’ logo in the footers of our sites and not much more. Some sites are due for a redesign soon but I assure you that they will be redesigns within their own right; not redesigns to tie into the ‘umbrella’ brand.

by: Umair

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 06:56:48 +0000

Can I say something? I have been watching re-branding process and the community, quietly for many weeks now. And I have been very quiet, to see when someone comes up with the most important point, which the logo’s simplicity. @Carson - you and your team is doing the right thing and the time to come out with somethings that’s going to stay for a while. @Elliot - I love your designs and logos in the past you have made. But you are forgetting that in-order to have an outstanding logo, which people are going to consider it as a part of the culture, just like what Apple did. Is suppose to be very simple and modern, that will work wonders!!! Please give a very brief feedback on what I said.
Thanks for sharing the creative process of branding!

by: Ouebslave

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 04:04:50 +0000

+1 for AllAboutVoting. Look at the banner that sits on top of this page as well.

This company re-branding thing is even lamer than the videos about organizing your to-dos from a few months back (go to the bank, pick up laundry and call wife).

I LOVE IT. Please do not change one thing…

Ouebslave

by: Arik

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 19:09:18 +0000

@Brian Smith,

It will fit. DropSend, Amigo, etc are all products that retain their own distinct brand. When I think of DropSend, I don’t think of Carson Systems. I think of DropSend.

Products like DropSend and Amigo aren’t adversely effected by an umbrella brand, cause they are their own brand. At least thats how I see it.

by: Brian Smith

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 17:36:23 +0000

Ryan, I didn’t say you wanted to be called “Carson.” What I said is that using the -ified suffix is similar to Scoble using his -izer suffix: that kind of naming was apparently trendy at one point but now it is played out. And, I said that using that kind of suffix leads people who understand the DNS system thinking that it was just a naming hack.

Anyway, if you are planning to add the Carsonified logo to Vitamin, DropSend, etc. then all the logos that have been presented so far are totally inappropriate. How could you possibly put any of the suggested ones onto DropSend.com or Vitamin without redoing all the branding on those sites? If you have a complicated logo, then the logo has to be big. Is the Carsonified logo going to be bigger than the DropSend logo? How is a Serifed and/or baroque company logo going to fit into sites with modernist aesthetics?

Also, I’m genuinely curious how the Carsonified brand is going to DropSend, as that is a service that I’ve actually found very useful. Actually, I have some suggestions about how to improve revenue for DropSend; if you’d like to hear them, shoot me an email.

by: AllAboutVoting

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:09:56 +0000

>This company is more than Ryan Carson.
No offense but the name ‘Carsonified’ is an ego driven name than that IS about Ryan Carson.

There is nothing wrong with this but please don’t decieve yourself.

by: Darren

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:48:04 +0000

Sometimes a new brand, whatever it is, can infuse a company with energy and help it make a break or a fresh start.

For those of us who are less creative than Ryan, but who need a creative perspective: if you go out to sitepoint.com and click on their “contests” tab, you can start a contest among graphic designers. For a hundred bucks or so, you can get a lot of creative people to send you logo designs. Some you’ll like, some you won’t like, but it might help accelerate the creative process.

by: Arik

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:14:31 +0000

Re-brands are a great way to realign with your goals. I think this is a smart move. However, re-brands can easily get out of hand. Just be careful not to let the novelty of “new” destroy your momentum moving forward. Newness isn’t progress.