Good design always involves some push and pull. For example, when I was working as a freelance designer prior to my work with Orso, I had to push hard at times when clients wanted to include a personal touch that did not align with their brand.
It’s an understandable difficulty of being a small business owner—when you’re CEO, President, Employee #1, and Assistant, it can be hard to decide where you end and your business begins.
Meanwhile, when you’re the designer hired to support both entities, it can be hard to gently guide clients back to the foundations of their business brand versus their personal brand. (I get why you want to include your high school mascot in your logo, I do! But if it has absolutely nothing to do with your mission, values, audience, or products, I will beg you not to.)
So, I’m surprised that I’m about to impart some advice that might make brand designers cringe: it’s OK—and sometimes even beneficial—to include a personal, meaningful touch in your brand.
To argue my case, I’ll share a story from one of Orso’s recent clients, Digital Resilience Project (DRP).
Starting from the brand foundation
DRP is an Australia-based nonprofit whose mission is to help victims of domestic violence secure their devices and digital lives against further abuse.
We clicked with the DRP founders immediately, and after an extensive kickoff discussion, the Orso design team and I hunkered down to brainstorm logos based on inspiration points pulled from our chat:
- Community: individual points coming together to form a whole
- Circuitry: the nerve system / root system of the digital world
- Botanical images that echo circuitry, e.g. leaves or branches
- Animals that carry resilient or empowering symbolism, like dragonflies or doves
- Fingerprints: our unique identity; shorthand for security
None of these ideas were based on the founders’ own preferences or personal histories; all were firmly pulled from the organization’s foundation. At no point did we debate ideas like “make it blue, because the founder loves blue” or “include a rose because it’s a favorite flower.” However, through the confluence of deep listening and focused inspiration gathering, DRP’s final visual brand fully embodied their mission while also incorporating a strong personal connection to each of the founders. Read on for the magic!
Finding the personal in the professional
Here is a selection of the round one logo designs we presented:
During our presentation, we showed each logo onscreen, describing our design process and the meaning behind each emblem. The team responded well to each design, but when we got to the last slide—#4, the morse-code dragonfly—there was a measurable shift in the energy of the (Zoom) room.
One by one, the founders revealed that they each had a personal connection to the dragonfly. For example, one founder had fond memories of seeing dragonflies often while camping as a child. It was the immediate, unanimous pick, and it’s now the logo that appears on DRP’s website and all other platforms.
Would any of the other logos have been a good fit for their brand? We wouldn’t have presented them if they weren’t! But because of the founders’ personal connection to the dragonfly—an animal that also carries strong significance to their mission—this one came with an extra dose of magic. The DRP team now has a brand that speaks to their audience and resonates deeply with themselves. For a nonprofit, that’s the kind of brand that makes you even more excited about your project and more deeply committed to your mission. We’re confident that DRP’s audience can feel that excitement and commitment.
This was one of the most perfect push-pull moments in my design career; it was that just-right feeling that we’re always striving to give our clients.
So, make your logo personal, but don’t just slap on a favorite color or include a favorite pet. Instead, make meaningful choices that speak to your brand and your audience. From there, look for that feeling of magic.
Are you looking for that just-right brand for your business or nonprofit? Our team loves listening to your business story and crafting thoughtful identities that will help you grow. Get in touch for more moments like this one.