Here’s a sneak peak at a logo Sproutreach recently created for Fletcher Community Farm, Haverhill’s new CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

Mission Statement: Fletcher Community Farm aims to get quality, local and natural food into the hands and bellies of Greater Haverhill area residents, and foster public appreciation for the benefits of local agricultural lands and the crops they produce.

For additional information about the Fletcher Community Farm CSA Program, or to sign up for a share in this year’s harvest of fresh, local fruits and vegetables, contact Polly at 978-388-3422.

It’s not about the logo
A logo does not make a brand. While the reverse is also not the case, it is closer to being accurate, as the proper development of brand will build meaning for your logo over time.

On the lowest level, branding is confused with the creation of a logo. This is a perverse – yet surprisingly resilient – falsehood. An icon, monogram, or wordmark is in no way a brand—thinking so is akin to believing that a hood-ornament is a car. Yet, this is where a great number of brand projects start: “Yay! We’ve started our company! Let’s brand it with a logo!”
— Eric Karjaluoto, The most important question in branding

Positive Expression
In a world where people have (and use) more tools than ever with which to share their thoughts with the world, it is more important than ever to choose your words carefully. Your words, your thoughts, and the associated actions exist in a inter-related web that serves as your identity, and by extension, your brand’s identity. Blair Enns’ Seven Words You Can’t Say in Business Development reminds us of the Chinese saying that roughly translated says, “Watch your thoughts, they become your language. Watch your language, it becomes your deeds. Watch your deeds, they become your behavior.”

Expert? Really?
It seems there are far too many brands claiming expertise in their industry with little basis beyond membership. This unfortunate trend exists in the graphic design and marketing industries as much as anywhere else, and may indicate a mindset that allows this philosophy to permeate the work that these firms do for their clients. I’m reminded of another quote from Blair Enns:

“I hate the word ‘branding’ as a claim of expertise. An expert is someone who has a deeper knowledge of the subject than others trading in the area. I wonder if there’s even such thing as a branding expert. There are just too many people in it and very, very few that have meaningful knowledge that others do not. A designer claiming expertise in branding is like a fish claiming expertise in swimming. It’s not expertise; it’s the price of entry.”
— Blair Enns’ Win Without Pitching

With 2009 having just arrived, I am pleased to announce an exciting new change within my own graphic design business. Our company, operating as Gough Graphics since 1999, has been renamed Sproutreach. The name change comes with a few other changes, including a new logo (right) and, of course, a re-designed website.

After almost a year of careful thought and much discussion on the subject, we’ve implemented the change for a number of important reasons. Perhaps the most important of these reasons is our desire for a company name that more accurately represents our core mission – to serve socially and environmentally responsible organizations by helping them grow and connect with their audiences..

We’re very excited about this news, but we’d love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment below with your thoughts, or as always, feel free to email us directly with your feedback.

- Rob

The title, LogoLounge.com THE 2008 REPORT: MORE CLEAN and Less Green, reveals at least two of the “prevailing winds” identified at the start of this year’s report, working to shape the 15 trends identified within. “We saw less emphasis on sustainability or general “greenness” in logo design. There’s plenty of natural imagery but being “green” doesn’t seem all that unique anymore.”, Gardner writes. He also observes, “There’s an overall move toward cleanliness — in type, in line, in color — as if ideas are getting more and more succinct. It may be an indication of the degree of seriousness with which branding is now regarded.” Also speaking to the rise in simplicity within today’s designs, Gardner writes, “Less is more common: less calligraphy, less Photoshop tricks, less artificial highlights.”

Could these “winds” represent a societal backlash against the current trendiness of touting one’s “greenness”? Are we pushing back or pushing forward? Or, are we just getting past green? Similarly, could the desire for simplicity in design be an expression of our desire for simplicity in other parts of our complicated world? Or, are designers not an accurate mirror of the societies in which they work, making these question ill-conceived?

Regardless of the answers to the questions I’ve posed above, or of any outside influences that might be driving a move toward simplicity and away from the oft-overused software-generated effects, I, for one, am pleased to see it.

Deep questions aside for the moment, let’s get back to the matter at hand. Gardner identifies 15 trends within his report. He gives each of these trends a brief moniker, with some requiring a bit more explanation than others. For these explanations, the context, and the all-important visual examples of logos within each trend, I recommend reading the full report. Nevertheless, here they are in nitty-gritty list form:

1. Supernova
2. Fine Line
3. FoldOver
4. Global Expansion
5. Loops
6. Jawbreakers
7. Strobe
8. Nimbus
9. Stitch
10. Colorblind
11. Amoeba
12. Facets
13. Doodles
14. Flourish
15. Fibrous

*This collection focuses on the 3-leafed shamrock, and does not include any of the many logos that contain the 4-leafed clover.

As the saying goes, May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.

Sláinte,

Rob