This case study will be published in the upcoming Logo Nest 01 book, a limited edition publication featuring inspiring logo designs, articles & case studies.
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Redwave Systems is a provider of telephony systems, Windows™ servers, and general IT services and is based in California, USA. They “combine traditional VoIP services with the power and flexibility of new communication technologies.”
The Brief: Re-brand Entente Business Solutions
Entente Business Solutions came to me in search of a new visual identity for their company which was to be re-branded as Redwave Systems. Their old logo and visual branding can be seen above.
They wanted the new logo & identity to be targeted towards IT professionals and executives, while reflecting “professionalism, quality, uniqueness & service.” They stressed that their logo had to memorable, as this was something that their old logo had failed to live up to.
The logo was to be used on their website, across business stationery and all of their promotional material.
Research
Upon receiving the initial deposit for the logo and signed agreement, I started researching the project which included looking up their competitors, researching their industry and searching for other logos in similar categories. I took notes & often found myself brainstorming / sketching along the way.
On a side note, I’ve found one of the best methods of finding out what designs to avoid, is by using Google Images & searching for something like “wave logo” or “IT logo”. If these logos are appearing on the first pages of Google, you know you have to stay clear of these concepts.
Brainstorming, Sketching & Conceptualising
After completing the initial stages of the research, I got more involved in the creative process. This involved a lot of mind mapping, sketching and experiments on paper and the computer. Below you can see a snap shot of one the first mind maps & a rough sketch.
After I had some strong concepts on paper, I then decided to start nailing down the best typeface for the wave concept I had in mind. I ended up coming down to the skillfully crafted Myriad Pro by Adobe Systems, which not only suited the tech / IT industry but also was a great choice for for the gap inside the ‘a’, after some slight customisation.
Below you can see some rough experimentation on the wave concept, done in Adobe Illustrator.
Perfecting
After I had done these rough experiments I decided to pursue a select few, tweaking them for better comparison. I finally came down to the subtle option of hiding the wave in-between the W and A and perfected this concept. The client and I found this concept to be much more sophisticated than simply having a wavy word or symbol… and much more memorable due to its uniqueness.
Below you can see the final logo in grey, with the addition of the ’systems’ text set in all caps to contrast with the lowercase characters. The d’s ascender was cut off on an angle to give the logo more edge and the ‘a’ customised, to accommodate the wave.
Colour
After I had the final logo in greyscale, I tried out colour combinations and came down to a bright red (Pantone 1797) and a complimenting grey blue (Pantone 432), as seen below. This color scheme definitely stands out in a sea (pun!) of blue & grey IT companies.
After settling on the final design, I sent it off to the client, it was approved and that was that, they were ready to set sail.
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