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It’s good to talk, but it’s better to have something to talk about, says Evolution Print commercial director Julie Rice, who knows all about how designing a new brand identity can get clients talking. Last year, Sheffield-based Evolution unveiled a new corporate identity after taking part in a business programme to help it get full value from its design spend. Called Designing Demand, the programme was run by South Yorkshire Business Link and the Design Council, with the aim of giving SMEs the skills they needed to spot how design could boost their business performance.

As a printer, the firm knew all about good design. After all, most printers would probably admit it is only really well-designed work that stands out in a busy pressroom. But how many print firms learn from their design-savvy clients? How many would say they have put their faith in design as a way to promote their own business and differentiate it from competitors? And how many would want to spend on design work rather than invest in equipment?

Rice says Evolution Print had only recently been formed following the merger of two established businesses when the new company heard about how Designing Demand could help them spend money on design more effectively. “The management team agreed that we needed an identity that brought both companies together and acknowledged the formation of the new Evolution,” she explains.

The company, which is now headed by Jonathan Newbould, Neil Turner and Graham Congreve, employs 55 people in its design and reprographics, large-format print, finishing and distribution departments. “The directors wanted to expand the business,” says Rice. “Before the design work, we did not do much with agencies, it was commercial print. Now we do corporate and commercial stuff, so we needed the brand to build this side of the business.”

Design agency The Designers Republic was selected to create a new corporate identity for Evolution Print. As part of this project it focused on identifying the firm’s unique products or services. “We have a B1 press which is a major selling point in this area,” says Rice, “and because two companies have come together, we have taken the chance to put together an even better customer service team.”

Standing out
A new circular logo was chosen because it shows Evolution Print has “completed the circle”, explains Rice. “It’s about bringing the two companies together with a really strong identity.” The logo has also proved to be easily recognisable, according to Rice, who says that it stands out when up against other firms in advertising space or on the direct mail pile.

She believes that it is important to have confidence in your chosen design and follow it through with a cohesive communication strategy that uses all the strengths of the new brand identity. For example, to welcome in 2008, the firm sent out posters to clients using the circular logo repeated five times, like five gold rings. These symbolised the firm’s commitment to ‘craft, obsession, understanding, partnership and environment’, or ‘Coupe’ – a rather sporty, sexy acronym that suits the business’s new image.

Evolution Print also applied the logo to its vans, T-shirts and a new website. “Getting a good visual identity that people could really understand and identify with us was really important,” says Rice. “We now insist that everything within the business is branded. Now our identity is in place we’re continually working to reinforce Evolution’s brand values.”

She adds that the time and money Evolution Print spent on the design work represents “value for money”, as the firm has seen a marked increase in business since the re-brand. Rice is convinced that this is a reflection of its new fresher identity.

Another firm that benefited from implementing strong design values is print manager Broadsword. It wanted to make sure it wasn’t conveying a mixed message, and felt undertaking its own Designing Demand project could help achieve this. “Because we already ran a successful business it would have been easy to continue what we have always done,” says managing director David Fehley, who was impressed by the guidance Broadsword was given during the Designing Demand process. He adds: “It was a really good thing for us to do.”

Achieving goals
Broadsword implemented the first stage of its new brand identity last Christmas, sending out promotional calendars and postcards with its new logo. Designed by agency Keane Creative, it includes a target mark instead of the first ‘o’ in Broadsword, and the tagline: “looking beyond print”. Fehley says this message sums up what the company is about, and he’s pleased that working with designers hasn’t just been about creating good-looking marketing drives: it has also helped Broadsword take a more strategic look at different parts of its business.

Self-adhesive label specialist Crown Labels also believes that using design is an important way to achieve strategic business goals. As part of a three-year growth strategy it wanted to include a re-branding project. It needed a new website and a consistent, revamped corporate identity to introduce the company to a wider audience.

Keane Creative came up with a logo depicting a crown made up of paper cut-out people holding hands, and the tagline: “identifying your needs”. Mike Hardy, Crown Labels managing director, says the project was just the catalyst the business needed, and that it is well on its way to meeting ambitious expansion targets. It has helped the firm explain its values to those who don’t already know it as a leader in its field, and since Crown Labels attributes its success to customer service and a team of “dedicated friendly staff” it is an appropriate logo.

But design is not the only thing Crown Labels is investing in at the moment. It plans to buy two new presses for 2008 and to continue its competitive pricing and value-for-money policies. It’s just that good brand design helps it explain these company values to a wider audience.

As Evolution’s Rice says, if design does nothing more than “make people talk” there’s got to be some value to that which is worth adding to any print business. It’s good to talk, and it can be good for business to talk about design.

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CASE STUDY: XEROX
Digital print giant Xerox revealed a new corporate logo in January, and while it may have had help with this from brand design specialists at agency Interbrand, the company manages most of its design projects in-house. In fact, it says that putting design at the heart of its business has helped it remain competitive and respond to challenging market conditions.

Managing design projects may seem to be beyond the call of duty for small print firms or to machinery or materials manufacturers, but Xerox’s example shows that managing the process in-house can be key to making design work successful, understandable and sellable.

Les Wynn, Xerox’s manager of industrial design and human factors, explains: “The design function at Xerox plays an increasingly important role in the organisation.” Designers at the company have recently implemented a programme to broaden the breadth and scope of design input into new and existing product development. Keeping design at the heart of its business has helped Xerox add value for its customers, making its traditional technology compete in a user-centred, speed-demanding marketplace. One of the firm’s key business tools is also a design tool. For Xerox, prototyping is vital to ensure ideas work on a production line and appeal to customers.

User testing which utilises rough, low-fidelity hardware prototypes may sound expensive, but spending at this stage can save money in the long run, says Wynn. “No one likes using rough prototypes, so often user testing is left until late in a programme, by which time changes are very costly to make. Using Six Sigma, we can statistically remove the effects of hardware fidelity from our test results so we get good, early data on usability before we’ve committed to tooling and costly manufacturing of production,” he adds.

Find out more about how strategic business tools like Six Sigma help Xerox by visiting www.designcouncil.org.uk/designatxerox.

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DESIGN BY NUMBERS
• 45% of businesses that do not use design are
driven to compete mainly on price
• 79% of firms that use design seriously don’t have
to resort to price-cutting
• 83% of companies to whom design is integral have seen their market share increase, compared to the UK average of 46%
• £225 turnover increase for every £100 spent on design

For more information visit www.designingdemand.org.uk