The National Tooling and Machining Association, founded in 1943, is the premier center of knowledge for precision custom manufacturing in the United States. The storied organization stands to empower our nation’s manufacturers by providing resources and expertise in business development, education, government advocacy, and workplace development.

NTMA faced a perception challenge. While much of the economy has been in decline, manufacturing still produced gains and has hired more than most industries. The organization needed to tell its story accurately, increase awareness, and inspire in an economy full of doubt.

We developed an evolutionary mark that reflected experience and precision while elevating the brand. An identity system that was flexible enough for growth, yet provided consistency and organization for internal communication. Marketing and collateral highlighted the heart of the industry – its workers – and changed the conversation from dimness to hope. The future of manufacturing is bright indeed.

See the full case study.

Before

New Brand Mark

Brand Architecture Lock-Ups

Collateral Package

Publication Application

Website

Video Application produced in partnership with Green Tricycle

Growing up, Disney held a special place in the life of my family. Our family has celebrated holidays, family reunions, and birthdays at Walt Disney World. We love Disney.

My family is now grown; this past visit included just one little one, a second cousin that just celebrated her first birthday, and a bunch of adults seeking to maybe relive a little bit of childhood for a weekend. But the elements of the Disney brand I noticed on this trip were not just the glimpses of a childhood revisited; it was the premium customer experience that Disney is known for providing to its resort guests.

When I arrive, I'm helped within seconds of standing in a check-in line. My room has special touches to enhance my stay. I can visit the theme parks earlier than non-resort visitors. There are free goodies–movies, snacks, crafts, social events–all day long in the common spaces of the hotel. For my cousin, a pack n' play was provided in the room, a special provision for guests traveling with babies. Not a detail is left untouched.

Any organization, at any size, can provide a premium customer experience. When it comes down to it, what makes the Disney brand exceptional is not its size, bottom line, or breadth of influence. It is their attention to detail, well-trained and pleasant team members, and the small touches that make a big impact. Every guest experience is personalized so that visitors feel like they, specifically, experienced something unique or got something "extra". Their day was made. Those lasting impressions–magical memories imprinted in the minds of resort guests–are what draw people back year after year to experience "the magic".

Changing the name, visual identity, or core perceptions of a brand is a delicate art of digging deep for gold while maintaining existing treasures and all-the-while juggling opinions of passionate stakeholders. It is a matter of making key Leadership feel heard and understood until getting a true consensus on what the brand is and what it stands for. The beauty in the process is once you know who you are then you are free to be yourself in the marketplace, make more unified decisions, hire better people, and ultimately be more competitive- all while flying under one flag. A company rebrand isn't just about a new logo it is about a meaningful increase in your business.

For more on the Acru rebrand check out the full case study here.

Our biggest challenging in last year's On The House project with the Atlanta Mission was clarifying their purpose and position, which is no small order for a 70 year old organization. One part of that was co-creating their vision statement, "To see the city of Atlanta unified in ending homelessness". Recently, Jim Reese CEO of the mission (and the handsome gentlemen in the video above), was appointed to the Georgia Commission for Service and Volunteerism by Governor Nathan Deal, one more step closer to seeing that vision become a reality.

The clarity of internal vision and external positioning is a must-have for any business, and a powerful asset for building a strong brand.

We are proud to have the rebrand work for the Atlanta Mission featured in Print Magazine's 2011 Regional Design Annual, but more so proud of the organization and what they continue to do in our city.

Your brand is realized when you pick up the phone and speak. A perception is formed by the way your staff dresses. The way you just shook that client's hand. How quickly you respond to an email. How your customer thinks about you compared to your competitors. All of these things are your brand, and whether you like it or not, those perceptions are growing.

The question is, will you direct its growth?

Branding has real business impact. I love to hear other business owners we've worked with talk about the branding efforts we've done together. Kenji Kuramoto from AcuityCFO has a great story about a recent brand launch and how it impacted their business.

This year's Catalyst theme – “Be Present” – is centered around the idea of complete engagement, free from distraction. The design solution embodied that idea with a simple, humanistic approach that accents what it means to interact with one another as people. To check out the Conference site we developed click here.

The Leadership Kit with a detailed instruction sheet on how to use the contents of the box.

Invitations for leaders to host an event and invite others to “Be Present.”

Cell phone pouch to encourage presence and a DVD preview of the event.

Games to play to help you engage, interact and “Be Present” with each other.

Catalyst brochures for leaders to give to others.

Not every name needs to have a deep, mind-bending, inception-like concept. Sometimes the best names are the most obvious. A name simply needs to function (easy to say, spell, remember) and awaken the right people with the right message.

For this project, our client Chick-fil-A needed a name that would model the message of innovation in a fun and interesting way. We started the process, like usual, discussing and defining the DNA of the brand, which was all about being the place on Chick-fil-A's campus "Where Ideas Come to Life". We then shotgunned out our long list of naming ideas and narrowed down to five for testing. All five candidates tested well, but one in particular tested perfectly in memorability and the highest over all in our naming principles. It was the Hatch.

We have had a blast with this project and are still underway in this process of developing more of the visual identity for the Hatch. Special thanks to Dwain Cox for leading the charge and helping us with the video.

Concepting Board

Defining the DNA

Context Script Example

A Bryan Photo celebrates the charm of analog capture, craft, and the American South. A new-old way of thinking. Their pride in craftsmanship – an emphasis on our sense of touch as much as sight – resonates with those seeking authenticity, quality, and artfulness.

We honed in on these attributes in the recent rebrand work. The result is a look that incorporates subtle imperfections in the wordmark and textures from cloths and papers – all details inspired by analog photography.