We’re all subjects—designers and non-designers—to hidden design taxes.
Read More
I had never heard the term white habitus before Pastor/sociologist Oneya Okuwobi introduced me to the idea this past Sunday at church. I was telling her about my theory that company brands are modern-day receptionists. Like a receptionist, as Don Draper advises in Mad Men, a brand's job is to “manage people's expectations” (Weiner and Cleveland, 2008)…
Read MoreThe visual identity for Covid-19 is pretty scary. It’s often a super-condensed sans-serif typeface, all caps, in blood red. I’m pretty sure the design team went to movie posters for Outbreak and Contagion for inspiration. As much as I don’t love the Millennialification of everything via branding, I was curious about what the Covid-19 identity would look like if it was more approachable like Chobani. It’s incredible how much a few colors and typefaces can change the presentation of an idea. I’m left almost as scared of branding as I am of Covid-19.
Read MoreWhat does this all have to do with my work in brand identity design and Big Ideas? Well, to uncover the Big Idea behind your brand identity, one has to answer Buechner’s two questions. (a) What brings you deep gladness? And (b) where do you feel the world's deepest hunger? It's in between those two questions that your Big Idea emerges. (a) Are you willing to go there? Or, (b) do you want a new logo (or app)? I’m looking for partners who are (a) willing to go there. We may not go there perfectly, but at least we’ll try.
Read MoreThe good people at The Kleigners Group, the parent company of TrueScan, asked me to present the new TrueScan identity to their staff (after it was approved by the lead team). It was an opportunity that I could not refuse. I love talking about the brand identity process, and I'm immensely proud of the new TrueScan brand identity.
Read More
For the first installment of Process Out Loud, I interviewed my friend Emily Hill. Emily recently earned her Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen, where she wrote her dissertation on perils of marketing as it relates to the Church. Emily and I often find ourselves in conversations related to theology, branding, marketing, research, and design. I felt the desire to share the ideas of our discussions because, as you will read, most people are totally unaware of how brands influence them. Likewise, designers, like me, are often unaware of the influence we have on others through the brands we create. While I'm still left with questions after chatting with Emily, I think those questions will influence my approach to design and branding for the better. I hope you enjoy our conversation.
Read More
Whether you consider yourself religious or not, you’re likely familiar with these words from the Gospel of John in the Bible. It's a form of the creation story. Beyond religious belief, I consider this a description of the design process because I believe that words drive design. More specifically, words drive effective design.
Read More
Brand and religion are two things I think about often. Branding is what I choose to do as a career, and religion helps me frame my faith. Not a day goes by when I don't think about these two subjects. However, it's not often that I think of them at the same time. Yet, these past weeks, I've been starting to wonder if the two have more in common than expected.
Read More
It (the Big Idea) tells who you are and shows the good you offer to people. It brings your team together and invites others in. Big Ideas are simple yet lofty. They bring clarity to the complex. They need to be understood immediately and easily shared. Like a person, organizations are compelled by their unique identities and callings—that’s Big Idea territory
Read More
Are trademarks (aka logos, symbols, monograms, emblems, etc.) really that important?
Read More
I wrote the following note to someone I'm working with on a brand identity project. It feels worth sharing more broadly as it sums up Trischler Design Co.'s worldview on logo design and more generally the brand identity system.
Read More