Whether you are aware of this or not, color has an impact on the choices you make.  Our reaction to color is instantaneous.  How you want your customers and potential customers to feel about your company may not be what is portrayed by the colors you are using in your logo or brand.

At Tribe, we do our best to keep up with the current color trends that come out every season. We always consider the target audience, industry, appropriateness and color meanings. We also keep in mind cultural considerations – western color symbolism and eastern color symbolism differ. Another aspect we keep in mind is overcoming client-bias – “Don’t use purple for my logo because I don’t like that color.”

Designers in all fields look at what is happening in other areas of the design world. For example, the Pantone always looks to fashion to dictate the trendy colors of the upcoming season. For more than 45 years, Pantone, owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Inc., has been inspiring design professionals with products, services and leading technology for the colorful exploration and expression of creativity. X-Rite serves a range of industries including printing, packaging, photography, graphic design, video, automotive, paints, plastics, textiles, dental and medical.

On Sept. 7, 2010 – Pantone LLC unveiled the PANTONE Fashion Color Report Spring 2011. The report features the top 10 colors for fashion for spring 2011 and coincides with New York Fashion Week, which began last Thursday, Sept. 9th.  http://www.pantone.com/pages/Pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=20753&ca=4

If you are looking to redesign your logo or rebrand your company look, consider what you are trying to communicate with your brand image, the feelings you want to portray and how they affect us physically.

This doesn’t mean that we always design logos with “trendy” colors. We have to look at the client, their needs and the company culture. Sometimes trendy colors simply aren’t appropriate. The color has to feel right and conceptually match what we are trying to communicate.

Here are some examples of logos we have designed with the use of modern, bold colors. What do they say to you?

For further information on Pantone and X-Rite please visit www.xriter.com

http://www.sensationalcolor.com

When designing a logo for a client, most of the time design firms boast about an out-of-the-box design. At Tribe Design, we are guilty of this as well. You might be wondering why out-of-the-box designing may be negative for certain businesses or organizations.  At some business or organizations, they have strict rules when it comes to their brand. These companies or organizations want a design firm that can follow their branding rules and still give them a fresh look. It takes a special discipline for a designer to work within boundaries and still be creative. What sets Tribe apart from our competitors is the fact that we can provide out-of-the-box designs for our clients, but we can also play by the rules of the brand police.

What are the brand police you may ask? Branding police are the people that make sure the branding standards of their company or organization are used correctly.  When working with an organization that has high branding standards, it is challenging to stay within those lines. Something that Tribe has learned over the past 18 years is how to work well with others and bring the client exactly what they want to see when it comes to their brand. 

When we redesigned the logo for the University of Houston’s 70^th Anniversary for the College of Technology, we worked diligently to stay within the lines of the branding standards to provide a new look and compliant design.

Here are some examples of the rules we were required to follow. 

• Spacing and size relationships between the logotype have been carefully established and calibrated so that university identity will remain consistent in all applications.
• Use official colors of the University of Houston Pantone Matching System only.
• The word “University” appears in ITC Avante Garde Gothic Book by BT type style all upper case, separated by the word “of” which is in Avante Garde Gothic Book all lower case.
• The word “Houston” in all upper case in the Avante Garde Gothic Demi by BT type style. 
• “You Are the Pride” wordmark can appear in ITC Avante Garde Gothic Demi by BT type style, all upper case condensed. 
• Alternate taglines may not be substituted.
• No graphic element may be placed next to the university, college or business unit logotype. 

If your business or organization has been nervous in the past to use a design firm to rebrand because of all the boundaries they have to stay in, feel confident that the designers at Tribe Design have this special discipline.  If you know your business or organization needs a new look and you haven’t taken the time to meet with a designer not in your organization, you are missing out on fresh ideas that can only create more awareness for your company or organization. 

In the end we were very happy with the final outcome. How do you feel about this design for the College of Technology? 

www.tribedesign.com 

The point of your website is to convert visitors into buyers while promoting your business in these highly competitive times. Your website needs to capture the attention of each visitor and entice the visitors to learn about your company, create an interest in your product or service and, of course reach the end goal, Sales! 

For businesses with a limited budget and time, design is crucial for both engaging and then converting potential customers. Keeping this in mind, here are four design trends that businesses can utilize for a great effect.

1. Minimalism – While this design trend has been around for a while, it is worth trying as no business owner wants to have a cluttered, overbearing website. 

Try these tips to help you minimize your website:

• Prune any unnecessary widgets. 
• Make use of whitespace. 
• Choose the right color palette. 
• Browse your site through the eyes of your visitors. 

With Google now using Site Speed as another tool for search engine ranking, it’s a great time to re-examine how streamlined your design is. 

What does Site Speed mean? Exactly what is sounds like, how fast a visitor of your webpage can click through your website.  Google Research shows that visitors spend less time on slow sites. Faster sites not only improve your experience, but also reduce operating costs. 

2. Obvious Call to Action

Here are a few tips to follow when designing your call to action:

• Keep your language short and to the point, but also explain the value of this action.
• Make sure that your call to action is consistent with the location and obviously visible on each page of your website. 
• Make it large enough to stand out, but not overwhelming to the design.
• The color of your call to action statement should be contrasting and stand out from the other colors used on your website.  

3. Distinctive Photography

Try to use custom photography or artwork whenever possible. For some business owners, time and budget are limited. The use of stock photos are a relatively cheap and accessible alternative.

Keep these tips in mind when choosing stock photos:

• Check out your industry and competitors. Make sure the photos you want are not in use. 
• Think of an out-of-the-box way to represent your company
• Don’t opt for low-resolution images just because they are cheaper. Those images could devalue your overall look.

4. Bold Typography

A recent trend is the use of big, bold typography. This trend helps to create contrast between other content while grabbing your reader’s attention and making the message loud and clear. 

To utilize this trend effectively keep these tips in mind:

• Understand the qualities of the message your want your audience to understand and then look for typefaces that portray those qualities.
• Try to match the character of your work to a font, but don’t forget about legibility for your audience.
• Test font replacement options such as TypeKit of Typotheque. These tools allow you to experiment with unique typography.  

These are the top four web design trends making a statement today that businesses can use to enhance their websites. Which web design trends would make the most positive impact on YOUR business?