Logo Design Case Study: Arriba! Mexican Insurance

In 2004, I was asked to create a logo for a new company named Arriba! Mexican Insurance. The company provides travel auto insurance for those driving across the border into Mexico. The president of the company did not have a preference over which type or style of logo I was to create, and was given free reign to come up with the design concept.

There are three basic types of logos: Iconic, like the apple on my Mac; Logotype, like the stylized text used by Disney; and combination marks, like the text “McDonald’s” used together with the symbol of the golden arches.

I began to research this insurance niche and found that the majority of the companies that deal solely with Mexico auto insurance only use plain text to identify themselves. A few companies use clip art images along with their names, but there were less than five Mexico auto insurance companies that had an actual logo. Out of those companies, there was only one that had built an actual brand. That's what I was shooting for. I wanted to make sure that I created something that was more than just a logo. I wanted to give the company a design that could easily become the first step in developing a brand.

Idea is too corporate/Americanized

With a name like "Arriba!", I knew that I could create a fun, loose logo design. I began concentrating my sketches on more abstract designs, but did stray a bit to more “corporate” looking ideas. At one of my stopping points, I automatically discarded anything that looked too “corporate” and especially the ones that looked to "Americanized." This logo had to work beyond certain borders, just like the product.

When I went back to do more research, I saw that there was a large increase in Mexico insurance companies over the previous 2 years. This information certainly got me thinking in a different light. Arriba! had to jump into the market and establish themselves very quickly. With that in mind, I needed to create a logo design that was less “abstract” and more "in your face." The logo also had to be more versatile, something that could go from a combination mark, to a bold icon.

Not bold enough

I started to work on a topsy-turvey design that I had previously sketched, but was convinced that it would not be bold enough for this project. However, I had incorporated a jumping exclamation mark into that design and felt that I had hit a key point. The exclamation mark would either make this logo, or open the door to the final concept.

Needs further developing

After several revisions, I put aside the idea to work on a different concept. I started working with the letter "A." I drew one sketch that showed the exclamation point coming out of the letter. This led me to draw a silhouette figure at the top of the letter and having it "hold" the exclamation mark, using the "A" as the legs of the figure. I felt that I had reached another key point towards the final logo concept. I further developed the figure holding the exclamation mark toward the audience. After several revisions, I went back to the topsy-turvy text idea, made it more legible, and added the figure.

On December of 2004, I was presented with a gold advertisement award by the Valley Advertising Federation, a division of the American Advertising Federation, for my Arriba! Mexican Insurance logo design.

Pete C.
Brainwerx Design

Looking for a "Creative" advertising agency

Has anyone, beside myself, asked why do some advertising agencies (and design firms) use the words "Creative Advertising" in their name? (e.g. XYZ Creative Advertising.) It doesn't seem very creative at all. Whether it's a print design or a radio campaign, an agency's job is to provide "creative" services. I'm certain that advertisers (no matter what their budget) do not go out, purposefully, looking for mundane advertising. 

So why do some advertising agencies use "Creative Advertising" in their name? There are two simple answers to this: 1) the agency just wasn’t very creative when choosing a name (not something an advertiser wants to hear) or 2) because it's a marketing strategy.

I’ll do everyone a favor and not even share my thoughts about answer 1! (You’re welcome.)

Now, how is "Creative Advertising" a marketing strategy? That's because it deals with "value." It doesn't have anything to do with being "creative."

Clients that work with large advertising agencies in cities like New York or L.A., are acutely aware that they are paying top dollar for creative services. So those agencies have no need to use the words "Creative Advertising" in their name. Lower-middle class clients want to make sure that they will be getting a good value for their advertising dollars, and so they may be more skeptical of any agency or design firm. It is in this situation that the client needs to be assured that they will hire the best agency that makes the most creative work, while staying on budget. If the advertisers do not know where to start looking for a credible advertising agency, looking for a glowing beacon like "Creative Advertising" would seem like the best place to start. Seeing those two words accompanying an agency's name, literally assures the potential client that the agency does indeed produce "creative" work, and is not just a media buyer.

Advertising agencies, design firms and freelance designers need to see themselves as their potential customers see them. They need to be aware of the market they are in, and market themselves accordingly. This may or may not mean adding "Creative Advertising" to your company's name, but there is, in deed, a method to this madness.

-Pete C.
Brainwerx Design

I wish I'd done that! - The Most Beautiful Seat Belt Commercial Ever

Over the years, there has been thousands of commercials attempting to scare everyone into using their safety belts. Most rely on fear of a police citations or on graphic images of injuries and death to convey their message.

This slow-motion TV spot from the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership, takes a completely different (and very creative) approach on the subject. When you break it down to it's simplest form, the commercial has great lighting, music and a typical family you can relate to. There are no special effects, driving scenarios, or even a vehicle.

This spot takes what seems to be a family-game-night and turns it into a heart touching, highly effective message - Embrace Life.

- Pete C.
Brainwerx Design

Embrace Life - Credits

Writer/Director: Daniel Cox

Producer: Sarah Alexander

Executive Producer: Neil Hopkins

Cast

Father: Austin Spangler
Mother: Lara Corrochano
Daughter: Clare Denning

Music

Composer: Siddhartha Barnhoorn

Assistant Director/ Production

1st Assistant Director: Lucy Wigmore
Assistant Producer: Vicky Del Campo
Runner: Tom Harburt

Camera:

Director of Photography: Luke Scott
Phantom Technician: Jason Berman
Focus Puller: John Mitchell
Gaffer: John Cantwell
Spark: Gary Nagle
Camera assistant: Steve Mayhew

Art Department:

Production Designer: Aoife Wilson
Art Director: James Custance
Storyboards: Peter Johnston

Post-Production

Editor: Daniel Cox
Colorist: Pat Wintersgill
Graphics Designer: Laylah Driscoll - Insert Graphics

Gap's new logo (for a week)

On Monday, October 4th, Gap quietly unveiled a new logo design which stirred many harsh criticisms. 
 

Gap’s iconic “old” logo featured a blue square containing the company’s name in all caps. The “new” logo shows a small gradated blue box over the top right side of the name. Graphic designers and Creatives worldwide tore apart this new look. One of the most common expressions was that the new GAP logo looked like it was taken straight out of a clip-art gallery. 

Within 24 hours of the unveiling, a Twitter account (@gaplogo) was created in hopes of obtaining new followers. This is a parody account, from the new logo’s point-of-view, being used as crowd control and even to backlash at posted comments. It’s first Tweet being: "I have feelings too, jerks."

Not to be outdone, the old GAP logo created an account (@OldGapLogo) and posted: “In the middle of the night, I was moved to a large windowless conference room filled with Old Navy mannequins. Send help now.”

To pour more fuel into the fire, posted on GAP’s official Facebook page on Oct. 6th was:

Thanks for everyone's input on the new logo! We've had the same logo for 20+ years, and this is just one of the things we're changing. We know this logo created a lot of buzz and we're thrilled to see passionate debates unfolding! So much so we're asking you to share your designs. We love our version, but we'd like to see other ideas. Stay tuned for details in the next few days on this crowd sourcing project.

Gap’s fan page was instantly filled with angry comments, such as:

“It looks like a cheap gas station logo... or better yet something Wal-mart would change to.”

“You want a new logo? Quit asking for free designs (and I pity the designers who fell for this and sent serious submissions) and hire a professional designer/firm to create one for you. Your "crowdsourcing" ploy is nothing short of SPEC work, and completely disregards the contributions that designers have to business and culture.”

“…they are just trying to get people to waste there time on creating a "free" logo and this whole crappy new logo design is just a major publicity stunt. Everyone’s talking about it, mission accomplished GAP.”

On Oct. 7, 2010, president of Gap North America, Marka Hansen, sent out a press release stating: "... Our brand and our clothes are changing and rethinking our logo is part of aligning with that. We want our customers to take notice of Gap and see what it stands for today. We chose this design as it's more contemporary and current. It honors our heritage through the blue box while still taking it forward..." (Read full article here.)

On Monday, Oct. 11th just one week after launching it's new logo, GAP Inc scrapped the design after reading over 2,000 negative comments on its Facebook page. It became painfully clear to Hansen that GAP Inc had missed an opportunity to engage with the online community.

When asked about the reinstatement, on Twitter, the original GAP logo modestly commented: "I think good design has prevailed. That makes me (and many others) happy."

From the start, I had hope that this was all just one big hoax to get free publicity. Companies spend millions (and billions) of dollars throughout their lifetime in branding efforts to expose their logos worldwide. Would GAP really throw all that away? In this manner and with this "new" design? Many companies out there, like Coca-Cola, have been able to maintain their brand for well over 20 years without changing their logos.

It’s interesting to me, how such a small word and a blue square have come to effect so many. It goes to show how color, size, placement, fonts and type styles affect us as consumers and brand followers. And how two, seemingly simple elements can portray the “feel” of young-middle-class-socialites, or of  generic-MS Word-template.

Although there are many talented graphic designers that are struggling for recognition or to land a job at a reputable advertising agency, crowd-sourcing is not the answer. I've seen many of the design work in these websites and can say that crowd-sourcing breeds mediocrity. It is nearly impossible for a talented designer to submit  unique, creative designs, when 95% of all submissions are sent out to every single job posting that fits it's criteria, without changing any elements other than the company's name. The majority of designers in crowd-sourcing websites are not creating new and unique designs for their potential customers, they are creating templates. And no company should pay an extraordinary amount of money for a design that is going to be sold over and over again, without their knowledge.

-Pete C.

Brainwerx Design