April 11, 2012 Hello Dr. Richards (cc Seth Dahle, Kirby Sommerfeld), First, thanks.

Thank you for being one of our favorite My Social Practice clients. Your practice is one that we look to often as visionary. You and your team get it when it comes to social media marketing. The purpose of this note is to give you my opinions about dental logos with the hope that it helps you lay a solid groundwork for your long term brand. Graphic Style & Logo Usability First, Id like to define a couple of terms so that were on the same page as we move through this document. Generally, when I use the term icon or logomark Im referring to a graphic element that is often one component of a logo. Lots of logos include an icon, and many dont. The IBM logo, for example is a typographic logo or logotype that doesnt include an icon or mark. Second, simplify. We all see logos each day that try to say too much, and incorporate too many bells and whistles . Complicated logos are more difficult to recall. People subconsciously memorize logos in exactly the same way they memorize printed words. For example, when you look at the word cat, you dont see the individual letters. Instead, youve memorized the shape of that word. That c - a - t shape represents a small, furry animal. The same holds true for logos. It may seem a little counter-intuitive, but simple designs are almost always the most effective. One of the goals of a logo is to be remembered, and like words, the simpler the better. A simple logo is also easier to apply in various applications and media, increasing your odds of brand consistency. I was working in Denver a few months ago and stayed in a cool little boutique hotel in the middle of a very hip neighborhood. There were some eclectic furniture stores, architects studios, nice clothing stores, fun restaurants, wine bars, etc. that surrounded the hotel. As I was walking back to the hotel one day, I was thinking about (yes, it sounds weird) dental identities. I pulled out my phone and took some photos of logos that I saw ALL within one, single block of my hotel. Here they are:

restaurant

furniture

clothes

art gallery

architect

furniture

As you can see, every one of the identities are clean and simple. Granted, these businesses are considered more in the category of retail establishments than a dental practice, but the

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principle still holds true. Also, just because these particular identities in the photos above do not include an icon (that is, they are primarily typographic) that doesnt mean that a strong, simple logo cant include an icon. Its just that many do and many dont. Third, I know from experience that the most usable, readily executable logos must function well in many different applications. Too often, inexperienced designers come up with recommendations that look nice in one application (for example, six inches square on the web in multiple colors with a fancy drop shadows, etc.), but then look horrible in a small printed ador are unreadable in signage applications. You can avoid these usability issues by designing identities that reproduce well in every instance from your door signage, to a direct mail piece, to a poor quality fax, etc. It is the designers obligation to think ahead and, its actually quite a science to accomplish these objectives in a logo, but it can certainly be done. So keep in mind that effective logos work in a variety of media, are legible in a variety of sizes, and have vertical, horizontal, and one-color/one-dimension versions. Again, simple is better all around. The difference between a logo and a brand. Simply stated, a logo is not a brand. A logo is part of a brand and, unless a company has a marketing budget like NIKEs or McDonalds, a logo is actually a fairly small component of a brand. Your brand is much farther reaching than your logo. Your brand isnt something that can be seen, touched, defined, or measured. Intangible and abstract, it exists solely as an idea in current and prospective orthodontic patients (or parents) minds. Yet, its a precious asset. A strong brand is supported by an integrated strategy that includes a wide range of focused efforts. In addition to an identity program, effective marketing, and compelling advertising, your entire practice delivers a brand experience from the way the phone is answered to your hygienists people skills. Branding is an all-encompassing part of your practice culture. In part, thats why I originally said that its possible the graffiti direction could work on a campaign basis. Even a long-term campaign basis. But making it your foundational brand may be shortsighted. Its important to remember that a logo is rarely, if ever, seen outside of some other context. That is, logos are generally accompanied by other branding components. For example, when you personally hand someone your business card, they view your logo in connection with your handshake and personal greeting. Or, when someone sees your logo on a direct mail piece, its accompanied by a headline, visual, body copy and call to action.

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In other words, a logo is rarely (if ever) the central marketing focal point. Your practice will be primarily branded through the other materials that your logo is applied to and through the experiences patients have when they visit. Having said that, I dont mean that your logo isnt important. A good one helps your brand and a stinky one can hurt it. But, the point is, dont heap too much responsibility on a logo. Generally, when designers (or dentists) do so, logos quickly become complicated and underwhelming by just trying too hard. As you start to really pay attention to the logos that you see around you each day, youll begin to notice how nearly all of the really good ones are the simple ones. Yes, less is usually more. Some Thoughts About Color Good logos are designed in black and white first. Color comes second. By evaluating designs in black and white, you get a much better idea of the shape, design and readability of each idea. Good design stands up well in black and white. Lousy design doesnt. Lazy designers know that bad design can be camouflaged by color and busy graphics. A logo idea shouldnt rely on color for its initial appeal. Theres plenty of reference material out there about color psychology and logos. For example, blue doesnt sell food, and red doesnt convey stability (and in the case of a dental practice, may have an unconscious reference to bloodI know, kinda weird, but true). Rather than get into detail here, lets just say that certain colors work better than others. When looking at colors, be sure the colors reproduce well in a variety of mediums. Some colors that look great when printed as spot colors (Pantone/PMS) look bad when printed in four-color process. When thats the case, printed materials are either compromised, or they become more expensive to produce. Defending Your Brand Once you have launched your new brand, defend it. Push back a little bit, for example, if a toothbrush supplier tells you that theyll change your logo a little bit because it just wouldnt fit on the toothbrush. Hmmmm... another reason to think ahead about how the graffiti logo you are considering will reproduce at 1/4 inch high on a toothbrush. In The End, Keep It Simple If you move toward a simple logo solution, you wont lay awake nights worrying that you dont have the perfect logo. Jared McCarthy, a marketing professional I have long admired, said it best when he said, Don't make choosing your logo too complicated. Theres a tendency for the logo evaluation process to get long, involved, and much more

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cerebral than it should be. Remember that the viewing public isnt going to sit down in a boardroom and study your logo for weeks. Neither should you. Get your identity done then move on to the marketing efforts that will really give you traction. With the above quote in mind, in my opinion, one problem with your current direction is that it is not differentiating between a logo, a brand, and a campaign(s). The logo is trying to be the brand. Again, a logo is not a brandnor should it be thought of that way. A good campaign idea is not a brandnor should it be used to create a logo. You may be painting yourself into a corner. Your orthodontic corporate identity (of which the logo is one component) should be longlasting, and broad enough and simple enough in its design and execution to support ANY and EVERY future marketing and advertising decision. To assume today that the direction youre going will be cool 5 or 10 years from today may be shortsighted. If your campaign direction needs to change one day (maybe sooner than you could ever know), it will be impossible for it to fit with this highly stylized, thematic logo/identity. Also, a foundational identity for a professional business should appeal FIRST to the #1 audience. Regardless of whether or not you agree, an orthodontic practices #1 audience is whoever owns the checkbook (as is the case in most businesses). Fourteen year old skateboarders dont own checkbooks. Also, in my opinion, graffiti has negativity attached to it... No matter how cool a 14-year old may think it is. And finally, its just plain difficult to impossible to read. However, If You Decide To Keep The Graffiti Direction... If you feel like the direction you are headed is still the right direction, heres one quick thought that you may want to consider. You may want your designer to separate out the name from the skateboard-kid-graffiti graphics so that the name can be more readable and usable in a variety of applications: (next page)

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Heres an example I saw the other day that reminded me of a logo family solution that may be relevant for you. In the case below the typography can be used independent of the illustrationsand, even though the typography is stylized, its still very readable:

Just my two cents. Another viewpoint. Please understand that there has never been any intention (or motivation) to throw a wrench in your works or to poison the well. Obviously I have no reason to highjack your process. Hope some part of this helps. Best, -- Jack