One of the most honored logos designed by Randall Smith, modern8 Creative Director, grew out of a conversation between his son, his wife and an orthodontist who was attempting an initial examination. "Your logo sucks", was the brutally honest evaluation given by the 12-year-old patient. Obviously trained well in aesthetics, but not manners, Randall's wife explained that her husband was a graphic designer. The orthodontist, Rand Bennett, explained that he had worked with other designers, largely unsuccessfully, but if possible, wanted a logo that "didn't show any teeth." The resulting logo, designed in 1993, used a picket fence metaphor instead. Apparently the design concept also resonates as interior dÈcor, even across borders. Last week modern8 received an email from someone in the Netherlands who had discovered the logo on our website and asked if we could send them a larger version "so I can print the logo and hang it somewhere in my room." In their ninth annual competition, Security Sales & Integration magazine selected Salt Lake-based Peak Alarm Company this year for best company logo and vehicle design. The 30 year-old security company engaged modern8 to re-design their identity and vehicle fleets in 1999. The "Sammys" annually honor security dealers who exemplify professionalism in their sales, marketing and installation efforts. Recipients of the ongoing sales incentive program at Young Electric Sign Company added another embroidered patch to their bomber jackets with the introduction of the 12 O'clock High program. The patch commemorates company sales initiatives in a successful program that began in 1998 with the first of seven patches designed by modern8. Bryan Wilson, 2004 University of Utah graduate in Graphic Design and former modern8 intern, has joined the staff as a designer. Assuming he returns from his wedding and honeymoon scheduled next month, he will continue to contribute his design and production talents to the company.				What color do you associate with Kodak? What color with Coca-Cola? What about IBM? (Yellow, red and blue respectively --- but you probably already knew that.) Color is one of the most crucial elements of a successful brand identity. The effect of color on humans is both physiological as well as cultural and should be a well-considered choice in brand identity. See how you fare in understanding color (amongst other branding concepts) in our interactive quiz titled: Interface. Just picking a trendy color is not the answer. Different individuals are affected different ways by the same color and trends are always changing. You should choose color with the audience and the message in mind. However, as Al and Laura Ries note in The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, "it's more important to create a separate brand identity than it is to use the right symbolic color. Hertz, the first car-rental brand picked yellow. So Avis, the second brand, picked red. National went with green." When the breakup of a partnership brought about our own modern8 name change, a long-time client told us, "I didn't recognize the name on your invoice, but I knew it was you because of the gold color". The ubiquitous presentation tool, Microsoft PowerPoint has been criticized as a mind-numbing excuse for more thoughtful speech. (See Wired magazine) But both PowerPoint and Microsoft Word are de facto standards in the business world and everyone knows how to use them. Designers of course, prefer tools with more precision and capability, but providing a software template in Macromedia Director or Quark Express may not give a client the capability to make their own changes. modern8 recently designed a PowerPoint presentation for Northface University, a Salt Lake-based school for software developers, that can be presented either on screen or printed out and used as a flip book. Created for prospective students, the presentation allows for simple changes to be made internally by the school. modern8 eNews, May, 2004, modern8 eNews is a free, monthly email publication www.modern8.com 801.355.9541 561 West 200 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 Subscribe | Unsubscribe Copyright©2004 modern8 Corporation. All Rights Reserved