It is an axiom of marketing that a company’s brand identity is fundamental to long-term business success. It is also well-known that, on occasion, a company’s image needs a refresh – an update – to ensure it stays relevant in a changing marketplace. Companies as established as Coca-Cola (Coke Experiments with Universal Branding) and Hershey (Hershey Unveils New Company Logo), and as new and innovative as Google (Why Google’s New Brand Logo Had to Happen) and Spotify (Spotify’s New Look), have worked on brand updates recently.
At Compliance Architects®, we have determined that now is the time for us to update our brand. Our company image needs a refresh – an update – to reflect our mission and value as premiere consultants to FDA-regulated industry. And although our original logo has served us well…
Figure 1: Compliance Architects® Logo, Created 2009
… our new logo is intended to emphasize our focus on excellence, innovation and exceptional performance.
Updating a brand image is both exciting and scary for a company. It can result in a lift of recognition, an improvement in perception – or – it can flop. Overall, a brand image should provide a reflection of the organization that it represents. It should instill confidence and calm. It should reflect elegance and attention to detail. It should create a unique linkage with the organization and the people within. We believe our new logo reflects all of those attributes.
And what of meaning? Does our new logo have a meaning? Does it reflect all of the things we do? Does it say we work with FDA-regulated companies? Does it reflect FDA 483s or Warning Letters? Does it establish our work with pharmaceutical manufacturers or medical device companies? Does it address validation, CAPA, or the hundreds of different topical areas we deal with serving our clients?
In short – it does not.
During this journey to a new brand identity we explored many different graphics concepts. Some reflected complexity through complex shapes. Some reflected paperwork and documentation. Some reflected a blending of the letters “C” and “A” in abstract representation. Some were gorgeous but not right. Some had a great link to our story but just fell short. At the end of it all though, it seemed just too difficult to try and encapsulate the multiplicity of different services, activities, areas of focus – the science, law and business – the people, process and technology – that comes together to form the full complement of what Compliance Architects® can and does achieve for its clients. In the end, we felt our brand image was best represented by the smooth simplicity of our new logo – familiar – approachable – achievable – yet difficult to describe in a single word or even a short story.
So, without further fanfare or explanation, we reveal our new logo. We hope you find it aligns to our focus on excellence and service capability. We hope it is visually pleasing, and establishes confidence and calm. Overall though, we really just hope you like it. Make sure to drop us a note and let us know!
