New Branding Graphic Attempt

[PierceVoice]

I guess the best question is probably,

"If you'd never heard me... looking at this, what do you think I might sound like?"

http://piercevoice.com/greenwithcharmtopcoffee.png

[Emorgan_Voiceovers]

Chadd, I looked at your website layout. While it looks professional and clean, I don't get FUN. Of course I have listened to a lot of your stuff and I believe fun and creative is YOU. Just my 1/3 of a cent.

[Chrisrice]

First impression: the guy looks like he's trying to sell me something. And the loosened tie really doesn't work for me... it's like it's trying to come across as professional and casual at the same time, but to me does neither. I do like the concept though!

[leeplaud]

Yea...all the above except I don't like the concept. It may be clean and straight foreward but does not evoke any charm. I think it undermines your product.

[Scott Pollak]

Are we talking about your website or the avatar you use here?

The website looks like one of those template pages that web-hosting companies plop out there to say "This site coming soon... get your domain name now!"

It has no personality, unlike its owner who is chock-full of personality.

This is a case where money invested with a branding guru like Nancy Wolfson would, indeed, be money well-spent.

The reason being, Chadd, is this - and I'll pose it in the form of a question:
- How do you feel about people with no voice skills or experience voicing their own spots? In that case, do YOU have graphic training/background?

But honestly, it goes beyond just graphic training. It has to do with establishing your brand identity. What visuals or image(s) or logo(s) will connote your sound, your specialty, to someone who doesn't know you? The green guy in a tie tells me nothing.

Honestly, I'd head more in the direction of the feel of your avatar here.

[PierceVoice]

AWESOME! The suggestions and responses are so much appreciated. While my sound matures into a less nutcase, more marketable voice over, I don't want to lose those important parts of my personal style you've mentioned. I've spent some time with Marice Tobias recently, and I know the last version of my site wasn't doing me much justice either.... per guidance, I'm exploring sound and visual (and perhaps displaying my brainstorming rather than my finished product).

Actually, my last version of the site sucked so bad I've taught/am-teaching myself Dreamweaver. I'm moderatley-versed in photoshop and logo-y type stuff, but not for this purpose...

Funny you should mention, Scott, I've an appointment with Nancy this Thurs... for which I took down my ugly ol' page to get something-- basic as it may be for now-- BETTER up for a different first impression. Work to go, but I'll keep at it!

Just for kicks, here's a no-tie, smiling version with a little splash of silly color. Eh? No? Ah... back to it. :)

[Paul Plack]

Chadd,

Are you cross-eyed? Have a Frankenstein scar on your forehead? I appreciate creative approaches as much as the next guy, but those are the questions that pop into mind when I see "Decapitated Chadd!"

Then, I look for a scroll bar... ;)

[Emorgan_Voiceovers]

Chadd, obviously I am no branding expert, and certainly can't do web design. Here is what I do know: In the time I have known you, you have been the wacky, nutty, fun guy. Yes you have a serious side too. My question is why do you want to portray the guy that you had up? You are CHADD Pierce. The nutty fun guy. Be CHADD. again, just my 2 cents.

[leeplaud]

"Eh? No? Ah... " .........................no.
You are attaching yourself to something that is not good for you...abandon it.
Nancy Wolfson is a good way to go.
My appologies to Pierce and Scott but I don't like the avatar either. I don't think it is effective branding and it conjures up for me the image of a painting that has been left behind at a yard sale after being reduced to $1.00. I think that both are much less than you product.
It pains me to be this blunt but it is my visceral response.

[leeplaud]

Sorry...meant to say "Chad" not Pierce". One of those things you see as you've just hit the SUBMIT button.
'noungh from me!

[PierceVoice]

I've been called plenty of other things too.... And I'm glad you spoke up with these thoughts, Lee. Cool thing about me is that I don't get offended, I just get better.

But if you really want to get on my mom's good side, don't forget that extra "D". She's the one that picked it. :)

On to my voice coach beatdowns... and back to istockphoto!

[leeplaud]

Sorry, Mom

[bransom]

Hey, Chadd,

Keep in mind that a logo is not a brand, and vice versa. (The brand is the overall impression of your business while the logo is usually just a mark ... a part of the brand.)

For logos, try to envision something that can be used on a variety of different media, from t-shirts to letterhead to a website to ... well, just about anything you can think of. It shouldn't generally require color to exist, and it should be able to be rendered in pure black and white (not grayscale). (Meaning, it CAN be rendered in black and white, not that it SHOULD be black and white.)

Swing by FaveUp (http://faveup.com) and take a look at some of the logos and non-Flash websites to see what's current. Have Nancy help you with your brand and then tailor a logo to fit that brand statement.

And don't be afraid to hire a designer. It doesn't have to be expensive and it may be some of the best money you ever spend.

Disclaimer: My day job is as a creative director and designer but I'm not looking for work. If you do want to think seriously about designers, let me know and I'll be happy to offer suggestions on how to find and employ one.

Now, on a purely technical note, the three pieces of your website (header, center links, and footer) don't line up in any rational way, at least on Mac Safari. Until you re-design, do a center align and consider using a thin border around the entire page content to "contain" it. Also, for the footer, instead the box being rounded top and bottom, try it rounded on bottom only but flat on top. Or rounded bottom but negative rounded on top... Something to open up the box visually and pull the three sections together. Right now they don't look like they're connected.

Bob

[Mike Sommer]

Bob is absolutely right, especially about branding. I did corporate imaging for years and so many people just don't get the fact that corporate or business "Branding" is more then just some fancy Photoshop tricks. It can be as simple as one large circle and two strategically place small ovals (http://www.btelevisions.com/images/DISNEY01.gif).

[leeplaud]

"......and then tailor a logo to fit that brand statement."

While I completely agree with all that Bob said, I would highlight this because you have to nail this first. If your muddy about your branding you can't slap an emblem on it that is going to serve you because no matter how much Wow and Dazzle it may have, it will disconnect.

[bransom]

I guess the best example that pops into my head of logo vs. brand is the Nike swoosh. In and of itself, the logo is nothing special: An almost checkmark-like graphic and the word "Nike" beneath it. Very, very simple. But they've built the brand -- the meaning behind the logo -- over the years to the point that you no longer need the word "Nike" to understand it.

I was in a coffee shop this past weekend, standing in line next to a young woman in shorts. I happened to glance down and noticed that she had the Nike swoosh tatooed just above her ankle. No "Nike," just the swoosh. It immediately told me a lot about the woman, because of the Nike brand that exists behind the logo.

And I thought, man, when your mark becomes that well known and popular that people tattoo it on themselves...

[Paul Plack]

At its core, branding is the process of creating an association between a product name and a desireable set of attributes. Cadillac = luxury, power and comfort. Coors = cold-filtered taste, western/mountain culture. Robin Williams = bold, improvisational humor, etc.

The best logos invoke the impressions of those attributes, but a logo should at least be distinctive and not fight the branding scheme. If it looks like clip-art, or can't be built to instantly bring your name to mind, it's not the most effective logo.

I believe effective branding requires identifying what you do better than most competitors, finding a convincing way to express that graphically and audibly, then finding a logo which is in harmony.

Obviously, with thousands of talent trying to do the same thing, only a few will find a logo which becomes as identifiable as the Nike swoosh, and succeed in being truly unique.

[Mike Sommer]

This link may be of help:
Logo Design - Logos, a history (http://www.logoworks.com/logos.html)

[leeplaud]

[quote=bransom;21402] In and of itself, the logo is nothing special: An almost checkmark-like graphic and the word "Nike" beneath it. Very, very simple. ...]

What is special about it is that in its simplicity it is so brilliantly and powerfully evocative of their message.

[leeplaud]

Ahhh....great site, Mike!

[PierceVoice]

MAN! I took a short break to get my head on straighter (and my header and footer, too), and LOOK at all this great advice!

I'm on it like butterscotch on a banana. Or... um... does that work? Like Simon Cowell on a soapbox?

Thank you thank you thank you

[Mike Sommer]

I think you are on the right tack. It's a lot more playful. You have a lot of good things in there: the mid century chair, you, the chaca zulu looking spear, the aged background and the contemporary fonts. Now it's time to focus on one of those design elements/themes and make it uniform throughout.

[leeplaud]

Ya, Chadd, I really like this idea...clever and fun. What unsettles me is that the many graphic elements are too choppy and pulling in too many directions. There are ways for you to tighten this in to make a graphic whole without giving up anything. Love the idea.....Fun!

[PierceVoice]

So funny... I just put that up quick to get the other one off and still have SOMEthing. I'm full of ideas... just not FOCUS. :idiot2:

For instance, here are 2 more I'm not really taken aback by...

[leeplaud]

You're pressing and your nose is up too close against it. Step back for a bit.

[Mike Sommer]

On the contrary let it flow.
It's this freeform kind of thinking that allows great things to happen.

[leeplaud]

I agree but you also have to step back and give it some air or you become too precious and tight with everything. You put out too much to get the unexpected but you will still end up with too much. If you want to carve an elephant, you have to be able to cut away everything that doesn't look like an elephant.

[PierceVoice]

Heheh... I did BOTH. While waiting for what had to be at LEAST a weekend, I have continued my playing. This time, I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna leave it (slogan and all) until after I complete some more time with Nancy... despite its flaws.

Sometimes I wonder if the voice over stuff is just a front for my Photoshop fetish.... and now I'm starting to REALLY get into Dreamweaver. Step awaaaay from the keyboard.....

As always, thanks all so much for the input. I hope others are reading this, snagging the links, taking notes, and learning.

[Scott Pollak]

This time, I'm pretty sure I'm just gonna leave it (slogan and all) until after I complete some more time with Nancy

Best idea you've had this entire thread.

[TangentTrout]

Sometimes I wonder if the voice over stuff is just a front for my Photoshop fetish.... and now I'm starting to REALLY get into Dreamweaver. Step awaaaay from the keyboard....

Dreamweaver? Really?

Why when I first started doing web sites I had to use Notepad!:idiot2:

Now it's WYSIWYG all the way baby!:afro:
I currently use iWeb on the iMac and Expression Web on the PC. Makes coding a whole lot easier and quicker! To see a sample of what iWeb can do, look at my personal site. www.craignet.com It only took about 4 hours from blank to what you see.

Good luck with it Chadd!

[Mike Sommer]

Dreamweaver makes my head spin. I love my golive, though at sometime I'll have to make the switch to another program.

[Scott Pollak]

Mike, I was a web designer alongside my wife before finally getting into v/o fulltime and I still do an occasional site on the side as barter. My dentist is giving me some treatments in exchange for a new site. I use Dreamweaver to build the sites in, but it's also my ftp agent for uploading all my audio files to client sites!

(Here's a now-defunct page of the sites we did some years ago, but many of the actual sites are either gone or have been updated by someone else:

SpasticLizard's websites (http://spasticlizard.com/sites.html) )

[Mike Sommer]

Cool deal. Thanks for sharing Scott