Elite Signs & Graphics
Elite Signs are a family business who have delivered brand solutions to thousands of businesses covering every industry for over twenty years.
The Brief
Elite wanted to develop their brand identity with an eye-catching new look that paid homage to their track record of attention-grabbing performance, whilst still providing a contemporary aesthetic to their appearance.
New Realm Creative was invited in to help refresh the brand.
The Challenge
There were a few key considerations at the start of the project which needed addressing. The first consideration was to identify the extent to which we needed to evolve the brand.
With an in-house design studio, state-of-the-art equipment, a large internal bay for installation and a passion for using high-quality materials, Elite provides a concept-to-creation service and are far more than just sign manufacturers. We discussed evolving the name, along with the brand, to reflect the full extent of their services.
With SEO and in-bound traffic considerations along with a twenty-year reputation to leverage, it was agreed to keep the name ‘Elite Signs’ for the time being. The logo was already versatile and there was no need to completely change this. Instead, we focused on creating a refreshed identity that communicated creativity and attention-grabbing performance.
The Creative Journey
We worked with Elite to understand their customer base and their competitive arena. Following this analysis stage, we produced several creative directions that the brand could viably take.
We presented a series of Style Guides, each with a distinct flavour, along with a concept that would evolve the brand identity to offer a completely new look, whilst still maintaining the name and fundamental logo design.
Elite selected the mood board we’d called ‘Senna’. This was inspired by the ‘Retro Wave’ movement and took visual cues from the golden era of motor racing in the 70s.
Brand Guidelines
The next stage was to bring to life the eye-catching new look and create a system for its use across the business.
The new colourway made use of several bright colours, contrasted with more muted tones, so it was important for this to be executed in the right way to create the desired effect.
Brand guidelines ensure that all work is accurately designed under one system, and can be used as a filter, ensuring everything stays consistent and ‘on brand’.
Consistency is vital for building up brand recognition. Attention to detail is also one of the biggest factors that separate the leading brands from the also-rans.
Having a fully developed set of brand guidelines ensures your identity is strong and impactful now and for years to come.
Implementation
We worked with Elite to deliver the brand across the business. This included a new website, digital and print assets, livery and the development of a Creative Suite for client meeting.
Elite also used the opportunity to incorporate new materials into the delivering of the branding, including reflective vinyl on their own vehicle wrap to really grab onlookers’ attention 24/7.
Feedback
As a family business, with a history in sign-making spanning 3 generations, we wanted to develop our identity whilst maintaining our reputation for high quality and creative signage and vehicle branding.
That’s where New Realm came in. Having been highly recommended to us, we started the process with them in an informal setting where they asked us questions we hadn’t even thought about. This made us really think and allowed us to get to the core of what was needed to enhance our business. After viewing the Roadmap, we could see that new Realm understood our business and we could see where differences could be made to develop Elite Signs further.
Having been through the experience of brand development with New Realm, we have recommended them to many of our clients who have reported back positively, which is fantastic to hear.
Simon James, Creative Director