It used to be that you were known by your vehicle. Service contractors and industrial companies like Lauck Manufacturing use trucks and vans to transport materials and workmen. The truck holds your logo, your phone number and your reputation. However, today’s market demands something more.

Consumers use the Internet like a phonebook. A common search to find Indianapolis area mechanics might be “mechanic Indianapolis”. People are only looking at the first three or four results from that search to find the mechanic they’re going to call. Signage on fleet vehicles is still a valuable asset, but your business needs a website to keep the calls coming.

Roundpeg worked with Lauck Manufacturing to develop their American Eagle Goals brand and we knew they were ready to make the leap. There were two things we kept in mind during the development process. First, Lauck’s market is primarily business-to-business. Impressive animations and video clips would do nothing for this audience. Strong images would still be key, but the layout and copy are optimized for people looking to get down to business. Our other touchstone for the project was the heritage of the hand-lettered sign on their original truck. To digitize this logo for their new website, we made a point of carefully recreating the unique character of the old sign. A rich color pallette of brown, khaki and maroon gives it new life on the web.

You can’t interact with a truck in a parking lot. At www.lauckmfg.com clients take-in the company’s story, browse a portfolio of projects and can even upload their own documents to easily request quotes. And the phone number is still right there, ready to be dialed.

When you hear the name American Eagle Basketball Goals you probably envision something in red, white and blue with a heavy Serif font to give it a traditional feel.  But this product is anything but traditional and so one of Jenna’s challenges was to give them a logo which would make them stand out as well.  Her other challenge was to give them something which would look equally good on top of a web page or on the product itself.

The design process started as she searched for images of an eagle.  The one she selected is strong, but not a literal image of an eagle with arms outstretched that seem to wrap around the image of the ball.  While she did retain a fairly traditional blue, there was no place for red in this design.  Instead she selected a shade of orange which is similar to the actual color of a basketball.   The clear contrast of the colors is striking on their website and in print.

The font choices are also somewhat unexpected. Instead of a very heavy serif font, Jenna selected Go Long  for the words American Eagle.  The very straight line looks like the lines of a basketball goal.  The word Goals is turned on it’s side to frame the logo.  And the choice of Christopher Hand font gives a fun, playful feel to the design.

The website is complete and the logo looks great on the page.  We can’t wait to see how this logo will look on their new goals.

This logo was designed by the team at Roundpeg, an Indianapolis graphic design firm.

There is a first time for everything at Roundpeg, even cute jungle animals. At Roundpeg, we often design logos for very professional clients, such as law offices, manufacturing companies and other more traditional marks. Designing a logo for a company which sells children’s products was really different, but it wound up being a lot of fun.

When Ed Martin of Martin Concepts first approached us about designing his logo he had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted. Martin Concepts manufactures a products for babies, so I wanted to make sure this logo was youthful and fun. He was set on having an animal of some sort, and even came prepared with some clipart he had purchased in hopes  we could use it. I was able to create a cleaner, more personalized version of the clipart he provided, which happened to be a hippo.

Oddly enough, this was not my first time incorporating a hippo into a logo, so I sort of knew what to expect. The challenge for me was keeping the hippo simple, but giving it enough detail to make it clear it was representing a product for babies. This was achieved using lighter colors and and also adding a pacifier. Once the hippo graphic was complete the font was an easy decision. I chose the font Cookies, not just for its awesome name, but because the round letters reminded me of the shapes in the hippos body. The final version ended up being a good balance of fun and simple, and I think it will be an interesting addition to our logo collection.

This is just one example of logos designed by Roundpeg, an Indianapolis Graphic Design Firm

The EAC had been using a stodgy, brown and black text treatment. As the organization changed, this old-fashioned logo no longer described who they were.

We freshened the logo with bright, energetic colors, and used the arrow to represent upwards motion to reflect the EAC’s role in propelling entrepreneurs forward.

Recently, we had an interesting web design challenge.  Midwest Telephone Systems, better known as MTS Digital, a reseller for telecommunications  products came to us for a new web site. A B2B company, their products; commercial phones and Internet products aren’t exactly visually exciting.

Web Design Goal:

They wanted us to create a  clean, modern web design which would set them apart from their competitors.    It was easy to figure out what they didn’t want -  cheesy stock photography of business people on  the phone, clutter, confusing buy now pages, or long lists of products and features.  The challenge was figuring out what they did.

Using the Genesis framework from Studio Press as a foundation we built a scrolling bar which featured just text information about their services.  We updated their logo to a simple text treatment which balanced well against the logo of their primary partner, Toshiba.

The small featured post functionality gave us an opportunity to show off all of the major brands they carry, with links to more information. And the side bar has room for other features if MTS decides to add more later.

We have designed quite a few websites recently, but this is one of my favorites.  The simple design allows visitors to figure out quickly if they are in the right place.  It looks as good on a smart phone as it does on a desktop computer.  But the best part of this redesign came a few days after the launch, when our client called to say he had landed a new customer who found him on the web.

Your sign is like a business card. It tells everyone a lot about your business without saying a word. That’s why we were so excited to update Companion Animal Medical Center’s sign to give it some much-needed flair.

The original sign at Companion Animal Medical Center (CAMC) was done in neutral colors which blended in with the building and the natural environment. It blended in so well that drivers overlooked it as they cruised past. So when CAMC decided to extend its hours to become a 24-hour emergency hospital, it was a great opportunity to add some pop to the design scheme.

I’d recently updated their color scheme to be more in line with CAMC’s high-class but still fun and whimsical image. The greens, blues, and oranges really make the sign stand out against the beige and stone of the building. The dog and cat make it very clear who CAMC is and what they do.

Besides the visual revamp, we also added the phone number and website to the sign. This way, potential customers don’t need to go inside to get that information. Finally, we added the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) logo to the sign. Being designated an AAHA facility is a huge deal in the veterinary world, and we wanted to make sure everyone knew that CAMC is the best in the business.

This was a fun project, in that it tested our small business graphic design skills.   We think the bright, fun sign will make CAMC more visible to potential customers driving along busy Rangeline Road and bring new customers in the door.

Recently we have had a series of projects with a common theme, companies offering home services.  For two of the three sites we were upgrading existing, out of date websites.  The third, was a brand new website.  In each case, the business owners said almost the same thing, they were looking for a site with a clean, modern feel.

This move to simplicity is common in most interior design books right now.   Gone are the heavy, ornate pieces of furniture, replaced by simple, geometric designs, open spaces, and bright or calm colors.  This same design style is migrating into web design, particularly sites for home services companies.

All three of our newest sites, www.streamlinebydesign.us, www.gickoroofing.com and www.indyluxe.com were built in this modern style.  Each features a strong dominant graphic to attract the eye, simple navigation, web candy (calls to action)  in the side bar, and prominent contact information.  The sites were fun to build and we are looking forward to hearing about the results the see over the next few months.

Creative. Innovative. Organized.

Those can be three tough words to illustrate in one logo.  That was the challenge we took on in the design of a new logo for Streamline by Design.

Streamline by Design is a professional organizing company.   When Leslie, the owner, came to us, she just had a text treatment. We fleshed it out to create a true logo which she can use to build her brand across brochures, web, and all of her other collateral.

Although Leslie came to us with a specific vision, she liked shades of blue and boxes, she was also incredibly open to our ideas. We went back and forth with tweaks until we wound up with a logo she loved because it conveys the order that she brings to clients’  lives, but also a sophisticated and fun feeling.

The logo is really orderly, which is a big thing that Leslie wanted to do. The palette of blues is cool, but also give off a modern, professional air. The pattern of four squares in the logo also creates the idea of a “streamline,” which just reinforces her brand even more.

Both Leslie and all of us at Roundpeg are really happy with the outcome. I think this logo was successful because we took the time to sit down with Leslie and find out her preferences–serfied fonts, for instance–but also gently pushed her to stretch her horizons with new and interesting font choices. Through really getting to know the client, we struck a balance in her logo between the sleek lines and organization her logo needed to show, while still being soft and easy on the eyes.

Next, Jay is going to take the ball and help Leslie create the website of her dreams. Look out for more info on that soon.

The lesson for any small business owner looking to brand or re-brand their business: Invest the time to help the designer really get to know who you are and what your business wants to show the world.

Chicago & Indianapolis Web Design Challenge

At Roundpeg, many of the small business websites we design are fairly simple, containing a limited number of pages, and few forms.  Those websites are fun, because we can focus on graphics which will attract our clients customers, SEO strategies to drive traffic, and blogging strategy to help the small business owner round out their content.

From time to time, however, we are presented with a more complex challenge.  For example, Penn Real Estate with offices in both Indy and Chicago wanted to keep the two markets separate, yet offer a consistent look and feel across the divisions.   The Chicago division had their own website, but the Indy office did not.  Neither office had an official logo.

We started by creating a simple text treatment which could be used on the web site, and printed collateral.  Once the branding was established we were ready to tackle the site design.

To create a gateway to the individual city sites, we started with a simple landing page. With just enough text to position the company for key terms, visitors are immediately directed deeper into the site, to the Indy or Chicago sections.

Our client expects few changes to the main landing page, so we designed that as a simple HTML page.   The individual city sites are each designed in their own WordPress sub directory.

Some of the advantages of building sites this way include:

• The separate installations of WordPress allow us manage/edit the master landing page and sub-pages as if they were each individual sites.
• It is easier to customize SEO language for each target market, which aids in search rankings
• The two sites each have their own navigation and slightly different template

The use of multiple landing pages is something any company with more then one target markets should consider.  If your businesses are truly not interrelated, it helps compartmentalize your business.  This way you can deliver the most relevant information to visitors quickly.

Is this a good strategy for your next web redesign?  Call the web team at Roundpeg to find out!

At Roundpeg, we are big fans of WordPress.  It has allowed us to create a wide range of attractive and functional  websites for our small business clients.  In the past, we have built many of our custom templates using Artisteer, which made design almost as easy as point and click.   However, a new template 2010, which is part of the standard Wordprss 3.0 package is quickly becoming a favorite starting point for our designs.

Designed to be almost a blank canvas, we can switch from one, two or three column layouts with ease.  The text which sits above the masthead is ideal for new business owners who do not yet have a logo.  The banner graphic can be switched out with the touch of a button to create entirely different look and feels t0 the site.

Some other features of the 2010 theme:

• The ease with which large sections of the site can be changed. Beyond simply changing a banner we can now include colored backgrounds and custom graphics behind the text.   In the past we have had to switch to the FTP interface to change these graphics.  Now we can make the changes through the admin screen, making the tools more accessible to developers and non technical types.
• The addition of default footer widgets, which give users more places to supply relevant information or marketing material

As you can see from the two examples, (GetMarketWorks.com and DeStressExpress) the theme handles graphics, video and text beautifully.  Of course it helps to have a skilled graphic designer like Taylor, Sharayah or Heather on staff to pull it all together.

Have you worked with 2010?  What is your favorite part of this new theme?