Brad McCall, designer - Beginnings of the Brand
So the year was 2000 and we had just launched into a new decade (and a new millenium) without too many Y2K headaches. Remember the Y2K buzz? I remember watching the news before that New Years Night and airports around the world were nearly empty for fears that planes would start crashing into each other when the New Year started. It seems silly now, but it was big business then.
Thrust into being Self-Employed (Kinda)
This was the year I became a freelance designer full-time. It was half by choice, and half forced into it. When the company that I had helped found, Gear Media, lost a couple of its partners, (one on good terms, the other not so good) the remaining partner and I had a heart-to-heart discussion about the future of the company. We both decided that we would not keep our doors open. We had a beautiful office, a great staff, a long list of portfolio clients who’d we’ve done work for… but after some big adventures (long story) my heart was no longer in it. So that’s when I decided it was a great opportunity to go at it alone.
The Dot Com era was still heating up… and people were inventing new concepts and launching new websites all over the place. Venture Capital money was flowing like water and business plans were napkins with coffee stains. I had 6+ good years of graphic design experience under my belt, a dedicated (though small) group of freelance clients with whom I had moonlighted along the way and so I decided I would go for it.
Choosing My Brand Name
So first things first. A name. I needed a business license, a website, a brand… holy cow (a Utahnism), but what should I call myself? The names I thought of back then seem a bit silly to me now, names that were based primarily on nicknames as a child or words that I thought had a cool sound to them. But then I thought what am I selling? And then the choice was easy - Brad McCall, designer became my company name.
Creating A Logo
My logo really came as a natural extension of everything being created at once. It first started with my favorite color, and then moved with my concept with being outside the office (working outside the “cubie”, being outside the “box”) and became a simple treatment of a block of orange. I used a combination of my favorite fonts at the time - Swiss 721 and Trade Gothic Condensed. (I am still VERY fond of these fonts, so they were lasting choices for me).
My stationery identity/business system was a bit unique as well:
What made it especially unique, is I did everything on a small budget. I went to a label manufacturer and had 3,000 one color square labels printed with my logo on it. I could use regular stationery paper and envelopes for my identity and use the glossy orange sticker to give them that high-end touch. I also used the logo stickers on any folders, CD media, or other items my clients would recieve from me.
I even went so far to make my signature style to wrap gifts in white paper and put my single orange sticker on the top when giving gifts to clients and friends. The business card I designed was simple (it gang-printed with my first promo and thank you card to save money) and an odd size (square). It had my logo on the front and my URL on the back. Since I’m not a big fan of phone calls, this was a perfect solution for me. It was printed uncoated so I could write whatever contact info it needed on it for its recipient.
The final items were my promo and website, but I’ll save those for another blog. The new website design is coming soon, and I’ll post comps when they’re ready. But another note on budget - my entire start-up costs including hiring a webprogrammer, having a promo printed and mailed, creating my business identity system was less that $1,000.