2016 has already brought plenty of changes to Killer Infographics — and the year’s not over yet. Ever in pursuit of being the best brand we can be, we decided it was time for a new logo, one that would better represent where we are and where we’re headed in the years to come. To celebrate, we sat down with our Art Director, Chris Munroe, to ask him a few questions about the journey from old to new.
Q: What sparked the push for a new logo?
A: What sparked the push was the company’s new direction — towards campaigns and bigger projects, as opposed to just one-off infographics. I think we need to advance the company since we’re advancing our offerings. We didn’t want something that would pigeonhole us — which the last logo did. It was just an exploded pie chart (or a coxcomb graph, as it’s technically called). We wanted to move away from that and focus more on the broader range of offerings we have.
Q: How did you decide what kind of logo would best represent the company?
A: We wanted to take our clients into consideration — a diverse range of clients. We didn’t want to focus on one specific thing that could isolate any particular one. I think that’s part of why we landed on the approach we did. It’s kind of an abstract approach, so you can take from that what you want. A client could look at it and maybe apply their own meaning to it.
Q: How did you go about the ideation process?
A: This has been the most in-depth process we’ve ever had for our logo. We started with an initial session with all our designers where we decided on the goals of the logo, what the logo should represent, what it should look like, criteria for it, its limitations. Then we had an hour-long sketch session based on that, and looked for recurring themes. We brought the sketches into the computer, started vectorizing things, seeing what was possible and what looked good with those little elements that kept recurring. The exec team helped us whittle everything down to two main directions to follow.
Q: How did you collaborate with other members of the design team?
A: Like I just mentioned, that initial sketch meeting was important. And after that, I wanted to keep the designers looped in. I wanted it to be a collaborative group effort with many creative minds on it. I was trying to get feedback along the way from as many designers and as many people as I could — even people that aren’t in the industry. I’d say, “Hey, what appeals to you, why do you like this approach over this approach?” I showed designers at Adobe MAX. I just tried to get as many opinions as possible.
Q: Was this version the clear winner, or was there a runner-up that almost stole the show?
A: We got down to those two different options at the end of everything. And it was kind of obvious which direction we needed to go in, but it was tough, because the other direction was so visually pleasing — it was really iconic and memorable. But it didn’t accomplish all the goals we needed the new logo to accomplish. So we had to go the other direction, which everyone seems to be pretty happy with, anyway. I can’t say it was a close call, but it made it more challenging because everyone liked that other approach as well.
Q: Can you explain a bit about what this logo says to you? How do you interpret its meaning?
A: I can see a lot of things happening in it. I think the main thing is that it distills three complex things into a very simple approach. I see it as three basic shapes all depending on each other and all interacting with each other in a cohesive way, which I project our offerings onto — motion, interactive, and static. I also see movement in it, which is kind of a nod to our interactive and motion projects. I want to interact with this logo. If I’m not looking at it, my eyes are drawn into it. There’s also the idea of six, which is based on our six core values. We have two triangles with six points.
Q: Can you tell us a little about Killer’s past logos? How did the creation of this logo differ from previous iterations?
A: Our past logos were a depressing affair. They never got the time they deserved for how important a logo is. I know the first one was way, way too literal, a very literal approach to the word “killer.” We even had a blood splatter theme going on, which didn’t last too long. Then we got a little bit more serious and moved toward the circular chart with Seattle in the middle. We got by on that one for a little bit, and then we realized we needed something more clean and simple. I think our last logo was true to the kind of company we used to be, but not the company we are now.
Q: Why is a great logo — and great branding in general — so important?
A: Being memorable and being visible. Obviously there’s a lot more about branding than just a logo — I mean, that’s a small facet of it — but it creates an association, something that clients can remember and identify easily. It’s a cohesive approach. When you use it for all your collateral, your brand becomes recognizable.
