Finding the Right Brand Image

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A brand logo is a difficult thing to get right and it has been a long journey to get to the point where I have now found something I am happy with. And this is the result of the hard work by John Rourke Creative.


The journey started three years ago when I needed a separate brand identity for MacLean Photographic from my PR business MacLean Communications but it also had to reflect the fact that the photography side of my business was an extension of, and not separate to, the PR business - as a professional photographer it was an extra service I could offer my clients.

In 1996, when I set up MacLean Photographic and Sporting Images, the first logo I adopted was a MacLean tartan background with a big 'M' in a old fashioned font.  I don't have an electronic copy of that logo in my files but it was too complicated and too fussy, but at the time I didn't know any better.


Fast forward to 2009 and the new logo was a take on the existing MacLean Communications logo, using the same font but with the colours changed to a more photographic feel (ie black and white). The addition of a silhouette of a White Tailed Sea Eagle I took on the Isle of Mull added a theme that was personal to me (ie wildlife photography).


I was happy with this logo until the start of this year but I was beginning to feel that I wanted something a little more 'snappy'.  I started to play around with some ideas and eventually settled on an oval theme with a new font to give more of a vintage feel that would reflect the old fashioned values that the service I offers reflects.  I included the date '1996' to underline the fact I have been in the business for 17 years.

I lived with this logo for a few days before making it live. The reviews I received were mixed, with many feeling it was a little too old fashioned for the style of photography I was producing.  This resulted in a major rethink and a call to John Rourke Creative to discuss the possibility of designing something for me.


The discussions went along the lines of 'keep it simple' and 'it has to be personal, there has to be a reason for  the logo'.  As MacLean is my Scottish family name and I'm proud of my heritage, it had to be something that reflected this.  I remembered visiting the MacLean Cross on Iona and seeing the celtic knots carved into the worn stonework and I decided this was the symbol I was looking for.  John recommended a simple font (the fonts I had been experimenting with were a bit 'left field') and we settled on Gill Sans.

 A late night pushing ideas backwards and forwards and I had a new logo that is just stunning and something I will be proud to show to clients and the rest of the world.

 For more information on John Rourke Creative and the service they offer visit their FB page here or email John at info@johnrourke.co.uk 
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ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND JOHN ROURKE CREATIVE AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION

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