Some make small purchases on the strength of a logo, like: Coke, Kleenex, Starbucks.
The same is true for larger product investments like: Apple, BMW, Nikon. Often, the familiarity of a product, based on its recognizable symbol alone, is enough for repeat selection.
Yet, is the same true for professional services and business decisions? How important is a company’s logo when selecting a business partner to trust –especially when the business partner’s logo will be hidden from the public to make way for the client’s?
“In a world that is bewildering in terms of competitive clamor, in which rational choice has become almost impossible, brands represent clarity, reassurance, consistency, status, membership – everything that enables human beings to help define themselves. Brands represent identity,” says Wally Olins in On Brand.
That’s why when Gwen Griffin-Harmon and Marla L. Blanton started Peace & Harmony Solutions, Inc. in 2010, a full service marketing communications firm, they wanted a meaningful mark to convey their brand essence. They found it rooted in a West African symbol.
Called Fawodhodie, from the expression, “fawodhodie ene obre na enam,” it means “independence comes with responsibilities.”
The FAWOHODIE symbol of independence is on the left and the Peace & Harmony logo, which echoes the Fawodhodie symbol, is on the right.
The women articulate their firm’s brand promise as providing and implementing solutions in a harmonious, collaborative and responsible manner.
Gwen and Marla adapted the symbol and selected the soothing green palette because, “the colors are calming yet vibrant,” Gwen says. “We think the colors are fresh enough to be considered contemporary, yet strong and professional to represent the combined years of experience that Marla and I have…in other words, a new company with an established look.”
“And the harmony aspect of our company resonates with our backgrounds in both graphic design and entertainment,” Marla adds.
The symbol drew a strong positive response recently from Chicago Internet marketers not only for its colors and back story, but for its meaning about how the work actually gets done. “It’s not just about selling, it’s about what the client can expect in terms of a working relationship,” offered one marketer after hearing of the symbol’s origins.
While business means commerce, in Peace & Harmony’s case, it also means a co-creative approach that stems from the owners’ natural curiosity and creativity that assists clients, such as schools and other not-for-profits, to focus on their core competencies.
We hope our logo an extension of our brand reflects our creativity and fearlessness – as we lead small businesses to take their first steps with us, to team, customize, minimize worries, and get results,” say Gwen and Marla. The logo represents our passion to keep schools, non-profits and small businesses relevant in the communities they serve, they add.
All this summed up in the green Fawodhodie mark.
Get started with a new logo or customized project by contacting info@peaceand harmonysolutions.com.
Written by Chicago-area writer Linda Bosy. Reach her at Lindabosy@gmail.com