Brand of Colors: 3C Marketing Group LLC

Brand of Colors: 3C Marketing Group LLC

Having worked with colleague Debbie Josendale as “expert columnist” in decorative painting for her  Bay Area Women’s Journal, I was thrilled to provide color consultation for her and Victor Brown‘s company: 3C Marketing Group LLC.

Deb knew that the green  in the initial color scheme of the 3C logo needed to be changed..but, to what?

3C is a wonderful marketing company that works with wonderful clients, and I was honored to “chime in” on the look of their site, as it were!

I started with an email communication with Deb, who I knew back in the days when we belonged to the same BNI (Business Network International)  Chapter in San Francisco.

I wrote, “I kept thinking about our discussion the other day, and  how I kept trying to find words to describe the unique and special quality that you have which encompasses wisdom, compassion, empathy, strength and maybe above all, powerful perceptiveness!

 I came up with “meeting people where they are“…as we discussed.  I feel this phrase goes a bit farther than “Taking people for who they are.”.  I feel you truly “meet” people, and their businesses on the ground upon which they stand. As regards to your business, of course, this means meeting businesses where they are, where they stand, (you know how we ask sometimes, “Where do you stand on …whatever subject or issue?”) at the exact moment that they engage your services.

Any business starts with a person, doesn’t it?  A person and their vision. needs, drives, and desires. So…to me, the resonant descriptor/phrase is still meeting people where they are, with dignity, grace, warmth, and an ever-ready sense of humor!!

You are truly one who has learned, grown and evolved through your own life experience, and is able to bring it to bear in your work and business.

I understand that all of this needs to be reflected in your branding, and visual identity, and I hope you find the following, and the whole of this consultation reflective  of the important words you used to describe what you want your colors, and total visual identity to communicate:  strength, creditability, dependability, growth,…. longevity, confidence, creativity, and fun!”

Having identified essence, I felt (some might even call it the “brand“) of 3C, I was ready to delve into their “color”brand…a component of their visual identity.  In essence, I needed to “see” 3C  the way they (Deb and Vic / the principals of the company)  saw themselves, and needed to be seen by existing and potential clients.  It was not just a matter of appearances, or even perception.  It was and is a matter of who they are and what their company is.

Based  upon my communication with Deb, my knowledge and understanding of the company, and my own color research combined with “gut feel” or “intuition, I knew the colors should be in the blue and green hue range.

Blue: A resonant, clear, clean but not overpowering blue, slightly grayed down, but with a touch of green in it, was recommended.  Not  a royal, indigo or purple blue, nor a teal sea, or green-blue, but a dignified and “solid” but not stolid (connoting reliability and dependability) blue that nevertheless has a bit of punch, personality and possibility to it- as it leans ever so slightly towards the green undertone. The addition of yellow into blue to create green adds that subliminal touch of lightness, luminosity, and relief from seriousness desired.  A slight ‘gunmetal” quality in the blue reassures that whatever the storm, relief lies ahead, with the guidance, expertise and MAP Marketing solutions of 3C Marketing Group LLC!

Green; The current green is too light, and “lime-like”. Recommended is a green lighter than the recommended blues, but deeper than the current, with greater depth, strength and resonance, but still fun, fresh, and bright, to add a certain relief to the sobriety and seriousness of the blue (which has a slight grayness /gravitas to it).  The recommended green hues have a slight earthiness (relating to growth, spring, plants, the earth rather than connotations of eatables such as limes and avocados). Although the green relieves, and plays “against’ the seriousness of the blue, it also works in tandem with it communicate the message of longevity, credibility, dependability, positivity, growth and creativity!  Related also to money: (“Greenbacks”), another, and necessary form of growth!

After reviewing these recommendations, Deb and Vic tried a number of reiterations / combinations of the suggested hues,

before settling on one that accented the teal green, framed and supported by the deep, clear blue. They wanted in Vic’s words, as I understood it, a bit “edgier” choice.

The 3C logo today

It is so gratifying to work with clients you truly admire and respect. Thank you Deb, Vic, and 3C Marketing Group LLC, for such a creatively colorFULL experience, and for trusting my skills with your colorfully creative endeavor!