The Decade logo has been in use since Kevin started the company. It looks no more dated now than logos of other start-ups of the day. In fact, Microsoft's 1976 disco letters will make you dizzy if you stare at them long enough.
When Decade made plans to retire Envision—likely the most well-known software in the United States for regulating environmental health—and launched EnvisionConnect, we worked hard to be cutting-edge, partnering with Microsoft and leveraging the latest and greatest of their tools.
When we began building our new web presence, Kevin and I discussed the same goal. We wanted the site to be sanctioned by our customers, while reflecting the intuitive, forward-thinking philosophy that guided EnvisionConnect.
Unfortunately, any design I considered using clashed with the company logo.
No problem, I thought, I have graphics training. I'll just grab some books and find out what goes into a good logo design.
I discovered that a great logo should:
- Look as good in black and white as in color.
- Look as good small as large.
- Hint at what you want people to feel about your brand or brand values.
- Make people think of your company without reading the words.
- Be simple, yet memorable and describable.
It seemed to me that our current logo looked:
- Rough around the edges.
- Inconsistent in different incarnations.
- Unpolished by today's standards.
None of these three phrases describe EnvisionConnect, and none describe what we want customers to think of Decade Software Company, LLC.
I went to work, experimenting with various ideas, using the rules above, until I found a look that I felt was presentable to the Decade user community.
In the design, I still wanted to use a shade of teal, and I wanted some form of blocks in a "D" based emblem—thinking nostalgia would trigger memories in those who knew the old logo.
At the same time, I wanted a logo that looked as good in solid colors as in modern "Web 2.0 style" 3D.
Since staff and customers rarely say "Decade Software" and never say "Decade Software Company" or "Decade Software Company, LLC," I believed that "Decade"—how everyone actually refers to us—should stand-out more than the rest of our legal name.
And finally, I wanted the logo to "say" software symbolically, so I subtly overlaid the universal mouse cursor. This works as the professionals say brands with common names should always use a unique symbol and/or distinctive typography to bring the name to life.
Most who commented on the logo loved it, but some just thought any change was bad, and at least one thought that the logo should change but not to the one I designed...and so the debate continues months later.
Sometimes, I wish Kevin had left me to oiling my flywheel. Growing a team is less stressful than growing a company.
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