My Role
Designer. I collaborated with another designer on this exploration, but below are my contributions only (with the exception of the color, which came from the other designer, and the company name change, which came from a board member).
The Problems
Our company logo was, in the eyes of its two designers, was neither aesthetically appealing nor did it represent our brand identity by evoking the emotions and ideas our company stands for.
Our company's core brand adjectives are "trusted" and "friendly." Pointy angles do not evoke friendliness.
Our color palette is muddy (too dark and desaturated), which is neither modern nor "friendly" and doesn't fit comfortably on the web.
The logo is visually busy, with an abundance of lines, shapes, and angles. The wireframe style has, in my opinion, a weaker presence than a solid shape.
The existing iconography of a lighthouse and a mountain range
Nothing in the logo or name evokes what we do.
The Constraints
Heritage. The company was founded in the shadow of the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. The company later moved to a coastal down in Washington that sported a lighthouse.
Name. Sawtooth Software enjoys incredible brand recognition in the field of market research. Changing the name from "Sawtooth" is out of the question.
The Solution
Look for a solid shape with a simple silhouette.
Nix the lighthouse but keep the mountains, which keeps the earlier heritage and keeps the iconography cohesive with the company name.
Replace "Software" with "Analytics," allowing us to keep the brand recognition while getting closer to more clearly communicating what we do. Jury's still out if this is a good idea.
The Result
This project is still underway, but the logo that has received the most positive response is this one:
