INSIGHTS 5-MINUTE EXPERT » 5-Minute Expert Your recruiters may have implemented


a well-crafted application online, but do they know how effective it really is? How many applicants who start the process actually finish it? Where and why do they abandon the application? Is it too lengthy, frustrating, or just plain difficult to complete? Marketers have experience with converting users—whether it involves making an online purchase, gaining new followers on social media, acquiring an email address, or increasing newsletter open rates. By knowing where you might be losing candidates in the application process, your HR team can close the gaps and convert more of them. To help drive candidates down the applications funnel, marketing professionals can also help their HR colleagues create a branded career page that not only appeals both visually and in brand voice, but also uses SEO and keywords that help job postings appear prominently in searches. Only when you’ve garnered the attention of the candidates you hope to attract can you begin to tell them the story of why they might want to work for you. “Candidates today don’t want to just show up and do the same thing over and over again for a company they don’t care about, so explaining why you’re different is important, and marketing people really know how to tell that story,” Wakefield says. “And the context of the role is crucial. You need to tell candidates how the position fits into the company and then how the company fits into the world or the market in a certain way, and telling that story allows candidates to see the meaning in their potential work.” 


Arnold Fishman Design Director, Lipman Hearne, Chicago IL


Q&A with Arnold Fishman


How do you approach a logo design project?


Develop a list of questions concerning various criteria that affect the choice of the components of the solution. The answers will put the identity into a defined set of parameters, like the framework of a house. It will keep the client honest about what they are really looking for (since there are hundreds of ways to solve an identity issue, and all could be reasonably correct). It will also keep the designer from making serious errors in judgment or spending huge amounts of time redoing items over miscommunicated expectations.


Are you seeing any trends in logo design?


Complex has been done. A return to simplicity and minimalism, with simple and bold twists on reality, is resonating with consumers. There needs to be a rule: No more swashes. No more orbits. No more rings!


What should a client expect to receive from their designer?


Define this up front with your designer. The normal deliverable should be a vector-based file, which is scalable to infinity. Typographic solutions should always be delivered as paths and not as genuine typography. (A version of the identity should always be kept by the designer, who holds the initial typography intact as a reference for future needs or for future refreshing.) Full-color identities should be provided, with PMS as a


standard deliverable and with hex colors provided in RGB. Logos should be shown on white grounds, as well as reversed out of color, with a small graphic identity usage guide of all logo colors and variations, font usage, etc.


How much time should a client allow for the design process?


One month minimum, from the time of initial meetings to the first presentation of concepts.


Two to three months total time for small- to medium- sized projects.


What should a designer understand about a company before designing a logo?


The location or locations; the meaning of the company name; how many owners of the company there are; the primary product or products that the client sees as defining the company; what segment of the market the company wants to be strongest in; what type of client character the company wants to have as their ideal customer; how the logo is going to be displayed (print, web, clothing, embroidered, metal, decal, engraved, etc.).


In summary:


Identity should be long in wear, which is why identities need to be timeless and well thought out. It’s much better to change website experiences on a regular two- to three-year basis, taglines 5 to 10 years, identities 15 to 25 years or longer, depending on the likely lifespan of the company. But developing a brand’s identity is an investment and should be done right the first time.


Spring 2016


05


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