Brand Development &
Graphic Design

You have a brand ... whether you like it or not. Whether it’s official or not. Strong or not. Just like character, it’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room.

Brand is both organic and built. It’s your history, how you do business, and the content of your corporate culture. But it can also be aspirational. An effective brand is instructive ... it provides your people with a golden standard of how you do business. You can shape it through purposeful planning and visioning. Think of it like genetic engineering ... without all the controversy.

At Griffin Communications, we go beyond the surface and into the DNA and roots of your business. Deeper than eye-catching logos, colours and typography, we capture the spirit of the business and build creative channels and experiences for your clients to develop authentic relationships with your people, products, and services.

SERVICES

Creative Delivery

Visual identity and logo

Leave an imprint. Define and separate yourself from the competition with distinctive visual identifiers, including logos, colours, typography, and visual standards that ensure your brand is consistent, clear, and impactful.

Creative Delivery

Brand messaging

Experts agree that brand is more than a logo. It’s your history, mission, vision, values, and the stories that capture who you are and what you promise. Our process captures key sentiments at the leadership level down to the frontlines to ensure the brand we develop both shapes and reflects who you are and where you want to go.

Creative Delivery

Brand and marketing plan

You defined it. Now get it out. A strategy will carry your brand past the boardroom and onto the lips and minds of people ... staff, customers, influencers, the community, the media, and whoever else impacts success.

Creative Delivery

Marketing material

Take a world of infinite possibilities and narrow them into meaningful frames in which people can see themselves. Booklets, posters, ads, flyers, brochures, promotional products ... these are intentional pieces of you. Your people. Your product and services. The world through your lens.

Creative Delivery

Document layout

Punch outside the grid. When it comes to newsletters, reports, magazines and booklets, half the story is your words. But layout is how content is served. It determines whether words leap off the page and into the minds of readers. It's the strategic use of information graphics, photos, white space, and other methods of organizing content.

Experience

Laurie has helped several small and medium businesses establish fresh new brands, logos, visual standards guidelines, marketing collateral, and more. Laurie also provided regular newsletter design and layout for a major Calgary retailer and has developed numerous pieces of marketing collateral, infographics, and advertisements (including C-train ads for the Calgary Health Region) in support of a range of client mandates. In her spare time Laurie develops original illustrations and vectors using Adobe Illustrator.

Case study 1: Rebranding IABC/Calgary

Laurie has led two major rebranding initiatives (one in 2007 and another again in 2016) with her professional association, the International Association of Business Communicators Calgary Chapter. These initiatives included the development and customization of Calgary chapter logos, visual identifiers, and marketing material as well as a significant social media roll-out strategy. Laurie continues to be called upon for branding guidance and expertise with the local chapter.

Case study 2: Foundational brand messaging for oil and gas services firm

Laurie developed and co-chaired a branding workshop with an oil and gas services company to establish foundational organizational messages, including the organization's mission, vision, values, and core messages. Laurie then conducted focus groups to identify gaps between the resulting messages and employee and customer perceptions and experiences. This allowed for optimal internal brand buy-in and ambassadorship.

Case study 3: Branding a corporate social responsibility program

An oil and gas company needed a brand and tagline for their CSR program to rally employee participation around their community investment initiatives. Laurie was asked directly for her ideas and used her knowledge of the company through previous communication planning projects to quickly design a family of concise, catchy taglines and messages that resonated with leaders and staff. They continue to use these taglines for various CSR programs in place today.