Your brand and how it’s perceived is a huge part what sets you apart from your competition. With the new year creeping around the corner, it’s important to take the time to ensure your brand is solid. Here are our top 5 key ingredients to make sure your business is looking its best in 2019.
1. Logo Your company’s logo is the most important identity whether you’re a startup or an established business. It is the first step in establishing brand recognition and will help you develop other valuable marketing pieces. When well designed, your logo can be used for years to come.
2. Business Cards Business cards are usually one of the first print materials you’ll want to stock up on. But isn’t print dead you ask? Not at all. If you spend time face-to-face with customers or network, business cards are still an important marketing tool. They are a key touch point for potential clients after you’ve met. Think simple, think creative and leave a lasting impression.
3. Website A well-optimized online presence is a must for companies today. You’ll want a website that reflects your brand and is user friendly. Also, your company’s site should absolutely be optimized for mobile. The goal here is to have a great running website that cuts through the digital noise.
4. Printed Marketing Collateral Depending on the type of business you’re in, printed materials like brochures and flyers ca be a great way to promote your products. Like your website and business cards, printed collateral should be cohesive with your brand and clearly speak to the intended audience.
5. Social Media Like a well functioning website, having a social media presence is also a must for most businesses today. Social media is a useful tool to engage with your customers. Social platforms can also be used to drive traffic and business to your website.
Missing any ingredients? Don’t stress. Get in touch with us at 5ingredients@designisyummy.com. We’ve got the goods to help you prepare your brand’s recipe.
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After 20 years, MasterCard decided it was time to simplify their logo and strip it down to the essentials. The logo and branding, designed by Pentagram, are a reflection of present day technology. Simplification in the visual elements, such as the lines within the negative space of the circles, were simplified for better optimization. The name MasterCard was moved beneath the emblem allowing the icon to be more versatile. The MasterCard text was changed to lowercase lettering. According to MasterCard CMO Raja Rajamannar, their intention of the lowercase lettering was to “signify that the card is just one type of payment. With the evolution that is happening [in digital payment], the card is no longer the most important element. We wanted to de-emphasize it, and so we’ve taken away the capital letter C.”

We’re digging the clean, modern revamp of the icon. The symbol can be echoed on any piece seamlessly, and we’re all about consistency. Check out more of the branding in the video below:

With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching, we thought we would start early on the whole “hearts” theme by sharing some business cards we designed recently for Santé Cardiovasculaire des Laurentides. Using warm, inviting shades of reds and purples, we kept the design clean and minimal. The logo (designed by yours truly as well!) adds to the inviting flare of the cards.

As our work schedule settles back to its normal pace after the holidays, we can’t help but think back to all the fun we had creating custom holiday materials for our clients over the past few months. Using different styles, mediums, sizes and finishes, we were able to personalize our clients’ marketing materials to achieve delicious, lasting impressions for their businesses.

Here are a couple of examples of our recent holiday work:

These fun inspirational posters and printed envelopes were created for Real Estate Agent Mark-André Martel from Sutton Group. The card starts with a simple illustration, followed by a personal message from the Martel Team and helpful real-estate advice for the new year. As the card opens, a beautiful typographic poster unfolds with an message that sparkles joy and inspiration during the season. We also designed a French version. Mais oui!

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Niskamoon Corporation was looking to give their clients and staff a more traditional card with their own flare. By taking advantage of a beautiful Northern landscape photograph, we created this tri-lingual corporate card that screams “Happy Holidays!”

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Autonomy Capital, a New York based investment company, wanted to get away from generic online card-making to create something more personalized. We were able to translate their idea into a classy holiday card with beautiful pattern and lettering.

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Sometimes paper isn’t the answer- especially if you’re promoting your company’s sustainable initiatives for 2016. Lovepac connected with their clients over the holidays and used the occasion to announce a new offering. Our team created the perfect image to honour their new environmentally friendly program.

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Holiday cards keep your company fresh in your customers minds during the coming new year. They help you keep your business relations on a personal level by giving you the opportunity to send a friendly “hey” and “thank you” to your customers without asking for anything in return.

Inspired by one of the oldest, historical shipbuilding yards in the United States Navy, our team was on board when it came to branding the nautical-themed restaurant in the historic Boston Navy Yard, Decca. Learn more about the Decca project here.


Cincinnati-based identity designer Adam Ladd made this video of his 5-year-old daughter’s impressions on big brand logos. Now that’s what I call market research.

Baby Toys!