Today’s customers are connected customers. They’re active on social media, they engage with the brands they love on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and other social platforms, and they’re always online whether they’re at a desktop or using their smartphones on the go.

Such an accessible audience is a dream come true for brands, but it’s also an opportunity for tremendous failure. Not only are today’s customers well-connected, but they have high expectations and plenty of access to research their options (aka your competitors) if your company falls short.

Let's start by making one thing clear: we love working with our clients to bring their brands to life. Whether we're approached to redesign an existing brand or to develop an identity for a new company, we welcome the opportunity to exercise our creative muscles. We want the finished result to be something everyone feels proud to display.

But when it comes to logo design, some argue that consensus has no place in the creative process.

All brands need to refresh their look from time to time. Old style elements fall out of favor, and even the best logos are left looking tired after decades of use. A new logo can reinvigorate a brand's entire image and set the tone to attract new customers.

Or, it can be a complete disaster.

They’re popping up all over our website! These cheeky hipsters are eager to learn more about web design, branding, user-experience, and how to market and grow their businesses. Flawlessly cool and endlessly social, the ImageWorks Hipsters add a dash of interactive fun to our fully responsive, new website.

Check out a few of our favorites and guess which are styled after actual employees!

This is a guest post contributed by Abby Perkins.

The job market is competitive, and that's not going to change. In order to attract and retain the best employees, businesses not only have to offer great benefits and provide a great place to work – they also have to know how to market themselves as employers.

These five companies have figured out what employees really want, and how to give it to them – as well as how to market themselves to the working world.

Google

Eggs have long been at the mercy of public opinion. They've transitioned from being a healthy breakfast food to being dangerously high in cholesterol to once again being seen as healthy in moderation. Your brand, too, can be a victim of public opinion. 

Below is a great article about how perception creates reality (from your customer’s viewpoint). How does this apply to your business? What do you customers think of your product and/or services? What do they think about your overall brand? You can find out by simply giving us a call at (800) 308-8573 x102 (Scott).

Branding is a double-sided coin. When you see a good brand, you know it. When you see a bad one, you know it. The constitution of a brand – the stuff that really gives it zest – is tough to pinpoint unless you have years of experience and a nose for the business.

Merriam-Webster tells us that “branding” is something you do to a cow with a hot iron, but in business, we have a very different definition.  BNET defines branding as:

In the early days of advertising, consistency was critical for brands that had their sights set on becoming household names.  Maintaining the same colors, logos, and styles in all of their ads was the best way for them to become recognizable and engage customers in a world that was almost exclusively print-based.