Niche Agency Exclusive

How Deep Does Niche Agency's Dental
Logo Design Consulting Expertise Go?
By Dick Chwalek, Niche Agency Director

To get to the heart of our dental logo design capabilities, I asked Dr. Palmore of Pinson, Alabama and his wife Jeani to let me provide a sneak peak at the process of developing their logo. I have put together some of the details involved in development of their logo. These are notes and correspondences we presented to the Palmores.

PLUS you will be able to LINK to actual initial designs, their FINAL dental logo and the preliminary designs of their practice communication image package.

Please feel free to call Dr. Palmore or Jeani to inquire about Niche Agency: 205-681-0459.

OUTLINE: DENTAL LOGO EXPERTISE...

Background
Niche Agency Logo Background & Development Process
Your Dental Logo Development Choices

VIEW actual dental logo designs during development

1st Round
2nd Round
Chosen Design

Dental Logo Colorization
Revision: Round One
Revision: Round Two
Dental Logo Finalization

Dental PCM Image Package Design (See preliminary/final designs)
Final Thoughts About Design & Designer Viewpoint
Conclusion: Dental Logos Development

BACKGROUND

The Palmores are moving their practice and building a new structure because of flood damage. While Dr. Palmore provides many of the same services most dentists do, his emphasis has changed significantly over the last few years. He wants to be proactive, recommending health strategies that will give his patients lifelong oral health. His enhanced expertise in full-mouth reconstruction and neuromuscular dentistry are complemented by his artistic smile design skills.

His new practice name, The Dental Health Center, reflects his comprehensive focus without removing the potential for presenting the resulting "beauty elements" of his expertise. He didn't want to be perceived as ONLY a "cosmetic dentist" to current patients or others in the small community he practices in.

We felt anything based on "cosmetic" would be somewhat pretentious without significant education. The "health" concept seemed to be a more favorable avenue to take initially. It was better to create a large platform for marketing than to narrow his image and scare off general patients.

In a larger community, where more intense competition was splitting up the "dental branding pie", there might be reasons to stake out a territory more specifically.

We also thought his dental logo would create the impression of elegance and beauty that could effectively advance the cosmetic dentistry element of his expertise. Changing his image could cause confusion, but the change is made easier by his "forced move" (because of flooding) to a brand new, updated facility.

Therefore, the community and current patients will expect some altered elements. However, the image change shouldn't directly alienate the current loyal base or advance confusing messages in the community.

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NICHE AGENCY LOGO BACKGROUND & DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

We have extensive expertise in dental logo development guidance and design. Niche Agency is a full service dental advertising agency: Exclusively Dental, Extensively Qualified. We develop custom designs: absolutely nothing off the shelf. Of course, some clients choose a dental logo or design style that is reminiscent of something else.

Besides working with me, Dick Chwalek, as your consultant, guide and liaison, you are interviewed by Matt, our designer that has years of experience in dental logo development. I do the foundational interview after you fill out our Dental Logo Development Form.

The interview process is a very good example of how we set ourselves apart. The Dental Logo Development Form and interview pinpoint the "location and identity" of your image, and the artwork necessary to depict it.

This level of pre-planning helps our team and you avoid going in an unfruitful direction. We now also offer three dental logo development choices so you can pick the best format to get the design you want.

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DENTAL LOGO DEVELOPMENT CHOICES

BASIC Dental Logo Development
This is our lowest cost dental logo design format, but still custom. Yes, this dental logo design option has restrictions, but for custom design it is a great value. Plus choose an extra image material design*.

STANDARD Dental Logo Development
This dental logo option gives you a chance to go in various directions and still regroup if your concept changes during the process. This is our most popular dental logo design choice. Plus we will get your marketing off the ground with complimentary dental consulting.

DELUXE Dental Logo Development
This is about freedom and absolute refinement. If you want aren't comfortable with design restraints, this is the route to take. You also receive a healthy dose of dental marketing consulting with this option. Plus we throw in more dental image material designs than the standard package.

IMAGE COMMUNICATION MATERIAL Package
Business Card, Letterhead and #10 Envelope*

*Each dental logo choice includes the three image materials designs noted above. Standard and Deluxe logo design include more materials than the basic package. (See additional choices below. Depending on complexity, other designs can be included) Create an image that stands out, respects your expertise and evokes the value you want your patients to have for your dental services: Call us @ 866-453-1026 or Request a QUOTE here...

• Dental Signage
• Appointment card
• Notepad
• Note card
• Fold over card
• A6 envelope
• Mailing label
• Recare/Recall Card
• Second sheet
• Employee business cards

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1ST ROUND*

Sometimes each unique dental logo design will look totally different in the first round. However, most of the time our interview process and discovery sheet give us a very good target in the first round.

Dr. Palmore was presented with 5 original dental logo designs (see link below). You will notice he was still making decisions on his name, which finally became "The Dental Health Center".

A) The "fish" imagery comes from his Christian faith, which he wanted presented in some fashion.

B) The "P" script font represented his last name and Pinson and the artistry of his expertise.

C) The "arch" imagery reflects his new building design, the strength of his expertise, and the uplifting effect of his dentistry on patients.

1st Round dental logo designs can be viewed here...

*We do not introduce color into the design until the basic imagery is solidified. Dr. Palmore's agreement is similar to our Intermediate option.

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2ND ROUND*

After seeing the first round, Dr. Palmore started to see more clearly his need to change how he presented his image.

A) He decided "Pinson" made his brand too local, so in this round we focused on two concepts: Palmore Dental Health Center and The Dental Health Center.

B) Both Jeani (his wife) and Dr. Palmore thought the "P" still made sense in this round.

C) They also thought the "fish" should not overpower the logo. It should be effectively presented but shouldn't "be the logo".

View the concepts here...

Also in the 2nd Round, Dr. Palmore introduced a concept he wanted us to develop:

A) His connection with LVI, which also has columns in their design -- (LVI = Las Vegas Institute of Advanced Dental Studies)

B) And the Golden Proportions concept (An equilibrium of beauty)

View LVI columns & GP concepts here...

*We do not introduce color into the design until the basic imagery is solidified. Dr. Palmore's agreement is similar to our Intermediate option.

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CHOSEN DESIGN

Dr. Palmore decided the multi-column design best represented all his concepts effectively.

A) Notice how his Christian faith (the fish) supports everything without being overbearing.

B) He thought his last name shouldn't be presented in the "imagery". He didn't want his last name to limit his brand. Palmore limited his ability to co-brand with a partner or transfer his brand when he retired.

C) The arches between the columns matched the front of his new building

D) The multi-column design worked for both his LVI columns and the Golden Proportions concept.

E) Dr. Palmore also provided us with his building design drawings (which weren't available before). However, after looking at the drawings, we felt the "final" design reflected the building sufficiently. The logo was developed to focus on the type of dentistry he wants to provide not the architecture of his building. However, arches can be found in the building design over the entrance and windows near the entrance. Dr. Palmore agreed with this assessment.

View concepts here...

****Matt, the designer is also concerned that the font size is disproportional to the artwork above so he made this change, which was accepted.

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COLORIZATION

Because Dr. Palmore decided on a final design early in the process, we went straight to the colorization process. In Pre-planning for Logo Development Dr. Palmore said he preferred the colors of eggplant purple and gold, so we started with these colors. In this stage, Matt also reduced the proportion of the name to the imagery, which gave more clout to the imagery artwork.

A) The simplicity of this design makes it jump off the page.

B) The purple color seems to offer the most value: the gold seems to fade away too quickly.

View the colorized versions here...

Designer input from Pre-Planning Notes: Some secondary colors talked about were a cobalt blue, which would look just as striking as the purple. Blue is a very common color used in many identities so they may want to stay away from that to differentiate their practice. The other color was a crimson (blood) red, which I would highly recommend them not using in this design for psychological reasons.

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REVISIONS: ROUND ONE

Developing dental logos is a process that needs to be flexible to some extent. While your agreement might differ from this one, we will do our best to work within the agreement to succeed.

Dr. Palmore really liked the basic design, but on a trip to LVI during the process he saw the columns at Caesar's Palace and wanted his logo to replicate some of their grandeur and elegance. Since the basic design would remain the same, we proceeded with a Revision Round. Usually, revisions will fall in between the "Unique Design" phase and the "Colorization" phase.

A) Notice the gold bordering on one version, which generates some strength.

B) The shading of colors also created some depth.

C) The columns and ridges version brings forth the elegance and grandeur.

D) The gold oval border is also a prominent aspect in this revised design.

Link to the 1st Round revisions here...

--- Matt also created a reversed colorized image below for each.

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REVISIONS: ROUND TWO

The Palmores refined their revisions down to a few key aspects.

A) They liked the gold bordering in the arches.

B) They liked the gold ridges in the columns.

C) They want the eggplant/purple to be the background

D) They liked the gold shading in the arches.

E) They also wanted to see the gold oval bordering.

***You will notice that Matt has moved the practice name off of the artwork/imagery. It did not make sense to cover the design once the design started to fill out: the column ridges and the bordering on the oval.

We presented a group of past designs and current revisions so they could make their final choice.

View that group of revisions here...

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DENTAL LOGO FINALIZATION

The Palmore's decided they only needed one more change. The logo is exactly like one of the previous designs in Revision: Round One. Except, they wanted to remove the gold bordering around the oval.

A) The final dental logo without the oval border creates an open concept.

B) The arches now seem to extend and shine into white infinity like a beam of light.

C) This could symbolize the unbounded confidence created by Dr. Palmore's expertise.

View Finalized Dental Logo here...

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PCM IMAGE PACKAGE DESIGNS

The Palmore's have also chosen their Dental Practice Communication Materials (PCM). Here is a preview of their PCM:

Sample 1 • Sample 2 • Chosen PCM

****These PCM designs have a bleed pattern, which creates a very powerful look. However, bleeds require more paper, which often means it will cost more to print. Because the ink "bleeds" off the page the envelopes need to be unfolded when printed - this also makes printing costs go up. The Palmores are not going with a bleed on the envelopes.

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FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT DESIGN & DESIGNER VIEWPOINT

There are many ways to develop a dental logo. Possibly you would have gone a different direction.

For a perspective on what might have been and the reality that you probably have different tastes in a dental logo, I thought you might want to know what our designer was thinking all the while trying to give the client what they want. While we never push a design on anyone, we will provide our input, guidance and expertise so you get the best logo design possible.

The concepts noted below (and above) were all presented to the Palmores to help them make a decision.

From Matt:

The purple/eggplant is a very regal and exclusive color. The gold color would be nice if printed with metallic ink. Just a thought to get the fish icon foil embossed or printed with a special ink to give it a special place in any design. Of course, it can always be printed in black (with or without shading), when needed. This is now a three-color logo: purple, black and gold. Three-colors can often cost more to print than a traditional two-color logo.

I still like the original logos the best (the purple on white, especially). The silhouettes just seem to pop out at you and the "simple" shape is very intriguing and eye catching. On all the other logos the copy needed to move down below the icon as everything got muddled when the copy overlapped the icon.

Keep in mind that the logos online are very large compared to the size they will be on a business card or even a newspaper ad printed in black and white. That is one of my concerns with the more detailed logos. You can see the details just fine now, but what happens when it gets printed an inch wide at newspaper quality? You're going to be missing a lot. This is another reason I like the purple on white or gold on white dental logos.

A simple dental logo design is often very striking and more easily understood even at the smallest sizes and the lowest resolutions.

Matt's main tenet in developing logos is that the logo is the jumping off point for your designs - it states concisely your image - and then when you develop ads, or folders or a Web site you expand the concept.

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CONCLUSION

As you can tell in the notes above, the Palmores developed their dental logo concept beyond Matt's basic recommendations. Yet, the design is still striking and elegant. The only right answer is the dental logo that suits you best.

For the record, I liked a version that was in between what Matt likes and the Palmores settled on. It has the gold ridges on the column, but no shading in the arches and no bordering on the arches. However, the client received what they wanted while at the same time receiving creative input they could react to and implement or reject. This guidance creates real acceptance and means you can proceed to other design materials with confidence.

Please feel free to call Dr. Palmore or Jeani to inquire about Niche Agency: 205-681-0459.

Call us at 866-453-1026 or Request a QUOTE here...
Remember, we offer a very special Image Package deal, which is the same no matter which dental logo design option you choose:

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