Uproar Blog

Rebrand

We launched Uproar in an instant.  We incorporated, threw up a web site, and started building software.  This is the right way to start a company. A lot of people start things; be they companies, blogs, clubs, or bands; by making a logo, choosing colors, writing mission statements and business plans, and yada yada yada.  Those are the wrong things to focus on when you’re starting something.

Once we got our first product out the door and people started paying attention, then we knew it was time to put our efforts back into the company.  So we’ve recently relaunched the Uproar brand.

When it comes to building a company and a brand, you get a lot of do-overs.  That’s one of the reasons you don’t need to spend your first burst of energy creating a logo.  But there is one thing that is very hard to mulligan, and we got very lucky because we hit a home run on it: the business name.  We’re very proud of the name Uproar and we’ve had nothing short of 100% positive feedback on it.  If you don’t love the name Uproar, please leave a comment – I need knocked off my high horse.

Since we got step 1 right, we started looking at options for colors, a logo, and our brand.

Type & Icon

The new Uproar logo is both typographic and symbolic (not to be confused with iconographic).  I love typography, so I wanted to use a strong, identity building typeface for Uproar.  I chose Gloriola by Suitcase Type Foundry.  Gloriola serves Uproar well because it is a strong, modern, but classy typeface which will stand the test of time and comes in a variety of versatile weights.

Although there are some very good examples of type-only logos (or logotypes), such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Google, and id software, I wanted to have a logo that included a graphical element that could be used in isolation as an icon, an avatar, etc.  Examples of logos like this are NBC, 37signals, and Pepsi.

We went through a lot of different iterations on our logo (I’ll post a design exploration if anyone is interested – leave a comment or @ me on twitter).  We wanted something that represented our personalities and really paid off a name like Uproar.  We went with fire and landed on an illustrated flame which I quite like.  This simple shape works at many different sizes, in 1 color, 2 color, or full color, and it gives the right first impression.

Versatility

Versatility was very important to me with the Uproar logo.  The type can work on its own if needed.  ”Uproar” in Gloriola all by itself still carries our brand quite well.  Likewise, the flame by itself is a memorable graphic element that evokes our brand image.  This versatility lets us span the Uproar brand consistently across all media, be it a business card, t-shirt, web site, favicon, avatar, bumper sticker – you name it.  You won’t see the Uproar brand looking out of place. That versatility reinforces the brand of thoughtful, flexible, resilient software that we build.

Pictures of real people

Uproar’s biggest challenge is that no one knows about us.  We don’t have industry notoriety of our founders to rely on (yet).  Therefore, it’s very important that someone’s first impression of Uproar is that we’re a couple of real people — real professionals — not just a web site.  I asked my friend, and amazing photographer/designer, Josh Okun to take our picture.  It turned out great – thanks Josh!

What do you think?  Is having our picture on the homepage a positive or a negative?

Simple, direct message

Also because we’re new, we wanted to have a direct and clear message that describes what Uproar is about.  We sat down one day to talk through what we think sets Uproar apart. The exercise revealed that we combine design and engineering to create an overall best-of-class experience for the user.  This goes beyond just getting a good designer and a good programmer.  Doing this effectively means that all members must be able to significantly contribute to that unison.  It is the nuanced and experienced manner in which we meld these two things together — to the point where they do not exist in isolation during the build process or the final product — that we want to convey.  Do you see how hard that is to explain?  We explained it with a simple infographic that employs the philosophy itself:

This equation is our story.  In Seth Godin‘s book All Marketers Are Liars, he teaches you to tell stories about your company or product.  Good stories get retold; they endure; and they are pervasive.  Stories are way more effective than ads.

Recency

The final, but possibly most imporant thing we did on the homepage was to include “recency.”  We have our blogs titles, tweets, and most recent work on the homepage.  In my experience there are a lot of small business web sites out there that look nice, but you get the idea they were created over a year ago and the company might not even still be operating any more.  This is a “first impression” play, but it’s even more important on the second impression.  If you’re lucky enough that someone comes back to your web site, then you have a chance to show them that you’re an active and vibrant company.  You have the tools to do this — Twitter, blogs, etc. — so you’d better feature them on your homepage!

What could be better?

We could easily tweak this for weeks or months longer, but a small business needs to be quick and deliberate.  We designed a logo, shot photography, built a site, and launched it all.  It was a lot of work, but I’m pleased that we go it done in a timely manner.  Looking at the site now, there are things that could be better.  Most notably, the links in the lower-right corner of the photo don’t stand out nearly enough (unless you’re on the iPhone-specific version).

I want to hear your feedback.  What could be done better?  What do you think we did well?  Finally, if you made it all the way down through this post then you’re a trooper – thank you for reading.  @ me on twitter and tell me your favorite part of this post and we’ll get you a redeem code for Gratuitous.  I know you already have it, but you can give it to a friend or loved one