Designing a New Logo for RaiseMe: A Case Study
How research and collaboration paved the way for inspiration and a company-wide consensus
Less than six months after joining RaiseMe as a Senior Product Designer, I was tasked with developing a new logo for the company. We’d very recently decided to “drop the dot” in how we spelled our name and felt it was also time for a logo refresh. The timeline itself was a bit crunched, as we needed the logo in time for print collateral for an important yearly event. The last time I did branding work was in college, so it was time to flex those muscles again. In short — I had a month and a half to get it right and to get a consensus.
The RaiseMe Logo: A Brief History
Early 2014 | The very first logo had a red line trending upward, no “me,” and used a serif typeface (not unlike CollegeBoard’s)
2014–2015 | The second was a heftier, more present representation that traded the trend line for the dot. RaiseMe really leaned into coral and Helvetica that year…
2015–2017 | The third used a more modern and friendly typeface, adding a playful element with the tilted letter “e.”
The previous three iterations tried to stay true to our mission, personality, and users — things that naturally evolve over time.
Our brand should be broad, flexible and reflect our variety of users (present and future).
Uncovering Strengths & Weaknesses
Let the people voice their grievances
Chances are if your work is visual — people have opinions about it.
In the spirit of transparency, I created a company-wide survey for everyone to share their thoughts on the existing logo. Employees were asked about how the logo visually connects to the mission, what the logo does well and where it misses the mark.
Collecting thoughts about the existing logo allowed everyone to be heard and helped establish some initial guidelines for more research and exploration.
Change is hard — so make it easier.
You can design as many clever logos as you want, but how successful is it if you lack consensus and support from the people it will be representing?
It was important to gauge what the team felt made a “great” logo and for us to share our thoughts on why.
I collected a large number of edtech logos, where everyone at RaiseMe was invited to participate in a logo exercise.
Each person was given two dot stickers and could place them on the logos they liked most. After everyone made their decisions, we all stepped back to see what logos others had chosen. I then led a discussion on the logos that had the most dots, and why certain ones had none. It was a great way to get everyone thinking about why certain logos were successful and what common traits were raised.
What makes a good logomark (according to those at RaiseMe):
- It’s not too literal; the icon is more representational
- It has layered meaning; the connection to the company name is made at first glance, but the icon represents more than initially meets the eye
Getting everyone at RaiseMe involved early in the process made gathering support much easier down the road and gave everyone a sense of pride when the logo was ultimately unveiled.
From this exercise, I created a visual spectrum of competitor logos and how their icons relate to their company name. It was clear from the exercise that grad-caps and textbooks were perceived as too literal and ultimately generic.
Bridging Back to Visual Design
Inspiration through word association
For branding work, I can’t stress enough how helpful this step is in getting oriented in your imagery and themes. It narrows down the visual ambiguity of a brand’s attributes into something much more tangible.
As designers, we’re constantly finding constraints to work within or developing them ourselves for cohesion (a-la style guides, timelines, and tech feasibility).
That’s probably why creating a stream-of-consciousness word list feels so fun — you’ll be surprised with what you come up with.
Pick a few core words or aspects that encapsulate your brand, and set aside 7 minutes to brainstorm freely on each.
☝️No self-editing allowed — this is often where the magic happens!
I decided to focus on: “raise” and “education + scholarships.” The blue words are those I focused on in the next phase.
Putting Pen to Paper
Let the sketching commence
Based on the company name and the words I found most inspiring in my lists, I started sketching.
Sketching helped me understand some of the shapes and treatments I wanted to explore further. I created 3 mood boards based on the directions I was most inspired by.
Honing In
Prepping the finalists
Taking sketched ideas into Illustrator allowed for more exploration using precise geometry and the shapes created from negative space. This was also important when considering how logos play both as greyscale, b&w, outline vs. filled and in color.
There were three main directions I pitched to senior leadership and eventually whittled down to one.
Imagery: Letters R and M for RaiseMe, a person reading, a sunrise over two peaks, and building blocks
When storytelling to a non-designer audience, make sure to reiterate the early research, results, and considerations that led to each contending logo option (i.e., inspiration, intention, and flexibility in application). Keep it concise by listing the attributes of each, along with a list of pros and cons.
Show, Not Tell
Selecting a new typeface
The goal was to select a typeface that would better encapsulate the scope of the brand. Our previous typeface was approachable but as RaiseMe matures, so should the logo.
I explored how typefaces paired with the new icon. It’s also good to see how the logo looks side by side with competitor logos. Does it feel like it belongs? Does it stand out in a positive way or a negative way? These were all things considered.
After checking in with senior leadership, it was time to put the refined logo icon in front of users and in front of peers.
I interviewed student users where they were presented with competitors’ logos and the new RaiseMe options. I also worked with other teams to send out a survey to our partner colleges. The goal was to understand how successful the imagery connected with a list of attributes, who the product seemed like it was for, and collect first impressions. The results were positive.
Lastly, I met with managers in each area of the company to measure reactions and check for any blind spots before the final meeting with the senior leadership team.
To balance its confidence with its approachability, the logo’s icon and lettering were softened with rounded corners.
The Reveal
Launching the new logo
Attributes
Modern, approachable, flexible, simple
Pieces of a Whole
RaiseMe’s foundation was built from the diverse user types we serve. The varying shapes represent how each user group works together to aid in RaiseMe’s mission.
We’re RaiseMe.
