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You Are NOT Your Brand – and That’s a Good Thing!

It’s a simple but powerful formula: If you want the attention of your target audience, you need to think like them. Brand strategists at UNIT partners can help identify your audience and use that information to bring awareness and connect your audience to your brand and your individual products or services. Here are our branding agency’s best practices for developing and reaching a loyal audience.

 

Define Your Target Audience

Who is most likely to purchase your product or service? Think of their distinct characteristics, such as age, gender, profession (and role within that profession), socio-economic background, geographic area, and interests. Why would they choose to purchase your product or service over a competitor’s? Once you know who your audience is, your brand will have a powerful sense of direction to connect with them.

 

Research Your Audience

Once your audience is defined, begin researching what they like and dislike. When and how are they making purchasing decisions? What are they attracted to stylistically or messaging-wise? What other brands are popular with your audience? Use complementary brands’ successes and failures as a starting point. You don’t have to invent a new marketing strategy from the ground up if you can precisely see what works for others. Use this research to guide visual aesthetics, communications, and how you develop your products and services to cater to their specific needs.

 

You Are Not Your Brand

Research may reveal that your audience prefers a stylistic choice, message, or voice that you don’t personally like. It’s critical that you separate yourself from your brand. Put yourself in the mindset of your audience members and be sure to remove your tastes from the equation. As a basic example, you may love the color orange for your green energy company, but statistics may show your consumers connect green energy to the color green. Unless there is a clear, differentiating reason to choose orange, make sure your audience preferences trump your personal preferences.

 

Align with “Like” Brands
Outline similar brands or organizations that your customer base already loves. What are they doing to connect with your audience? Can you build a relationship or partnership to enhance both of your consumer experiences? Are there professional associations your audience trusts that you can align your organization with as a means to increase visibility? Leveraging other companies as part of your marketing plan can expand your reach.

 

Test Your Approaches

All of this research may result in many different ideas and potential strategies. So how do you know what will give you the best results? Test. Test. Test. When possible, survey your consumer base (those that are familiar with your brand, and those that aren’t). Consider A/B testing to determine what’s working and what’s not. Consistently assess quantitative and qualitative data so you can make decisions guided in strategy vs. throwing spaghetti at a wall.

 

Interested in Partnering with Us? Let’s Connect!

UNIT partners is proud to be one of the top branding agencies serving San Francisco, CA and beyond. Our team of brand strategists, designers, copywriters and more will help you connect with your target audience through innovative and consistent messaging that resonates. Learn more about our design firm’s brand strategy, graphic design, and logo design services, or get in touch through the form in our footer.

Brand Strategy Tips for 2022

A brand strategy is outlining everything you want your brand to convey to your target audience. From the logo design to the social media platforms you will focus on for posts, everything you do and design will affect your brand in a positive or negative way. It is really important to have a solid graphic design style that fits the demographic you are trying to capture the attention of. Here are a few tips to help you build a solid brand strategy for your business or for yourself:

 

Sustainability – It is so important not to bite off more than you can chew when you’re creating your branding strategy. If you want to do three posts a day, but you know that you can’t do that on your own, then lower the number of posts. Another solution would be to hire someone to help with graphic design, if you can afford to do so.

 

Inclusion – It will be hard for your brand to do well without having some level of diversity in your brand strategy. Whether you decide to market your products to men and women or just make the age range you are trying to reach broader, it will pay off later on. The smaller your target audience, the less people you will potentially be able to reach.

 

User generated content – People love to see a brand that includes their followers in their content. For example, if a brand notices that one of their followers posted a picture with their product then they should repost it. Customers love to see people like them be posted by the brands they love.

 

Create a community online – it is much better to have less followers and more interaction online than more followers and less interaction online. People are much more likely to keep following a brand with a strong online community because they feel more connected to the brand and other people who like the brand.

 

Fonts – It is important to choose fonts that are easy to read, but also fit the aesthetic of your brand.

 

Stay in touch with design trends – Graphic design is a huge part of any brand strategy. A strong logo design and well-designed social media posts will go a long way. If you are unsure of where to start, check in with other successful brands and see what design trends are out there.

 

Contact UNIT Partners for information about our branding agency and design firm. Whether you want to be a partner or a client, we want to collaborate with you! We are located in San Francisco, CA, but are looking to collaborate with people everywhere.

 

Our team can help with everything from foundational or ongoing brand strategy and support to initial naming, logo design, packaging design, website design, and content creation. Our work allows you to focus on running your business and deepening your connections with your clients, while we help build the story that connects your brand to your audience. Take a look at some of UNIT’s past San Francisco projects to see how we can help you grow and establish your local brand.

Effective Brand Strategy for the San Francisco, CA Area

Working with a local design firm can really help your business grow. We understand the complexities of the Bay Area market and can help you determine a strategy that works best for your brand, your industry, and your target audience to help you stand apart from the competition. 

 

UNIT partners’ targeted San Francisco and Bay Area experience gives us deeper strategic insight into the local landscape – from tech and finance to hospitality and CPG. Our branding agency is dedicated to helping you build and grow your brand narrative by helping you connect to your target audience – whether they are hipsters, hippies, or millennials and techies. We define who you are as a business, articulate your core values, and develop a strategy that targets your brand, marketing, and sales objectives. Setting short-term and long-term goals for your business and creating strategic milestones to achieve them helps you identify whether your business is making progress toward success. 

 

Our team can help with everything from foundational or ongoing brand strategy and support to initial naming, logo design, packaging design, website design, and content creation. Our work allows you to focus on running your business and deepening your connections with your clients, while we help build the story that connects your brand to your audience. Take a look at some of UNIT’s past San Francisco projects to see how we can help you grow and establish your local brand.

Top 30 San Francisco branding agencies

Top 30 San Francisco branding agencies

UNIT partners has been recognized as a Top 30 Branding Agency in San Francisco by DesignRush.

DesignRush is a B2B marketplace that connects brands with professional full-service agencies, web design companies, digital marketing firms, and top technology companies.

 

Their platform lists over 9,300 agencies from over 50 different countries and is consulted by thousands of decision-makers looking to start a project.

 

“UNIT is honored to be considered a top branding and design agency. Although we service clients across the U.S., we’re thrilled to be highlighted in our competitive local San Francisco market. This recognition will provide expanded visibility as we continue our quest to create an impactful brand strategy and design solutions that drive connection, provide consistency and increase shareholder value.” said Ann Bowlus, Principal and Creative Director at UNIT partners. 

 

UNIT partners is a brand strategy and design firm that collaborates intensely with start-ups, nonprofits, and seasoned corporations. We give brands a voice that successfully connects to their audience and delivers results across all brand touchpoints including naming, logos, packaging, messaging, websites, collateral, and more.

UNIT partners Featured on Clutch as a Leading Branding Agency in San Francisco

Since UNIT was established in 2006, we’ve worked hard to satisfy client requests and deliver results that not only meet, but also exceed their business goals and objectives. Producing creative brand campaigns on behalf of our partners is what we do best at UNIT, but we’re always looking to understand how we can improve as a team.

 

Clutch, a third-party reviews platform for B2B service providers, gives us the chance to dig deeper into the mindsets of our clients. Since joining Clutch, UNIT has received numerous positive comments from our clients who took the time to share their experiences and provide feedback on our ability to deliver as an agency. Our full-length client reviews, which can be found on our Clutch profile, thoroughly explain what it’s like to work with our team and how effective we really are when it comes to producing results that deliver on business needs, all while creating memorable “ah-ha” moments. 

 

We have 8 total reviews on our profile thus far, and the feedback we’ve received from our clients has exceeded our expectations. Check them out:

 

“They’re terrific partners. I feel like they’re an extension of our company. They care about our success, and they’re deeply engaged in everything we do.”

– Co-Owner, Ladle & Leaf

 

“They are small, nimble, smart, creative, flexible, and they know their stuff.”

– Founder, Echo Technology Solutions

 

“They’re wonderful people and great to work with and do great work. They won an American Graphics Design Award two years in a row for our honey labels.”

– Brand Manager, Sola Bee Farms

 

“They listen, and if something isn’t right, they make it right.”

–  CEO, Hi Neighbor Restaurant Group

 

 

On top of our client reviews, Clutch also evaluates agencies for their industry expertise by looking at their website for a full description of their services, client base, case studies, and social media presence. All of these elements factor into our overall score on Clutch and, we’re proud to say, UNIT has received high marks across the board.

 

We’re incredibly happy with what we’ve accomplished as a team and cannot wait to see what the future has in store. As projects are completed  and as new partnerships are formed, we’ll be sure to rely on Clutch to receive ongoing feedback on what we do well and how we can do better. We’re featured as a leading branding agency in San Francisco and we’re even featured as one of the best brand consultants in San Francisco on their sister-site, The Manifest!

 

Thank you to everyone that has supported us over the years. Our design firm is looking forward to continuing to do what we do best – building successful brands through a cohesive brand strategy that incorporates graphic design, logo design, and packaging design that resonate with their ambassadors and their target audiences.

 

Contact us today to learn more about how we can work together!

MINA Group Makes Brand Experience a Centerpiece of its Restaurant Collection

MINA Group Makes Brand Experience a Centerpiece of its Restaurant Collection

When it comes to articulating a brand promise, MINA Group goes all in, partnering with San Francisco culinary branding and design agency, UNIT partners.

 

There’s a reason Michael Mina is one of today’s leading celebrity chefs, with destination restaurants in many of America’s top food cities, and it’s not just his culinary skills. A strategic marketing approach and a nuanced understanding of brand development give MINA a competitive edge against any restaurant group that treats branding as an afterthought.

Client Insight

....

— Michael Mina, MINA Group Founder

When it comes to articulating a brand promise, MINA Group goes all in, partnering with San Francisco culinary branding and design agency, UNIT partners.

 

There’s a reason Michael Mina is one of today’s leading celebrity chefs, with destination restaurants in many of America’s top food cities, and it’s not just his culinary skills. A strategic marketing approach and a nuanced understanding of brand development give MINA a competitive edge against any restaurant group that treats branding as an afterthought.

 

Based in San Francisco, UNIT is a brand strategy and graphic design agency dedicated to hospitality, consumer packaged goods and retail brands. With a professional eye toward building brand loyalty and a personal passion for food-related projects, UNIT was a natural fit to team with MINA Group.

 

“We don’t just act as art directors for our culinary clients,” says Ann Bowlus, Principal and Creative Director at UNIT. “We become part of the restaurant’s team, helping to shape menus, attending chef’s tastings, mapping the customer experience and contracting professional culinary writers and authors.”

 

UNIT’s efforts on MINA Group’s behalf extend beyond traditional design assets into way-finding strategies, monuments of convenience, architectural cues and storytelling vehicles.

 

“Mina Group prides itself on raising the bar for the guest experience. It is important that we consider the entire brand experience so that it is unique, customized and memorable. UNIT partners helps us bring this vision to life.” Says Mollie Allick, Vice President of Marketing

 

UNIT has partnered on brand work for several Mina Group properties to date: The Ramen Bar in San Francisco, Pabu in San Francisco and Boston, StripSteak in Miami and Honolulu, Locale Market in St. Petersburg, Florida, and The Street in Honolulu.

 

 

“Working with MINA Group means finding the soul of each restaurant and anticipating what the guest wants from it,” says Ann. “It requires a heightened level of insight and creative thinking that guides our end product, be it tangible or experiential.”

 

In today’s market of rapid restaurant expansion and pop-up culinary culture, brand consideration can’t afford to be sidelined.

Client Insight

....

— Patric Yumul, MINA Group President

Check out some of our collaborations:

The Ramen Bar

Locale Market

Stripsteak

The Street

Indie Girl + Mindful Greens

Myna Bird Tikki Bar

Mi Almita

International Smoke

 

UNIT partners Featured as Top San Francisco Branding Agency

UNIT partners Featured as Top San Francisco Branding Agency

UNIT partners was listed as a top design agency among an evaluation of San Francisco branding agencies by Clutch. San Francisco is known as a hotbed for creative agencies with a heavy focus on design and branding, so differentiating between them has always been a challenge. Which is why we are honored to have been selected as one of the five top San Francisco-based branding agencies who are developing compelling and effective solutions for our clients.

 

Clutch is a Washington DC based B2B services research firm that reviews companies in the design, marketing, and IT services industries. Clutch’s proprietary rating algorithm takes a number of factors into account when reviewing agencies, including previous work, client base, and proven ability to deliver on past branding, digital strategy, and design projects. With these factors in mind we were mapped against the other top performing agencies in Clutch’s Leaders Matrix.

 

Clutch1

 

One of the most exciting aspects of inclusion in Clutch’s research, was getting to read what our own clients had to say about their experience working with us. We are very grateful to Ryan Cole, of Hi Neighbor Hospitality, who completed a case-study styled interview with Clutch analysts. Here’s a snippet of what Ryan had to say:

 

Clutch2

 

It is always nice to get third-party recognition of our work, but the ultimate reward is when we hear directly from our clients about the impact we’ve had on their business. We’d encourage you to check out UNIT Partner’s full Clutch profile and read Ryan’s review here.

 

Thank you Clutch for the recognition. Check out what others have to say…

Featured in LogoLounge 9

Featured in LogoLounge 9

UNIT partners is proud to announce the Roya Spirit logo will be featured in LogoLounge 9. For this first-to-market, stevia-based simple syrup, we combined a stevia leaf and feather to commemorate its zero calorie offering and to reference its namesake “roya,” meaning dreamlike. Thank you Roya Spirit for collaborating with us on your product launch. See more of our Roya work here.

 

RoyaSpirit_Logo

 

About LogoLounge

LogoLounge9 highlights 2,000 of the best logos in various categories and were chosen from a pool of roughly 25,000 entries.

 

LogoLounge was born as a more efficient way to find reference material for logo design. The LogoLounge database makes research simple by making it searchable. With more than 230,000 logos and growing, and direct access to some of the best designers in the business, LogoLounge has become an indispensable tool for logo designers the world over.

 

In addition to this international repository of logo design, LogoLounge members also enjoy of-the-moment articles and interactive features pertaining to the design industry. And for research purists, LogoLounge issues a best-selling book series regularly highlighting the best of the best in logo design.

Prestigious Graphis Annual Award Winners

Prestigious Graphis Annual Award Winners

UNIT partners is proud to announce Graphis has recognized our work for Tauzer Apiaries in their 2014 Design Annual with a Silver Award. Congrats to the Tauzer team and all the hard work in launching the brand!

 

Graphis is an international bastion of excellence in design and visual imagery.

 

You can see more of our work for Tauzer Apiaries here.

 

Here’s a little bit about Graphis:

Graphis is committed to presenting and promoting the work of exceptional talent in Design, Advertising, Photography and Art/Illustration. In addition to the Platinum, Gold, and Silver winners, Graphis also embraces rising talent, all of whom have an equal Archive presentation. In our hardcover Annuals, Platinum and Gold winners receive full-page exposure, and Silver and Merit Winners are also visually presented. Up to 500 entries from each competition are included in the online archive for future reference, where everyone gets the same presentation. Today, the Graphis tradition continues, presenting award-winning work from 1944 to the present in digital and print.

UNIT Embraces SF BizConnect Initiative – 5% Local Discount

UNIT partners, a San Francisco branding agency and graphic design firm, joins prominent local businesses like Recology and Hyatt Regency in a show of support for Mayor Ed Lee’s SF BizConnect ‘buy local’ initiative.

 

SF Biz Connect is a campaign sponsored by the Mayor’s Office and the Chamber of Commerce to encourage businesses, especially larger ones, to buy local. The initiative gives local businesses a forum to showcase their wares for larger business buyers, who might not otherwise have known what opportunities are available to support the local economy.

 

The Mayor’s Office provides a look at what that means for San Francisco’s fiscal health. According to their figures, just a one percent increase in spending at restaurants and neighborhood corridors would keep another $100 million in the local economy.

 

Many companies have signed the initiative’s online pledge to consider local businesses when making buying decisions. UNIT has taken this a step further by offering a 5% discount to local companies including restaurants, retailers, consumer packaging, and other businesses looking to establish or grow their brands.

Principal Insight

....

Ann Bowlus – UNIT partners Principal + Creative Director

UNIT specializes in restaurant branding, retail design, and consumer packaging, teaming closely with local businesses to help them articulate all aspects of their brand, including brand strategy, logo design, websites and apps, retail displays and signage, marketing collateral, and packaging design.

 

“San Francisco’s local businesses give life to this one-of-a-kind city. The branding support that we provide is what can really set businesses apart from their competition, so they are able to grow and thrive. This is why we’re proud to be supporting such an important initiative like BizConnect” says Ann.

UNIT partners has helped shape many of the brands that define our city, including San Francisco Soup Company; Bamboo Asia; Mina Group restaurants PABU and The Ramen Bar; as well as Hi Neighbor Restaurant Group brands like Stones Throw and Trestle.

 

About UNIT partners

UNIT partners is a multidisciplinary branding agency and graphic design firm with a core focus in the restaurant/hospitality, consumer packaged goods and retail industries. Based in San Francisco, UNIT serves a diverse client base that includes Mina Group, Herbalife, Kia, Harry & David, Old Navy, Hi Neighbor restaurant group, San Francisco Soup Company and Nine West.

 

UNIT partners offers branding services including, but not limited to, brand strategy and awareness, naming, logo design, website design, messaging, environments, marketing collateral, packaging design, applications, and trade shows.

 

UNIT partners is a member of AIGA, the professional association for design, and the Designers Accord, a coalition of designers, educators and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact.

UNIT partners Completes Epiphany Center Rebrand

UNIT partners Completes Epiphany Center Rebrand

UNIT partners has recently completed a rebrand of Epiphany Center, a holistic community care center. The rebrand includes a logo, stationery system, upgraded website and newsletter.

 

Initial work on the rebrand began in May 2012. The various brand elements began rolling out in January 2013 with the website launching late summer 2013. The Epiphany Center’s programs and services have adapted over its 160-year history to meet the changing needs of San Francisco’s most vulnerable families. As a result, the agency lacked a visual brand that accurately represents its offerings. The absence of a logo and brand standards had impeded the agency from clearly communicating its purpose and benefits to potential donors, clients, and the community at large.

 

In order to communicate more effectively, and stay relevant through future evolutions, the new brand was designed to focus on Epiphany Center’s overall objective of serving at-risk families and not specific programs or services.

 

UNIT focused the brand visual on the importance of the connection between a parent and child on the path to recovery and wholeness. The two hands coming together represent this connection. In addition, the logo itself represents an “epiphany” moment for the viewers as a candle with spark is formed in the negative space between the two hands. This candle represents the guiding light for children and parents on their journey to building strong relationships. The central spark is reflective of the client’s epiphany moment that happens as a result of participation in Epiphany programs. The spark provides a nod to an abstract cross to represent the faith behind the organization.

 

Continuing the idea of an epiphany moment from the identity, UNIT focused on developing surprise moments throughout the stationery system and website. Each element of the stationery system introduces a relevant part of the Epiphany Center story through its individual reveal.

 

The website provides a more information-rich reveal with the use of rollovers. On the homepage, they immediately hit the viewer with relevant facts about women and children in need. Upon rollover, they flip that fact with information about Epiphany Center’s results and approach. Throughout the site, images are initially displayed with a depressing tone and again upon rollover they show in true color to provide a hopeful and positive outlook.

 

UNIT partners helped the Epiphany Center develop an effective visual brand and a communication solution that helps them reach out to clients, employees, donors and the community at-large.

UNIT partners Adds New Clients to the Roster

We are proud to announce three new clients have joined the UNIT family. Each client adds to the diversity of the existing UNIT client family. From brand development and refreshes, to on-going marketing support and advertising campaigns, UNIT will be partnering with these clients across a multi-disciplinary list of projects.

Please join us in welcoming the following clients home.

MINA Group

 

McKesson Corporation

 

San Francisco Soup Company (now Ladle & Leaf)

 

We’re looking forward to long-lasting partnerships with each of these clients.

UNIT partners & Stones Throw Restaurant Branding Partnership

UNIT partners & Stones Throw Restaurant Branding Partnership

UNIT partners Named Stones Throw Restaurant Brand Agency of Record:
Full Service Agency Creates Emotive, Engaging Brand Experiences in the Restaurant, Hospitality & Resort Industries

 

San Francisco, California (February 11, 2014)

 

UNIT partners, a multidisciplinary branding agency and graphic design firm specializing in strategy, brand awareness and brand design consistency is now the brand agency of record for Stones Throw restaurant in San Francisco.

 

The appointment with Stones Throw is an exciting, and truly collaborative partnership, according to UNIT partners co-founder/creative director Shardul Kiri. “We are a full-spectrum branding services partner who thoroughly understands the importance of developing solutions that translate to all communication mediums. What we do best is tell a brand’s story, and the hospitality and restaurant industries have rich content we can utilize to help them connect all their parts to make an impactful whole. We are thrilled that Stones Throw has chosen to work solely with us to create a meaningful restaurant brand experience for their guests.”

 

“Design for CPG, restaurants, resorts and hospitality brands are UNIT partners core competency.” says co-founder/creative director Ann Bowlus. “We are creators of emotional connections, and what can be more emotional than nourishing your body and soul, and relaxing your spirit? We develop every interaction touch point through diversity, design and space aesthetics, creating a memorable and engaging experience on multiple levels with our client’s guests.”

 

As a flexible, expedient and collaborative brand strategy and design partner, UNIT partners is responsive to clients’ needs while being mindful of nuances that connect the larger picture.

 

Partner and acting general manager of San Francisco restaurant Stones Throw, Ryan Cole, echoes those sentiments. “We brought UNIT partners on board at the beginning of our project. They asked all the right questions and took an all-encompassing look at the big brand picture based on visual. Every turn at Stones Throw creates the emotion we were looking for to connect with our guests. From the playful bathroom signage to the way a guest check is presented, UNIT partners was spot on with the entire branding package.”

 

Cole went on to say, “ The team at UNIT partners understood our time constraints, always looked out for the best interest of our brand, and consistently over-delivered for us at Stones Throw. It is the perfect partnership for our restaurant.”

 

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UNIT partners work covers a full spectrum of branding services including logo design, website design, environments, marketing collateral, packaging design, applications, brand strategy, copywriting and trade shows. They work with new businesses creating entire strategy from start to finish, and also work with clients who need a firm to seamlessly fit additional elements into a campaign that already exists.

 

Based in San Francisco, California, UNIT partners embraces a diverse client base that includes Herbalife, Mina Group, Kia, Harry & David, Old Navy, Stones Throw restaurant and Tsubo.

 

UPDATE:

UNIT partners has now collaborate with Hi Neighbor Hospitality Group for their additional outlets. Including, Trestle, Corridor Restaurant & Café, The Vault and The Vault Garden.

 

About UNIT partners

A multidisciplinary branding agency and graphic design firm specializing in brand strategy, brand awareness and brand consistency through impactful logo and graphic design, packaging design and space aesthetics.

 

Founded in 2006, UNIT partners’ philosophy is that the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. This cohesive business approach allows for transformation focused on intense client collaboration and uncompromising creative excellence.

 

Developers of solutions that translate to all communication mediums, UNIT partners work covers a full spectrum of branding services including, but not limited to, logo design, website design, environments, marketing collateral, packaging design, applications, brand strategy, copywriting and trade shows.

 

UNIT partners is a member of AIGA, the professional association for design, and the Designers Accord, a coalition of designers, educators and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact.

 

UNIT Named Sola Bee Farms Brand Agency of Record

UNIT Named Sola Bee Farms Brand Agency of Record

Trevor Tauzer, founder of Sola Bee Farms, has announced that the company has named UNIT partners to be their Brand Agency of Record.

 

Claire Maygren, known as the Queen Bee of Sola Bee Farms, said of the partnering, “We chose UNIT because they provide our company an amazing strategic insight. They truly understand the importance of branding which has helped us to create a compelling brand experience for our customers. They have an unmatched ability to understand our business and then create unique ideas to enhance our brand.”

 

UNIT partners shares this enthusiasm and is happy to be a partner with Sola Bee Farms. One of the founders, Ann Jordan stated, “UNIT is glad to partner with a company that understands the importance of developing a unique and compelling brand. UNIT is focused on finding the essence of our clients’ services or products in order to develop a relevant and extraordinary brand experience.”

 

Sola Bee Farms originally hired UNIT to complete their initial brand development—including naming, identity system, e-commerce website, and product packaging. Based on the great success of their partnership, Sola Bee Farms decided to retain UNIT as Brand Agency of Record.

 

Sola Bee Farms is in business to provide quality bee products to customers in a sustainable, earth friendly way. They offer a variety of honey products that display their dedication to high quality. The different flavors of honey do not come from artificial flavoring but from the way in which the pollination occurs. Sola Bee Farm’s products are sold in a vast number of stores in California and New York including Whole Foods.
Sola Bee Farms has named UNIT partners as their Brand Agency of Record.

 

Marketing Team Leader of Whole Foods Market Davis, Kristen Tantarelli stated, “Whole Foods Market Davis is honored to feature such a beautifully-designed and wonderful tasting product on our shelves. We were delighted to partner with Claire and Sola Bee upon our opening to help highlight our commitment to local vendors and their products. We look forward to the continued partnership and product growth.”

 

About UNIT partners:

UNIT partners is a multi-disciplinary branding Agency and graphic design firm with a simple goal — help brands reach their full potential. Founded in 2006 by Ann Jordan and Shardul Kiri, UNIT believes that the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts. UNIT’s holistic approach drives business transformation by focusing on intense client collaboration and uncompromising creative excellence. Understanding the importance of developing solutions that translate to all communication mediums, UNIT’s work covers a full spectrum of branding services, including logo design, websites, environments, marketing collateral, packaging design, applications, brand strategy, copywriting and trade shows. Based in San Francisco, UNIT has a diverse client base that includes Kia, Herbalife, Harry & David, Old Navy, and Tsubo. UNIT is a member of AIGA, the professional association for design, and the Designers Accord, a coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact.

About Sola Bee Farms:

Sola Bee Farms is an environmentally friendly, family-run brand making hand-crafted, premium bee goods. Based in Woodland, CA, Sola Bee Farms is a division of Tauzer Apiaries and was founded in 2011. Sola Bee Farms was created with the goal of bringing healthy, sustainably harvested honeys and other bee goods to consumers while educating them on the benefits of bees and advocating sustainability. Sola Bee Farms is dedicated to the environment, employing solar power to run their processing facilities, and utilize all the byproducts of harvesting in their goods. To learn more about Sola Bee Farms, visit their website.

Welcome New Clients to the UNIT Family

UNIT partners is excitied to annouce two great new clients to the family, San Francisco Ronald McDonald House and United Way of Greater Los Angeles. We’re proud to have the opportunity to develop relevant and effective branded solutions for such prestigious organizations. Their inidvidual missions are integral to their communities success, growth, and support.

 

UNIT is supporting the San Francisco Ronald McDonald House with strategic branding and graphic design support for their 2013 Home Away from Home Annual Gala. UNIT has developed the event identity and is currently developing the overal visual brand accross the various invitations, event collateral, and signage.

 

The United Way of Greater Los Angeles has engaged UNIT to support the design of marketing collateral that is crucial to achieving their fundraising goals.

 

We look forward to a long lasting partnership with both organizations.

 

About the San Francisco Ronald McDonald House:

The Ronald McDonald House offers a temporary home-away-from-home for families with a critically ill or injured child receiving treatment at a San Francisco hospital.

 

Because of the services provided by the Ronald McDonald House, families do not have to spend their days and nights in crowded waiting rooms or in the isolation of expensive hotel rooms. Instead, they are able to bond with others in similar situations. Families utilize the services of our ten-bedroom Ronald McDonald House, located at 1640 Scott Street, and two Hospital Based Programs located within UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital at Parnassus Campus. Both programs work to fulfill the Ronald McDonald House mission to provide a safe haven for critically ill children and their families.

 

About the United Way of Greater Los Angeles:

United Way of Greater Los Angeles is committed to creating pathways out of poverty so that everyone who lives in our communities can have a better quality of life. We are focused on providing long-term solutions in the three interconnected areas which are the root causes of poverty:

 

• Helping people have access to permanent housing with supportive services

• Helping students graduate from high school prepared for college and the workplace

• Helping people become financially stable

After-School All-Stars Infographic

UNIT has partnered with After-School All-Stars for two years on various initiatives, including a brand refresh, brand campaign, and two annual reports. We knew as fundraising for non-profits, especially those who aren’t household names, becomes more and more challenging they needed a marketing tool that would easily convey their breadth of work, the benefits their work provides to students, and their overall effectiveness, all while conveying their brand experience. So we thought to ourselves, what would be the best way to visualize such in-depth information in an easy, quick manner—an infographic, of course.

 

Let us know what you think and if you’re interested in learning more about After-Shool All-Stars, click here.

UNIT Awarded New Rebrand Project for Financial Institution

UNIT partners is extremely happy to announce we will be rebranding a Southern California based financial institution. Founded in 1976, they originally addressed the deterioration in the valley area business district. Over the next 10 years they steadily increased their lending opportunities to business across the entire Los Angeles basin.

 

Today they are ready to begin a national expansion to provide their services of economic and community development across the US. With a major shift in focus from local to national, they understood it was time to redefine their brand to ensure it reflects a relevance across varying markets.

 

UNIT jumped at this chance to design a brand system that will educate, inspire, and motivate communities and small businesses. The first phase of the rebrand will launch early Summer 2013. Stay tuned for more updates and sneak peaks of the work over the coming months.

 

Here is a peek of the extensive visual research the UNIT team is currently immersed in.

UNIT partners Named Winner in Latest HOW International Design Awards

UNIT partners Named Winner in Latest HOW International Design Awards

UNIT partners is proud to announce the Sola Bee Farms Honey Packaging was chosen as one of 242 award-winning designs in the most recent HOW International Design Awards. This highly selective and well-regarded competition sponsored by HOW magazine, now in its 20th year, recognizes outstanding creative work produced by individuals and creative agencies from around the world.

 

A team of design-industry veterans judged nearly 1,000 entries in 15 categories, and selected winning projects that demonstrated an ideal mix of concept, strategy and execution.

 

Entries were judged according to these criteria:

• How well does the entry communicate?
• How well does the entry achieve the client’s mission?
• How memorable or unique is the entry?
• How strong is the entry aesthetically?

 

International Design Awards is a global creative competition; each year, winners represent countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America.

 

All winning projects will be prominently featured in the March 2013 issue of HOW magazine.

 

Check out our work for Sola Bee.

UNIT partners Wins Gold from the 42nd Annual Creativity International Awards

UNIT partners is proud to announce our logo for Echo Technology Solutions has been selected as a gold level winner for excellence in identity design.

 

Creativity International Awards is one of the most prestigious and longest running independent international advertising and graphic design competitions. Established in conjunction with Art Direction Magazine in 1970, Creativity International Awards produced one of the first books to showcase leading edge design from the US and around the world.

 

UNIT Selected as SFAMA 2012-13 Branding Sponsor

Marketing Association as the 2012-13 Branding Sponsors. As part of our role, we will be completing a full rebrand of the SFAMA. The new brand identity will launch in September 2012 with the revamped website and marketing collateral following soon after.

 

About the SFAMA:

The San Francisco Chapter of the American Marketing Association is the leading organization for professional and student marketers in the Bay Area. Founded in 1937, our chapter reflects the innovation, standards of excellence, and industry and population diversity for which the Bay Area is known and celebrated.
sfama.org

UNIT partners’ Work is Published in “Damn Good”

UNIT partners is proud to announce our inclusion in a new book, “Damn Good. Top Designers Discuss Their All-Time Favorite Projects.” published by How Books. Brimming with inspiration, Damn Good highlights the favorite work of designers around the globe, showcasing their best and most passionate projects.

 

This unique and diverse collection challenges the status quo and typical industry boundaries, and also contains the stories behind the work in the words of the creative teams who designed them. Damn Good features a bold range of design work, spanning 35 countries and multiple disciplines, including print, identity, packaging, interactive, and more.

 

Check out the LiQWd branding.

Effective Branding… Explained! UNIT Presents Workshop at San Francisco Chamber of Commerce

How do you develop a successful brand? There are three key components to help you get there:

1. Define your company

2. Develop your brand story

3. Execute against your brand strategy

 

UNIT partners’ Ann Bowlus and Shardul Kiri led an interactive workshop to guide attendees through a series of exercises and methodologies to help place them on the path to brand success.

 

The key takeaway? Your customer is more important than your wants and desires. Small business owners often make this mistake by placing their aesthetic preferences and brand preconceptions ahead of sound strategy to target their audience. Just because blue is your favorite color, doesn’t mean it’s an effective color to communicate your brand entice your customer.

 

Click here to download presentation.

UNIT partners Honored with 22 Awards for Excellence in LOGOS 1

Publishing history was made recently with the release of LOGOS 1, the first-ever creative compilation produced exclusively as an eBook. UNIT partners was recognized with 22 awards for excellence in logo design, including our work for ZoLi, TachTech, Sound Foundation, LiQWd, Chinatown Community Development Center, Approved Appraisers, Presh Jewelry, R3R, Re:Vive Bodywork, and Micro/sys.

 

David E. Carter, producer of LOGOS 1, has created over 110 creative compilations on logos, graphic design, and advertising and is the top-selling producer of books in the history of graphic design. UNIT is honored to have been recognized by David E. Carter and have our work published in his inaugural eBook.

UNIT partners Honored with 2 Awards for “Excellence in Design”

UNIT partners Honored with 2 Awards for “Excellence in Design”

UNIT partners is proud to announce the American Graphic Design Awards has recognized our work for Tauzer Apiaries and ARC Eco Technology with awards for “Excellence in Design.”

 

The American Graphic Design Awards is a four decade old flagship competition, and is open to everyone in the graphic design community — graphic design firms, advertising agencies, in-house corporate and institutional designers, publishers and other media. Each year, thousands of entries are submitted with only a small percentage being selected for recognition.

 

Selected work:

Client: Tauzer Apiaries
Project: Sola Bee Farms Honey Packaging

 

Client: ARC Eco Technology
Project: Elphabet Phonics Learn-to-Read iPhone App

UNIT partners Celebrates the Holidays by Donating Art Supplies for SF Public Schools

UNIT partners would like to express our warmest appreciation to all who joined us during our holiday party. This year we chose to support the San Francisco Arts Education Project by asking our guests to bring art supplies to the party. As with past years the party was a huge success and the generosity of our friends, colleagues, and clients was unsurpassed.

 

The collected art supplies will be used to support the Artist-in-Residence programs in the San Francisco public schools. In fact, many of the supplies will be used for an upcoming exhibition, INTERNATIONAL ORANGE: The Bridge Re-imagined, an official event of the Golden Gate Bridge 75th anniversary celebration.

 

We would like to thank all of our wonderful guests once again for making our holiday party a huge success and for their generosity in providing art supplies.

 

We wish all the future artists a world of success as they explore their creative visions.

 

Learn more about the San Francisco Arts Education Project by visiting http://www.sfartsed.org/.