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Colors Have Meaning

A large component of brand identity and discovery is choosing the color palette. Colors have meaning and some that we gravitate towards are quite a subconscious choice.

For Transcend Ideas, we utilized; 

  1. Beige: unification
  2. Brown: stability
  3. Blue-green: calm, service

If you ask us, that is pretty spot-on.

We found some beautiful hues in nature that also tell a story of the energetic embodiment different color palettes can provide.

See the following link to describe Symbolism in colors

Colors in Nature
Image of moss growing on a rock and associated color palette

Brand Identity Process

When we begin working with a client on brand identity we first enter into discovery, read more here. After discovery, you enter into the logo variations. We urge our clients not to enter colors just yet because it could influence the choice of the logo itself. You may have heard the term “make it pop” and it’s quite literally what varying colors do, bring life and richness to the brand. Palettes can have their own emotional response they elicit, blues represent trust whereas red can represent excitement or anger. Color evokes an emotional response and can often influence a subtle change in your feelings and perceptions toward a company, from merely a logo or brand campaign alone.

Colors in Nature 
Image of crossed logs and associated color palette

If you like our approach signup for our newsletter or email hello@transcendideas.com for any questions on how we can help.

Discovery – Brand Identity

Discovery is simply that, discovering what your brand could become.

A vital component of this exercise is to uncover the personality of the brand. Would you like their personality if the brand were a person? Could you be friends? Does your first impression make you want to do business with them? Why?

Starting with a list of traits and action words helps narrow the scope to make you think a bit before diving into the name and the logo mark. Use this opportunity to brain dump all of what you hope for your brand, including: phrasing associated with niche populations you’d like to reach, values, long-term goals, and aspirations for your business as you are starting to identify words and phrases you’d like to align with.

Transcend Ideas Discovery graphic

Building Identity for Transcend Ideas

For Transcend Ideas we went through a discovery as well and we certainly did not take it lightly. We brainstormed on words that conveyed growth and progression. We thought of words that went beyond ascension. 

Our words:

  • trustworthy
  • curiosity
  • nature
  • friendly, approachable
  • compassionate
  • inclusive
  • playful
  • simple, yet interesting
  • thoughtful
  • inspiring

Contact us for Business Discovery

Hopefully this approach will give you some ideas on how you’d like to approach your brand identity journey. Read more about what your discovery entails and email hello@transcendideas.com for any questions on how we can help. Want to get started on your business discovery? Fill out our client questionnaire at this link to get started!

Carving the Future | Case Study

Carving the Future logo design image

Carving the Future is a non-profit that’s mission is to empower youth through snowboarding and skateboarding. They were looking for a brand identity package to convey “cool” and “confident”. The logo variations include designs that can be applied to hoodies, stickers, and banners.

The snowboarder and skateboarder were both previously illustrated by Amy Dowell, a local artist. Amy vectorized the icons to utilize in the logo variations for Carving the Future.

The use of turquoise blue and deep navy blue lend to the identity package goals of a “cool” vibe for youth interested in snowboarding and skateboarding. The cool colors, also, coincide with winter sports and associated apparel/accessories.

Carving the Future acronym CTF logo design
Carving the Future Est. 2018 round icon logo design
Carving the Future logo design with snowboarder and skateboarder on design

Designed with Gliffen Designs


Contact Transcend Ideas today to discuss how we can make your creative vision come to life. Whether it be sports, wilderness protection, or personal passion projects – Transcend Ideas is here to serve you. Tell us a little more about yourself and your business at this link.

Nikki Foster for Congress | Case Study

Nikki Foster ran for Congress in Ohio District 1 in 2020 and needed a branding identity for her campaign. Her long career in the Air Force as a pilot helped inspire the creative direction of her campaign brand.

The color blue was the main color because she was running on a Democratic ticket coupled with red accents. The stacked icons of the red circle inlaid in a white triangle brought a patriotic feel to the design. All of these icons residing within the blue ‘O’ shape make for a clean first impression.

Both a primarily text-based logo design and a logo design that was centered in a circle shape were used for this campaign. Nikki and her campaign team needed these logos to put on all materials for fundraising and public speaking events around District 1 in Ohio, where she was running for a Congressional seat.

We would vote for Nikki Foster for Congress any day!

Nikki Foster Democrat for Congress logo design
Nikki Foster for Congress 2020 campaign logo design
Nikki Foster for Congress color palette image

Do you know someone running for office, whether that be at their local precinct or the state level? We would love to help and support your campaign team’s efforts for you to win a seat in the area of your choosing. We believe in advocating for the people you love and the principles you believe in. Let’s get coffee to chat about your campaign goals!

Case Study: Wyoming Coalition for Animal Protection

Wyoming Coalition for Animal Protection - Wycap logo image

The Wyoming Coalition for Animal Protection (WYCAP) was looking for a logo design that helped represent their non-profit organization. WYCAP advocates for the species that cannot speak for themselves.

Final Concept Logo Design

Although there was debate on what species to include we did come to a compromise on which animals were represented from domestic, farm and native wildlife. The concept landed on a triangle shape to help represent the trifecta, or the categories of creatures they devote their advocacy to protect.

Color Palette

The logo uses a mid-tone blue and deep navy blue along with a golden yellow for the final concept. That lends the end user to feeling trust toward the organization. Golden yellow elicits feelings of a faithful, stable, and organized non-profit. The colors together bring in a strong combination that remains dedicated to protecting animals. The sense of calm and assurance you get from the use of colors aligns with the organization advocating for animals and others respecting rules and authority to reach their goals of preventing exploitation of all wildlife.

Designed with Gliffen Designs


Contact Transcend Ideas for your logo concept design needs today. Visit this link to set up a time to chat about your business needs. We’d love to work with you.

Know Your WHY

Transcend Ideas graphic image and quote. "If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within; secondary reality without." Know Your Why.

Eckhart Tolle packs so much wisdom into his spiritual teachings. Whether it is in the spiritual realm or the entrepreneurial, his words resonate. When you know your WHY the rest falls into place. We help with the secondary reality of your business through branding and marketing. Transcend Ideas wants your business to catch attention with its identity. When you know your WHY, it makes it easy for us to do the creative work that makes your goals apparent through thoughtful placement of icons, text, and imagery.

Ask yourself: “What is my WHY?”

Would you say your business pursuits are for family? For the passion of teaching or serving others? We can’t wait to learn more about your why and what items in your creative pursuits resonate with you the most.

See #4 on this recent post: “Top 5 Things to Think About Before Hiring A Creative Agency or Freelancer”

The WHY of your endeavors will help grant you direction and stability in the product or services you plan to provide your audience. The WHY brings about in many cases the reason you are doing what you are doing

Are you ready to elevate your business life to the next level? Do you know WHY you want to make that leap? If so, we can’t wait to work with you and make your business dreams become a reality on the marketing and branding front. If you’d like to work with us, tell us more about yourself and your business at this questionnaire link.

Change your Perspective

Transcend Ideas graphic image and quote. "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." - Wayne Dyer

Wayne Dyer is a favorite American author and philosopher of mine. This infamous quote transcends many boxed-in ways of thinking and allows us to change our perspective!

His look at the world within us makes one think non-linearly. As humans we are creators in all its interpretations. We are capable of more than we can ever imagine because we are infinite beings with extraordinary possibilities. If you knew you could not fail, what endeavors would you take on? What business would you start? What would you do for yourself? If you change the thoughts of failure being final – does that mean that any step toward a goal is all part of the package to success? Transcend Ideas wants to flip your concept of marketing, SEO, and social media on its head. We don’t do drab content, we align with your values, flip the perspective about what people understand about your business and grab attention of your golden customers in every way possible.

Do you have a dream? Are you in the middle of creating it but your business function and direction feels chaotic? Contact our team to learn how we can streamline your marketing and communications process to change your perspective and find a lane your business can thrive in.

Case Study: Jackson Hole DEI Collective

Jackson Hole DEI Collective came to Transcend Ideas for help on a logo concept that would help represent them. DEI stands for Diversity Equity and Inclusion and with those three letters there is a lot of meaning packed in there. The logo mark was inspired as one continuous simple symbol that represented the core principles of the Collective.

Action words:

  • compassionate
  • strong
  • inclusive
Jackson Hole DEI Collective - diversity - equity - inclusion logo

PURPOSE STATEMENT: The Jackson Hole DEI Collective is a group of local leaders working together to make our community more equitable, inclusive, and racially just. Members of the Collective occupy intersecting dominant and marginalized identities, including black people, people of color, and white people. We are straight and LGBTQ+. We are cis-gendered and genderqueer.

Colors: Grey & Forest Green

Contact Transcend Ideas for help in creating a logo concept that works for the needs and values of your business. Describe your goals with Transcend Ideas at this questionnaire link.

No Greater Agony, Indeed.

Transcend Ideas graphic image with quote. "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." - Maya Angelou

Don’t let another day go by without sharing your story. Within all of us we have a unique story to tell. There is no greater agony than to hide it. With any endeavor we take on in our lives we tell our story through our intentionality. Transcend the ordinary and be just as you are.

No Greater Agony or No Greater Triumph?

How does one do that? How do people just go out and share their stories and not be rejected? There will be rejection, but without that, you can’t rise above to success. Bringing vulnerability and authenticity to the table in business, in relationships, and in your personal goals are all keys to success.

Work with Transcend Ideas

Let us help adjust the trajectory of your business success – by sharing your story. We want to help you and your business shine the light on your business values, principles, and product. Sharing a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the products or services you provide humanizes your business in a way that not much else can. Transcend Ideas wants your business to create hope and relief for those that are needing your services. Let’s get coffee and discuss the story you’re hoping to tell. We would love to work with you!

Case Study: Nom Nom Doughnuts

Nom Nom Doughnuts hand drawn logo

Client Request

Nom Nom Doughnuts company was looking for a hand-drawn logo to convey their mobile doughnut business. This little airstream makes donuts that are delightfully light with big flavor.

The company needed a light-hearted and airy design that would be eye-catching for the general bystander at concerts and events in Jackson and around western Wyoming.

Nom Nom Doughnuts Final Logo

Heather brought her illustrative expertise to this project. The hand-drawn effect of an airstream shows doughnuts of varying textures coming across the top of the vehicle in an arc effect. The use of color on this project was playful and vintage, lending to the vintage effect of the airstream trailer that they have revamped into a delicacy-baking food truck machine. The logo created represents the wide variety of doughnuts that could be purchased from their company. The airstream identity on the branding fits right in with the exploratory and laid-back vibe that many in the town of Jackson resonate with.

Location

You can find Nom Nom Doughnuts at concerts, community events, and all around the town of Jackson. Make sure to stop in and say hello to the team!

Designed with Gliffen Designs

Are you looking to hire illustration work for your business? Contact Transcend Ideas to discuss what you are needing for your business!