Daring to stand out on social media:
Rebranding Master Barber Donald P. Long
The Mission
Vallejo-based barber Donald P. Long wants to be seen as a master in his field as he has been doing grooming and facial services for over 10 years. His decision to strengthen his social media presence and to open new revenue streams by holding classes on entrepreneurship and barbering got him thinking of pushing a personal rebrand to reflect the direction he would be following in the future.
The Output
Before I started designing the logo for Donald, I employed a new method to design brand identities by conducting a brand discovery session with him. After idenitifying his brand’s characteristics, his target market, and his priorities, I laid out a brand strategy with Donald, eliminating guesswork throughout the whole process and delivering a logo that stands out amidst a sea of stylized barber logos on social media platforms.
The Impact
With the new visual identity, Donald Long has solidified brand awareness among his already large following on social media, this has since led to more clients and more collaborations with luminaries in the barber industry. Donald has since collaborated with Bevel and Walker & Company among many others notable brands.
Client
Donald P. Long
Services
Brand Strategy
Logo Design
Web Design
Provocative text complements the bold aesthetic of the logo in Donald Long’s soap packaging.
Staying relevant in the digital age
Donald P. Long is a barbershop owner based in Vallejo, CA who not just manages the barbershop’s operations, but also directly interacts with his customers by offering firsthand barbering & cosmetics services for over a decade.
Donald wishes to convey his credibility through a solid visual identity that would show in his social media profiles. He knows that collaborations with icons in the grooming industry can easily be sealed through consistent brand messaging that accompanies the visual identity.
A simple logo design & brand identity is the foremost goal because the barbering industry is saturated with stylized designs that are not really legible when viewed on smaller screens like the smartphone.
The new bold logo of Donald Long (@morethanacut) stands out among other illustrative barber logos even on smaller screens.
A massive following can only do so much
Donald Long’s personal brand didn’t communicate a clear message. As a result, people from the grooming industry didn’t necessarily know what he stood for or what types of clients he served.
He did have a solid Instagram following at the outset, which is testament to how determined he is to improving how people perceive his personal brand. However, he was no longer gaining any traction in social media. In response to this, he employed my help to address the problem he was facing.
BEFORE
AFTER
The deciding factor
Donald’s previous logo was basically his signature. It didn’t display well on small screens because of its thin lines. It was not as legible as he wanted it to be. Furthermore, he wants something different for his logo so that people won’t get confused whether or not he’s trying to promote himself whenever he signs written documents.
Donald decided on a monogram I designed that combines the letters D & L, which stands for his first name and last name respectively. The subtle roundness on the edges of the letters evokes authority and approachability at the same time. The mark is simple enough that it can be applied as an overlay to images and even interact with some of the elements as shown below.
In addition to this, I made a website for Donald that reflects the simple yet sophisticated nature of the logo. The idea of his brand is that it is simple - there are no frills to the services that he offers, but his attention to detail is so keen that his work always achieves a high level of sophistication. Click here to see his website.
The logo goes well with a bold rendition of Donald Long’s slogan.
The result
With the new visual identity, Donald Long has solidified brand awareness among his already large following on social media, this has since led to more clients and more collaborations with luminaries in the barber industry. Donald has since collaborated with Bevel and Walker & Company among many others notable brands.
Donald Long’s logo with the wordmark
Do you want to start your project?
Did you like the Donald Long rebrand? If you're itching to get started on your own project, shoot me an email and let's start to work on your brand identity!