Last month we sent out an EDM to our clients letting them know that we had recently rebranded with a new logo and website.

The Media Shark rebrand has been in the pipeline for a while now however with an ever growing portfolio of clients, design and development projects taking priority it was a task that always seemed to get pushed to the bottom of the pile!

Alas, in mid June, we asked one of our designers to put together a mood board of ideas and concepts showcasing who we are as a company right now.

Media Shark rebrands! – It was actually at an event which we had sponsored earlier this year when the MC announced that people should contact Media Shark “For all things Media” when we realised we were no longer delivering the right message of our services and who we were.

Media Shark has grown significantly in the last 18 months with a larger team of designers and developers and we now soley focus on app and custom software development. Therefore it was important for us to deliver the message across all of our channels as to who we are today.

The first round of concepts still very much included the Shark, which although we will always have a fondness for, we felt as was a little dated for the brand and current demographic.

The second round of concepts were a lot closer to what we were looking for and there were admittedly some strong opinions. The second round of concepts started to include a semicolon with the shark finn, gradually reducing the “sharkiness” and bringing in the semi colon as code which is exaclty what we wanted to repsresent.

We knew we were getting closer and it was hard to let the Shark go, especially as we have the old logo painted as a huge mural on our office wall!

We didnt rush the decision as we knew how important it was to get it right and finally…………………………

We are thrilled to bits with our new icon and logo and couldn’t wait to get started on the website.

The website design took longer than expected with a few rounds of revisions before we were happy. This was then developed by one of our oldest team members, someone who has been with us from the very beginning – Camilo!

Once the website was live, we spread the message across our socials and began the extensive task of updating all of our collateral including business cards, t.shirts and all digital documents.

We are happy to say the effort was worth it, we couldn’t be happier with the new look.  

At Media Shark we have extensive experience creating brand identities for clients’ software and mobile applications and back in the early days of Media Shark logo design and brand identity was one of our main services.

We are proud to have created the logos and brand identities for all types of Gold Coast and Queensland Companies including Burleigh Protein & Etchd

We understand that the brand identity is the personality of the business is and that it needs to be clear and consistent. As we always convey to our clients, branding is more than just a logo it represents the company’s culture and vision.

Our look may have changed but our purpose remains the same!

Our Vision is to provide a first class experience, making clients feel welcome and valued.
Our Mission is to provide our clients with clear direction and transparency.
We Value each client that walks through the door, always referring to our Think Like a Shark culture. 

As we draw closer to the end of the year we are looking forward to a fresh new year, a fresh new look and a fresh new chapter for Media Shark. We would love for you to join us!

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When it comes to app design and development, accessibility for users with disabilities is often neglected, but as technology advances so does the opportunity to empower people with disabilities and impairments and offer the capability to access the fun, engaging and advantageous world of apps!

By ensuring the features of a mobile app are accessible to users with impairments, this will not only improve the user experience but also allow a larger audience to use the app, which can have endless benefits not only morally, but financially and legally too!

Inclusive design and accesible app development – What are the benefits?

If you are creating an app, you will quickly discover that spending time developing a great UI/UX is key to any app’s success and with accessible mobile app development this is where your design team can put a lot of thought and consideration into the features and understanding the user journey.

Having a great user-friendly app will not only enhance your brand and boost your business reputation, it will increase the size of your potential market. So adopting an inclusive design process with accessibility in mind is crucial.

Creating an accessible app may also give you the edge over your competition who may not have considered the long term benefits, and if you are hoping to gain investment, these attributes may go a long way with any potential investors as you are demonstrating your commitment to creating an inclusive, functional app for everyone to use. 

Inclusive design and accesible app development – What are the legal standards? 

While there are a number of recommendations for mobile app accessibility there is currently no worldwide standard or laws for the design and development.

Apple and Android both have developer guidelines and The Web Accessibility Initiative has put together detailed references for best practises too but there is currently no industry standard.

In the future there will more than likely be laws in place, so it is wise to protect your investment and ensure your app is future proof which will prevent having to spend time and money adding and rebuilding features of the app further down the track.

In the US alone, legal actions against companies are rising with 3,500 Digital Accessibility lawsuits filed in California in 2020 and the most notable recent case being against Domino’s Pizza!

Inclusive design and accesible app development – What can I do?

There are 4 classifications for disability, which include; cognitive, visual, hearing and mobility impairments. In the design phase it is vital to work through each step with each of these in mind. 

• There are 300 million people in the world who are affected by colour blindness so implementing features which enhance colour and brightness is a great way to cater for these users.
• The design process starts with brand identity and logo design, so using colours and fonts which are easy to read and taking colour use into consideration are all ways to assist with the visually impaired. 
• Make sure all of your content is comprehensible – add underlines where there are hyperlinks and be mindful of colour contrasts.. 
• More than 5% of the population experience some type of hearing loss, so providing transcripts are a great way to assist users with hearing impairments for any video content. Captions and subtitles are also great for users who may be travelling or commuting.
• Mobility impairments can come with various difficulties including grip, so ensuring the page is displayed the same whether the device is in landscape or portrait can assist greatly. 
• Increasing touch target sizing is also a great option for users with motor impairments.
• Keyboard technology can also involve the use of an external keyboard which can be connected via bluetooth!
• For users with cognitive impairments it is helpful to ensure screens have consistent layouts and adjustable loading speeds.  

The truth is, when we are designing an accessible app, it’s not only users with disabilities to consider. There are endless scenarios where a person could really benefit from an app which works in a more accessible way; from voice commands for someone who is driving or perhaps trying to follow a recipe for example, or even someone who has broken an arm or sprained a finger. Perhaps someone is limited in their mobility as they are holding a baby. 

Impairments can be permanent, temporary and situational, so by incorporating inclusive design you are welcoming the widest possible audience – which makes great business sense!    

What accessible apps are already available?

There are a number of apps already available in the app stores which can assist people with disabilities in their everyday lives:

1.  Be My Eyes – Be My Eyes is a free to download app available on the App Store and Google Play. This app connects blind and visually compromised people with volunteers for visual assitance through a video call. These volunteers are able to “lend their eyes” to help solve tasks and allow people with low vision to lead more independant lives.
2.  Rogervoice – RogerVoice is designed to assist deaf people or hard of hearing to communicate, the app uses voice recognition technology to turn the audio into transcripts which are displayed on the screen.
3.  Voice4u – Voice4u is a symbol based communication app which has been built especially for users with speech difficulties, its comes with 180 icons and the user can create their own library of icons aswell.
4.  Big Keys – Big Keys is available on IOS and Ipad and allows the customisation of the size of the keys on a devices keyboard. It also includes large numbers and emojis. This app is great for a user with mobility issues and thse who often struggle with the smaller keys on a device.

Conclusion

The foundation of any successful app is the design, spending time on getting this aspect on point and ensuring the app is available to the widest audience possible will pay dividends in the future and save time and money.

The world is rapidly transforming. Design can too.

Media Shark are advocates for accesible and inclusive design in app development – reach out to us if you need some assistance with the design or development of your app!

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Colour psychology and mobile app colour trends started back in 2008 when the first app store opened allowing us to create our own apps and bring ideas to life, however the colour wheel itself was designed by isaac newton in 1666

Did you know that the colour of the year for 2021 according to leading industry experts Pantone is Ultimate Gray and Illuminating which is a happy shade of yellow

Colors communicate meaning, and can be a great representation of our feelings and emotions. 

So, in a world where we are online or fixated on our smartphones the majority of the time it is key to get the colour scheme of our app icon right. Lets take a look at mobile app colour trends!

Colour Psychology and App Design

Colours stimulate emotions, which is why they are so important in branding and app design!

The colour you choose for your app is crucial because it is the first thing your user will see. Colour psychology in app design focuses on how the colours of your branding affect your users and how they connect to your brand.

User engagement is highly important in the world of app development and ensuring your app is a success, so if you user connects with your branding and colours you have already taken a step in the right direction. 

Colour can cause an emotional response so choosing the right colour to evoke the right emotion can mean the difference between a user downloading your app or passing it by and is one of the most important decisions to make when launching a new product.

Colour psychology – Let’s talk about Blue!

You may already know this, but Blue is the most widely used colour for app icons for both Android and IOS, making up 23% of the percentage of all top apps

The high court of color, Pantone Color Institute also declared that its Color of the Year for 2020 was Classic Blue.

So why is blue so popular?

When we want to build trust and convey calmness and reliability we turn to Blue. Some of the most widely used apps Facebook, Linkedin, Skype and Twitter, Paypal are all blue!

These apps also collect the most personal data from us – interesting hey?

Colour psychology – a brief rundown

Red of course means passion, fire and anger and most of all – hunger! It’s no surprise that most food and drink apps are red! – Open Table, McDonalds, Vivino, Pizza Hut, KFC & Hungry Jacks

Green is soothing, natural and evokes balance. A lot of large multinationals who are big on sustainability and corporate and social repsonsibility have green logos but unfortunately green hasn’t proven to be a massive colour trend in app development but interestingly a lot of the communication apps are green – Facetime, Whatsapp, Trip advisor, Duolingo

Yellow is cheerful, fresh and energising – Snapchat and Bumble the dating app are both yellow 

Orange means happiness, attractiveness and wealth. 5% off apps are Orange including Etsy, and Audible, whereby the user is spending money. Orange is also very popular for fitness apps too! 

Pink can convey love, emotion and sensitivity – Instagram and Airbnb Both have pink in their icons – Airbnb rebranded with the aim of bringing the community together and instagram is an online community!

Purple is often associated with royalty and luxury, Purple both calms and stimulates our bodies, so it’s no surprise that a lot of lifestyle apps are purple – Itunes & Podcasts are both purple.

Black evokes strength, power and elegance – a lot of retail brands use black such as Adidas, Tik Tok also uses Black, 

Final Thoughts

Colour choice is key when you want to make your app stand out from the crowd, spend some time and do some research and ask yourself – Does your colour scheme fit your demographic and target audience? Does my colour scheme and messaging match up? What feedback am I getting from my users? Keep it simple, don’t mix too many colours!

Media Shark specilaise in brand identity for app development – reach out to us if you need help with your colour choice and branding!

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The art of logo design has changed and evolved over the years, with many of the greatest designers creating their most iconic work in the 20th century. A great logo can withstand the test of time and be recognisable in all formats.

Famous Logo Designers – Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali is not known as a famous logo designer, he is better known as the master of surrealism and for his works of modern art, particularly the persistence of memory and it’s melting clocks.

It is little known that Dali is actually the creator of the Chupa Chups logo too. In 1969, Dali was asked to create a logo for the famous lolly brand and the story goes that he sketched a daisy shape on a napkin whilst having coffee with his friend Enric Bernat who was the founder of Chupa Chups. The original logo was on the front of the lolly but Dali also suggggested that the logo be placed on top of the lolly.

Fun Fact – Chupar in Spanish means “to suck”

Famous Logo Designers – Carolyn Davidson

Carolyn Davidson is the creator of one of the most recognisable sports logos today – the Nike swoosh. Carolyn designed the logo back in 1971 and it is reported she was paid a meagre $35 American dollars and had wanted to put this towards materials for her oil paintings.

This absolute masterpiece of a logo originated from the Greek goddess Nike who represents speed, strength and victory. If you take a look at the famous statue of Nike, her arm is outstretched with wings behind her which makes the shape of the better known tick/swoosh we see today.

Carolyn also created 4 other designs which were originally rejected however the tick was accepted at the last minute and Carolyn was told “I don’t love it, but it will grow on me” by the CEO and co-founder of the company Phil Knight.

Famous Logo Designers – Saul Bass

Saul Bass was born in 1920 in the Bronx and wasn’t only a graphic designer but a filmmaker too. In 1972 he was hired to to redesign the Warner brothers logo, which is still used today. That is a logo which has stood the test of time. Saul was a trailblazer in the art of design in the 20th century and continued to use his distinctive and minimal style throughout his 40 year career.

Saul was also responsible for the redesign of the telephone company bell’s logo. He was tasked with giving it a crisp contemporary style. This redesign was known as the largest corporate identity programme in the US due to the amount of systems, buildings, phone booths and telephone directories which had to be rebranded. 

Famous Logo Designers – Alan Fletcher

Alan Fletcher in his obituary from the daily telegraph was described as “the most highly regarded graphic designer of his generation, and probably one of the most prolific”.

An English Graphic designer and founder of the pentagram which is the worlds largest independent design consultancy. Alan’s works are etched in the memory of graphic designers past and present. He was responsible for the brand identities of Reuters and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Some of Pentagram’s most notable clients are Lloyds Bank and Mercedes Benz. 

Famous Logo Designers – Paula Sher

Paula Sher has been a partner at Pentagram the world famous design firm since 1991, she was the first lady to become a principal and is another testament to the orgaisation’s global success. Paula has most famously worked on the logos for Tiffany and Citibank.

Her approach towards design means she is able to create modern works that incorporate “popular culture and fine art”. In 2021, Paula also worked on the design for Windows 8 and notably it was the first windows logo to have the flag style emblem removed and the windows themselves kept flat. Once again a great example of keeping a logo clean and simple. 

Famous Logo Designers – Rob Janoff

The first ever apple logo was created by Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne and depicted Isaac Newton sitting under a tree however in 1977 Rob Janoff was commissioned to bring the logo into the modern age. Janoff is a specialist in corporate identity and simplified the icon – he also took a bite out of it “so it didn’t get confused with a cherry. 

Famous Logo Designers – Paul Rand

Paul Rand is most widely known for his work within corporate logos, branding and identity. Rand’s work was mostly created in the 50’s and 60’s when a new era of design was in play, however if we look at the IBM logo, it’s a simple, clean logo made of just 8 horizontal lines. Rand once said ” a logo cannot survive unless it is designed with the utmost simplicity and restraint”

Final Thoughts

The underlying skill that all of these famous logo designers have, is their ability to bring “the story” a company’s identity to life by keeping it simple. The thought process behind their work simple, clean logos that are recognizable and adaptable. This is an important factor, especially in today’s technology driven world where logos and icons are mainly displayed digitally. 

Logos and iconography are a crucial aspect to app development as this is the first thing people see, this also includes the colour choice! reach out to us at Media Shark if you need assistance with your app logo and branding

The post Famous Logo Designers & What They Got Right appeared first on Mediashark.

There are lots of different reasons for a rebrand, it can be anything from poor sales, a new CEO or even damage control from a scandal. But most recently we can assume that the pandemic has had a huge part to play in the way companies now want to be perceived.

Brand identity is the personality of any business & it needs to be clear, consistent, and offer a true representation of what the company is and what it stands for. Branding is more than just a logo, it represents the company’s culture and who they are.

As an App Development agency, we have never seen a more important time to focus on branding, iconography and styling, so below, we take a look at some of our favourite examples of company rebranding at its best.

Brand Identity Example 1 – Airbnb

In 2014, Airbnb gave us a new colour palette, a new brand mark called the Bélo (which means belong anywhere), and a new story!

The idea behind the Airbnb rebrand was to bring a sense of community and belonging. In the first week of the launch, millions of people around the world joined in on Air BnB’s initiative to interpret the new symbol. People came up with all sorts of things like avocados, pretzels and just like that, the vision and the idea of “people, places, love” was a success!

Brand Identity Example 2 – Instagram

In 2016 Instagram launched the new look of the logo, taking the old 3D polaroid and turning it into a new neon pink icon. The new-look coincided with the growing features of the entire app suite including Layout, Boomerang, and Hyperlapse.

The top bods at Insta wanted to focus more on the user experience, and celebrate the users’ photos/videos and this meant taking out any of the old Insta Blue and replacing it with neutral black and white. Therefore the only colour was coming from the “Insta worthy pics” uploaded by the user.

The general consensus at first was that the majority of users didn’t like the new look and there was some of the old “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” mentality from those in the industry however here we are 4 years later and we couldn’t imagine not seeing the bright pink icon on our smartphones.

Instagram was also on trend with the new use of their flat icon, following on from an apple update which saw all of our icons turn flat. We are now seeing this continue within the branding world. Notably, Netflix and Pizza Hut are some other globally familiar brands now opting for a flat logo.

Brand Identity – Example 3 – Mastercard

With one of the most recognisable logos in the world. Mastercard made a bold decision in 2016 to drop the name from the logo and keep the overlapping circles we have come to know and love.

The aim was to keep the familiar colouring of the brand while moving it into the digital age and making it more usable across different platforms. The idea that the old credit card was now going to be replaced by apps and smartphones meant the logo needed to be mobile-friendly.

The simplicity of this icon means it’s still recognisable in all formats. There has been some criticism that the circle symbols are not unique enough to be recognizable as there are millions of logos that have circles and red and yellow in them however due to the unwavering familiarity of the brand. We at Media Shark think the design team at Mastercard smashed it!

Brand Identity Example 4 – Subway

In 2016, subway changed its logo. It is reported that Subway was 3.4% down on its closest competitors and had closed multiple stores, so a fresh new look was needed to win customers back.

The rebrand coincided with an overhaul of the restaurants to make the dining experience easier and more technological. It’s reported that the colors of the logo have always represented the fresh vegetables and salads that form part of the iconic footlongs. The new icon is simple, clean, fresh, and bright.

Brand Identity – Example 5 – Nike Equality Campaign

Nike has always been proud of its mission and values and in 2017, they released the Nike equality campaign “until we all win”. The campaign included some strong black and white imagery and sound.

Although this is not an example of an actual rebrand. In my opinion, it is one prime example of Brand Identity at its absolute strongest. Nike is not afraid to stand up and say who they are and what they are all about. The campaign brought together global athletes such as Serena Williams, LeBron James and also includes Alicia Keys singing a “change is gona come” and is one of their most powerful campaigns to date. If we think about the Black Lives Matter movement and how fundamential it has been to the narrative of 2021. We can really get a feel of Nikes vision and values and who they are which is really exciting to see!

Final Thoughts

Branding can be one of the most tricky aspects of your product to get right. But when you do it can be an absolute game-changer, increasing revenue and public awareness. As an App Development agency the team here at Media Shark understands the importance of getting your branding on point the first time round, so if you have an app that needs some branding work feel free to reach out to us

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The possibilities of digital technology, combined with mounting competitive pressure can create a sense of urgency, almost forcing businesses to adopt wholesale digital transformation without first laying a solid foundation from which to build from.   

Successful businesses know how to leverage digital innovation and integrate transformation with brand vision, get stakeholder buy-in and cultivate a digital culture that employees understand, adopt and, hopefully, champion.

Keep reading to discover the key strategies of digital transformation that your business must adopt. Be sure to pay attention to the last section – it will make any transition much easier.

The Story of Your Digital Strategy

Before rolling out any new processes and platforms, you need to define what you want your strategy to achieve. Do you want to improve customer service? Increase conversions? Engage existing and potential customers more?

Any digital marketing consultant will tell you that you need to connect digital transformation to meaning. The cloud is a good example of this. These days people toss around the cloud in conversation like everyone knows exactly what it is and how it works. You might be surprised to learn that many people do not.

Before you achieve business buy-in, employees must understand how the technology works and why it is beneficial to them. This is the only way to achieve wholesale adoption.

How can you do this? Tell a compelling story. Highlight the benefits. Impress to colleagues that their day-to-day lives will be much easier if they utilise all the features a digital ecosystem promotes. Highlight the challenges and show how they are met. Give employees context, something they can identify with and then tie this to a winning strategy.

This may sound complicated, even daunting to some businesses, but it is necessary to ease any transition from an analogue mindset to a digital one.

Commercial Alignment with Business Goals

Business leaders agree that aligning digital transformation with business goals is imperative. Any decisions taken need to be supported from the top down. CEO’s and boards must communicate that any digital transformation is the right strategy for departments and teams.

Any communication should include outlining goals and how digital transformation will meet them, mitigating any concerns, assuring employees that they will receive full training and clearly explaining new processes.

Remember that it is impossible for digital transformation to be driven by IT departments alone; any adoption must be aligned with your business’ mission, heritage, and future planning. Get full departmental buy-in and you will have a strong foundation from which to prosper, even deliver scalable solutions.

Invest Time in Running Tests

Any form of digital transformation nearly always requires many internal stakeholders to learn to do things in a different way. This will probably include revamping processes that have been in place for years. They may even change the way that stakeholders interact with clients and their day-to-day roles.

It is critical to find ways of getting everyone on board. You will need to cultivate understanding with any group that is sceptical of any digital innovation. The best way to do this is by running tests, answering any questions, and allaying any fears prior to rollout.

Take the time to run proofs-of-concept and pilots before moving forward with build execution. This is especially important when introducing any new technological deployment into the business. Why? It is always difficult to anticipate how things will work.

Be upfront and realistic, building checkpoints into any strategy. This will demonstrate that you have helped to ensure that the business is prepared for the digital transformation and that teams and partners can seamlessly evolve processes with minimal impact on customer relations.

Identify the People You Need to Make It Work

The next stage is to evaluate the team and determine if you need to employ professionals who have the skills you’re lacking. This could be an IT manager/director, risk mitigation manager, project manager or head of digital strategies.

Hiring people who do not just demonstrate capabilities, but competencies are vital. UX experience professionals, data scientists and full-stack developers who, although qualified, only have a year or two experience working in a commercial role will not be as effective as highly experienced managers or team leaders. Identify the people you need to make the digital transformation as successful and as easy as possible.

Additionally, something that is particularly important, make sure that any human resources augment existing employee skill sets, and that they are competent in the digital transformation that your business is aiming towards.

So, in other words, if you have decided to focus your business on eCommerce sales, you will probably need a digital marketing director, social media manager, copywriter and SEO professional. You will not necessarily need a data scientist.

Make Sure You’ve Got the Risk Management Down Cold

As beneficial as digital transformation is to ongoing commercial prosperity in the long run, initially it can be quite disruptive to businesses. Digital transformation is all about developing and scaling new, better technologies and challenging the status quo whilst changing ingrained operational mindsets.

For many businesses, this is counter to what they have been used to for years and years. However, digital transformation must implement diligent risk management and controls. This allows businesses to anticipate and mitigate any potential issues.

CIO’s who understand this and know how to minimize disruption whilst managing risks. From creating processes to support the integration of new digital platforms to making sure that employees fully understand their commitments, there is much to consider when thinking about risk management.

Get everything down cold prior to wholescale roll out and you will be able to benefit immediately from well-organised streamlined processes.

Prepare for the Inevitable Culture Change

The last, and arguably, the most important step in any digital transformation strategy is to prepare your business for the culture change. Successful strategies are only achieved through the careful orchestration of organizational capabilities that meet any vision for transformation.

There are many elements to this. From balancing incremental and radical objectives to ensuring that the transition is completed seamlessly, preparing for the inevitable digital transformation culture change is essential to its success.

However, if there is one aspect of this change that businesses need to focus their efforts on, it is the consideration they need to devote to the cultural aspects of the change. The more employee advocates you have, the better. However, anticipating resistance and putting measures in place to help those employees who are deterred by digital transformation will help ease the transition process no-end.

Business is all about people. If your employees do not embrace digital transformation wholeheartedly, your chances of experiencing seamless digital transformation are slim.

Nailing Your Digital Transformation

Digital transformation may seem daunting but in 2020, it is inevitable. For any business to provide the level of service that their customers expect whilst remote working, some degree of commercial digitisation is paramount.

Right now, businesses in Australia should be honing the service that they offer their customers. By undertaking digital transformation, this is exactly what they can do.

Author Bio

Nathan Elly is the branch manager at Digital Next, a full-service search marketing agency based in South Melbourne specialising in SEO, PPC and social media marketing. He’s a passionate digital marketer dedicated to business development and long-term strategy, with experience from a multitude of SEO disciplines combined into a role which supports and progresses online businesses.

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