Map Mavin is a map building platform providing indaviduals and teams the ability to share data and colaborate in order to create dynamic and informed maps. All at a fraction of the cost of the hindering, overpriced competition.

PROJECT DETAILS

Client: Map Mavin

Date: 2015

Skills: Brand Development, Brand Strategy, Art Direction

Deliverables: Logo, Brand Guidelines, Naming, Tagline, Copy, Website Design

THE JOURNEY FROM IDEA TO BRAND

NAMING

It’s all in the name. I was asked to create a brand for a new service that a small mapping software company was developing. They were leaning toward calling it Map Maid. I could tell they weren’t sold on it and I wasn’t either. There was too much stigma that comes with the word “maid.” We needed something with more strength and professionalism. After some quick research, I presented Map Mavin as a name that carried interest, some alliteraton, and the weight of being the expert. It was an easy sell. We could now move on to discovering more about what we wanted the brand to represent.

Q

The original name I was approached with:

Map Maid

Too feminine, did not connect to their service, too much stigma and expected associated imagery.

R

The new name presented to the client:

Map Mavin

This name is strong, memorable, and more gender neutral. The very meaning suggests expertise.

DESIGN PROCESS

PHASE ONE: IDEATION

1st DIRECTION PROPOSED

“monogram”

2nd DIRECTION PROPOSED

“connectivity”

3rd DIRECTION PROPOSED

“map”

4th DIRECTION PROPOSED

“Robin Hood”

PHASE TWO: REFINEMENT OF DIRECTION

We picked two designs to make a few adjustments on and then compare to each other. In order to not sway our decision based on color or layout, both versions were mocked up identically.

PHASE THREE: COLOR EXPLORATION

Once the final direction was chosen, we explored branding colors. We considered how the colors would work as the main logo, as well as how they would relate to each other.

THE NEW LOGO

THE MEANING BEHIND THE BRAND

This brand is built on the creators’ feeling that they were like the Robin Hood of GIS mapping, giving the power (of affordable map making) back to the people.The logo carries a playful nod to this perception with strong concepts to build off of.

Markers or pin points are common in map logos and something we want to avoid in order to be different. The implementation of an arrow is a unique concept change, but still makes sense in the mapping world. Incorporating the arrow into the name with the “V” gives more interest both to the logo and the word “Mavin.” The bold simplicity can be very powerful and allows the company to come out strong into the mapping marketplace.

FURTHER BRAND DEVELOPMENT

TAGLINE

A quick focus on nailing down an initial tagline resulted in a descriptive one-liner that played off the Robin Hood roots of the brand.

WORDSMITHING

Though a lot of clients can explain their own product, it is much better for the brand if they get a fresh take on the product with words written by a true copywriter. The results for Map Mavin were rewarding. First we established categories we felt our product offered over the competition, then we worked with a copywriter to make this highly technical product come across as interesting and approachable.

WEB DESIGN

Once we had our content, we set out to create a simple, scrollable, one-page website. Our goal was to get the information about our product to the target audience while in beta, allowing growth into a multi-page site as more information and features developed.

BRAND GUIDELINES

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