FPD Company
What does a design firm do when tasked with creating a logo, website, photography, video, and tradeshow materials for a group of engineers? The overall project for FPD Company, a global supplier of forged and machined aerospace, medical and industrial components, had a lot of moving parts. We figured, when working with engineers, we’d better think like an engineer!
First, we had to establish some goals.
BRANDING: The company needed to modernize its entire visual brand identity.
BRAND AWARENESS: Once completed, they needed to grow their reputation for being an authority in an enormous industry where they are considered “little player”. (Think, “Little fish in a BIG pond.”)
VISUAL REPRESENTATION: Taking into consideration the actual branding, along with growing its reputation, FPD’s new look needed to reflect professionalism to the point of taking on the competition by standing out in the industry.
While similar businesses don’t seem to be using warm accent colors (yellow, orange, red), opting for a more traditional steely, corporate palette, we knew doing so was the first step to standing out from their competitors. In fact, following a tradeshow where we tested out the new branding, they were very pleased with the positive feedback!
To continue creating a visual presence for FPD, we focused on a few keywords:
PROFESSIONALISM • CLEAN • TRUSTWORTHY • CREATIVE • UNIQUE
For the logo, we chose a hexagon shape representing the ‘close-packed structure’ during forging. Inside shapes represent flames. The addition of the custom, handmade lettermark is refined, professional, and unique to FPD. The balance of sharp and rounded edges beautifully represents the flick of a flame and the precision that forging/machining requires.
Photography and video were a must for this project as a means of strengthening their brand. Elliott Cramer Photo & Video spent four days on-site to capture drone footage, video, and close-ups of all FPD offers. The use of custom visuals rather than stock images brings credibility and authenticity to a business.
Carrying the finalized brand over to the website (and every single touchpoint, for that matter) was a top priority for the BDG team. We incorporated the brand photos with rounded edges (a single rounded edge) which mimics the shapes in the custom logotype. We even added a few fun additions to FPD’s website such as a hotspot image on the Green Initiatives page, a carousel of the brand personality words, and a timeline of the company history.
As mentioned, FPD’s tradeshow materials were well received! Business cards used Vcard QR codes on soft paper with spot gloss on the logo. Retractable banners were simple and easily read from a distance.
Posters for each of their key areas included custom photography and color coding that were carried through on the website.
We think we succeeded in thinking like an engineer and creating moving parts (logo, website, photo + video, business cards, tradeshow signage) that worked seamlessly together ensuring that FPD stands out in a competitive industry.
