I received a phone call from Dave Porter asking for help. He has a fantastic business called Domestic Roofing based in Melbourne; it is over 10 year old doing all things roofing: cleaning, repairing and restoring. In the past 5 years, one particular part of their business – vacuum gutter cleaning has really taken off, so Dave decided that it is time to separate this part of the business into a new entity.

 

He registered Vacuum Gutter Cleaning Australia as his new business name. With the new name, his new vision is to become an industry leader and a nationwide corporation. Dave had two rounds of design work done to the logo from a local designer and an outsourced overseas designer via a marketing company. Dave is ‘not artistic’ (his own words), and was happy with the designs, however after he engage a business coach who understands the importance of brand image, Dave was told that the designs he had were … well let’s say less than desirable. So he was referred to CreativLi.

 

My first response to his challenge was that before we even look at the designs of the logo, he needed a better name if he intended to build a brand. ‘Vacuum Gutter Cleaning Australia’ is very descriptive and generic, says exactly what the business does, and here lies the big problem, so does every single one of his competitors. It is a phased so over used by the industry, that would not be able to create any emotional connection with its customer, and that it would certainly not be able to register for trade mark. Dave’s potential customers will not be able to distinguish him from anyone else, especially when searching on google. And it would be very difficult for his existing customers to refer them to others by the name. 

 

So we then went on a mission to find a new name, after a bit of back and forth, eventually Dave decided on Porter Vac – a combination of his last name Porter and Vac (short of Vacuum). Porter also sounds like ‘Porta’ as in ‘portable’, which is rather appropriate as Vacuum gutter cleaning is somewhat portable and less intrusive therefore less likely to cause damage. 

 

 

Now that we have a name, we dig further to define what the brand stands for. The biggest differentiating factor that Porter Vac has compare to its competitors is that all of its operational staff are qualified roof tillers, so its customers can have the peace of mind knowing that their roof is not going to be damaged due to the cleaning process. This to us is all about being professional and confident, and their staffs are also friendly and reliable.

 

 

One of Dave’s objective was he wanted his customer instantly recognise what they do upon seeing the logo. So our big idea is simple but effective, using the negative space in the initial ‘P’ to form the shape of the vacuum hose, and silhouette of a bunch of leaves progressively getting smaller indicating the suction motion. 

We chose the font named Archive Regular for the word mark, because the stroke in the font is equal in thickness, together with the rounded edges reminds us further of the vacuum duct. 

 

The vibrant blue in the icon reflects the friendliness and high energy of his dedicated staffs, and the deep blue conveys trust and professionalism. 

 

Overall the logomark is minimalistic, clean which conveys professionalism and confidence. Compare to its competitors in the industry, Porter Vac logomark is distinctive, memorable, stood out proudly and has great potential of becoming the leading brand in the industry.

 

 

PorterVac: www.PorterVac.com.au

Photography: http://www.zedphotography.com.au/

Work with us: www.CreativLi.com.au