Why does your logo look like THAT?
Why does the size seem off?
Is the logo a little squished?
Does that color seem right?
What is the exact color of your logo?
Why is there always a white box behind your logo?
Should you put the logo on this background?
Why is your logo jagged on this piece?
Imagine this scenario; It is getting late, and you have been driving for hours. You are hungry and need to find someplace to stop and eat. You pull off the expressway and see the McDonald’s golden arches on the horizon, you head toward the land of warm golden french-fries. Your mouth starts to water, and you can almost taste them.
You get closer and notice something strange about the sign, the golden M is a bit… off. The color is more of a mustard yellow than a golden french-fry. The M itself is a bit squatty, and as you get to the sign, you realize that is not the home of the warm golden french-fries, it is an IMPOSTER!
How did you figure out it was not a McDonald’s? Because the logo wasn’t right. You now will not be stopping because you are a bit afraid of the weird imposter restaurant.
Let GMCI help you harness the power of branding, by creating great brand standards and logos.

Even if you are not the internationally known brand McDonald’s, your brand should be just as important. At GMCI Creative, we have been creating logos and brand standards for over 30 years for small companies, and large corporations. Today I want to make sure you have a brand standard book and style guide, so nobody ever mistakes your delicious golden French-fries for an imposter!
The Zombie Email Apocalypse
Picture this: your inbox is flooded with emails from a single company, each one more persistent and aggressive than the last. This relentless bombardment of emails is what we call the “Zombie Email Apocalypse.” It’s a surefire way to drive your audience away faster than a horde of the undead.
To avoid this nightmarish scenario, prioritize quality over quantity. At GMCI we segment your email lists, personalize your messages, and set reasonable frequency caps to ensure your subscribers receive valuable content without feeling overwhelmed.
The Phantom Social Media Follower
Imagine a social media page with thousands of followers, but when you dig deeper, you realize most of them are fake or inactive accounts—the Phantom Social Media Follower tactic. While it may seem impressive at first glance, this tactic can backfire when your actual engagement rates are abysmally low.
Instead, GMCI focuses on growing an organic and engaged audience by creating compelling content, interacting with your followers, and using targeted advertising to reach your desired audience.
The Cryptic Clickbait
Clickbait, the art of crafting sensational or misleading headlines to entice clicks, is a marketing tactic that can leave a lasting scar on your brand’s reputation. No one likes to feel tricked or deceived.
To steer clear of this tactic, GMCI creates honest and enticing headlines that accurately represent your content. Your audience will appreciate transparency, and it will help build trust in the long run.
The Frankenstein’s Monster Website
A slow, confusing, and cluttered website can be a true monster for your audience. If your website looks like it was pieced together haphazardly, visitors will flee faster than villagers with torches and pitchforks.
Use GMCI to invest in a well-designed, user-friendly website that loads quickly and provides a seamless browsing experience. We will ensure that your website is responsive on mobile devices, as many users access websites through smartphones and tablets.
The Mysterious Disappearing Fine Print
Hidden fees, unclear terms, and misleading pricing can turn your customers into a suspicious and distrustful mob. This “Mysterious Disappearing Fine Print” tactic might provide short-term gains, but it will damage your brand’s reputation in the long run.
We always make sure our clients are transparent about pricing, terms, and conditions. Honesty and clarity build trust, which is vital for long-term customer relationships.

Brand Recognition
A well-crafted logo aids in brand recognition. Customers identify your business by your logo, the more consistently it is applied across all marketing material, the more powerful it becomes as a symbol of your brand. Creating a strong logo is just the beginning. To ensure your brand identity remains consistent, you need brand standards or brand guidelines.
We have been creating logo and brand guides for over 30 years. Our style and brand guides and logos are still in use by the Chicago Cubs baseball team 30 years after we created the brand. The “new” 1994 Cub and C were created by Kim Gilmore, for The Tribune Company and Major League Baseball and are still in use to this day. She created the logo mark, all uniform styles, alternative use logos and brand standards for the Chicago Cubs logo. In the same year, she was tasked with creating the Major League Baseball 125th Anniversary logo, the Chicago Cubs Convention and Cubs Care logos. All of these logos are in use to this day, and following the brand standard she wrote and designed.

Brand Standards
All logos require a brand standards document. This important document states the rules of your logo, the colors, the styles, and types of logos your company uses and how they are to be used. Many times, these documents also state fonts that are approved, additional sub colors and additional graphic elements your brand identity can apply. These are not just for internal use; they also serve as a communication tool for anyone who works with your brand. Whether it is an in-house team member, a marketing agency like GMCI Creative or external vendors, these guidelines ensure that everyone understands how to represent your brand visually and verbally. The consistency in messaging and design is crucial for maintaining a unified brand image.

Let GMCI help you create full brand standards and organized files for your logo.
Even if your logo is 50 years old, if you do not have a brand guide and brand standards documents, GMCI can help. We can create the rules for your logo and all of the file types you will need in order to not have bitmapped, squished, white square backgrounds and off-color versions of your logo floating around and out there in the public realm.