Consistent branding looks professional, saves on design time and helps guests and prospects remember you.

Starting with the logo
Maine Stay Inn and Cottages (Kennebunkport, ME) offers modern comforts in their historic home and guest cottages. Innkeepers Judi and Walter Hauer knew their web site needed an update and chose InsideOut for the redesign. But they had no logo or established branding.

After exchanging ideas with Judi, InsideOut designer Jim McCauley created a logo that conveys the accommodations’ traditional yet contemporary appeal. The logo is legible at both large and small sizes. And because it’s a vector-based* electronic file, graphic designers can quickly and easily work with this logo. Beth Logan had no trouble incorporating the new logo into her web site design.

Business cards
With the look and feel established by the logo and web site, designing the business card was a snap. Maine Stay decided to list all the staff with a check box next to each name. In this way, they saved the cost of printing a set of cards for each person. InsideOut created the design and took care of the print management for fuss-free printing and quick delivery.

E-newsletter
The logo and branding also transferred seamlessly to the e-newsletter designed by InsideOut. Now anyone on the Maine Stay team can publish e-newsletters with an easy-to-use template that also provides email list maintenance tools and statistics on open rates, bounce rates, etc. Their branded e-newsletter gives them an excellent way to reach out to guests in a targeted, low-cost way.

Consistent branding counts
By establishing a branded look first, Maine Stay has saved hours of design time. Their marketing materials also express the quality of their accommodations in a consistent way. This consistency makes the brand more memorable and avoids jarring discontinuities: e.g., the web site makes the place look great, but the rack card makes it look so-so. In Maine Stay’s case, prospective guests see the same experience as they go from business card to e-newsletter to web site to blog. A good first impression is backed up by repeating that impression, instilling the brand into viewers’ memories.

*Vector-based logos can be enlarged endlessly with no loss in image quality. Non-vector logos have strict limitations on how much they can be enlarged. Designers also use up valuable time cutting them out from their backgrounds since non-vector logos usually do not have transparent backgrounds.

Old design vs. new business card design for Lookout Point

Business card update for luxury inn
Lookout Point Lakeside Inn (Hot Springs, Arkansas) was nearly out of business cards. Before reprinting them, co-owner Kristie Rosset asked InsideOut to take a look at the card and see if it needed “freshening up.” The original card was easy-to-read, but it didn’t capture the sophistication of Lookout Point. After receiving our feedback, Kristie decided it was time for a redesign.

Making the card a keeper
The key to an elegant design is uncluttered space. To keep the card clean and clear, we did not cram it with text and photos. Instead, we used two of Kristie’s favorite images, one for the front and one for the back. To make it a “keeper”, the card also advertises Lookout Point’s 10% hybrid car driver discount. We incorporated this special offer into the design by making it an icon rather than another line of text on the back. To keep the branding consistent, the business card uses colors, photos and other visual elements common to their web site and postcards.

The result:
The design was approved very quickly and InsideOut took care of the print management to ensure fuss-free printing and delivery. The innkeeper and the assistant innkeeper received 1000 cards each within a week after approval. Lookout Point is very happy with the new design:

“I LOVE the new business card!” Â – Kristie Rosset

Going for a New Look

Innkeeper Cathy Kuykendall redecorated her beautiful Hot Springs, Arkansas inn, updating the look while retaining its historic Victorian beauty. It was an ideal time to have new photos taken and to update her marketing materials. Cathy wanted a cleaner branding that would emphasize the new photographs.

Starting with the Logo

Naturally, she wanted to start with her most important marketing tool: her web site. But first things first! She needed a new logo to establish the look and feel of all her subsequent marketing materials. InsideOut re-did her logo with a clean but traditional-looking font and a graphic based on the stained glass at the Inn. Starting with the logo made updating her web site, rack card and business card very quick and easy.

The result:

“Looking forward to receiving the cards. They are beautiful….” – Cathy

The web site has launched and Cathy is very happy with the result. InsideOut also oversaw the printing of 10,000 rack cards and 1,000 business cards each for Cathy and her manager, Julie. All materials have the same elegant yet simple look and feel.

Click here for a more detailed case study: