The Evolution of the CS Designworks Brand

Posted on October 28, 2021
By Michael Miller, Digital Media Designer

25 Years of Evolving

In celebration of CS Designworks' 25 years in business, we reflect back on the evolution of the CSD brand over the years and our strategy and thinking behind each change.

Determining the right time to rebrand

Several factors can be at play for any new logo/branding decision for a company. For us, it was a combination of keeping up with a changing aesthetic in our overall culture (transcending the corporate world, entertainment, fashion, you name it) to a sort of instinctual inspiration based on our new move, which signaled a fresh start.

Rebranding starts with the logo

It has often been said that business is like dating. As a business owner you work tirelessly to knock the socks off desired customers – get them to fall in love with your brand, your services. And, of course, in dating it’s paramount that you make a good first impression.

You want to look your best, so think of your logo as your avatar on a dating website, or as the clothes you wear on a first date.

CS Designworks rebrands for the 2020s

As a firm in business for 25 years, we have been though several logo iterations.

We are always cognizant of adapting with the changes that naturally occur in the visual world of design and user interaction. Being more contemporary and reflecting these changes – not unlike the golden rule in dating and first impressions – gives us a leg up on rival “suitors”.

Our new logo icon

We often get asked what does the “CS” stand for. Originally, CS stood for Chiechi Soha. Soha is Micheal Soha, an original founding partner.

Our new logo leans away from an emphasis on CS and pays more attention to “Design Works”, which is the essence of what we embody – the working fusion of Design, Integrated Marketing and Communications. To put it in the simplest terms, good design is key in its expression of any company, big or small, private or public. Design is the first visual impression that your constituency makes a judgement on.

Going for that visual impact

Our new logo reflects more of what we are doing as a firm and how the industry has morphed over the years. The interlocking C and S reflects “Integrated Design and Marketing”, which is our heralded strength. We offer customers a full design package (from ground-up company/corporate branding to complete design and development services across all collateral) and also act as marketing consultant, integrating the two.

The interlocking of our C and S also echos the Yin Yang juxtaposition of the right and left brain, which ultimately balances out and is the cornerstone of exceptional design.

Knowing when it's time to rebrand

Here are some questions you can ask yourself that will help determine if it’s time for a new brand identity:

• Why did we start this business?
• What are the beliefs / values that are important to our company?
• What do we do better than anyone else?
• What makes us special?
• What three words would best describe our brand?
• Would these be the same three words our customers would use to describe us?

Be inspired!

Are you setting out to rebrand just to rebrand or has something really lit a fire under you and your company? Customers and consumers can often sense when a product has real inspiration behind it, much like a great song or painting – the inspiration shines through. This can be the same for a company, so if you’re really “feeling” it it’s likely to be more successful.

The CS Designworks tagline

No two companies are alike, and with every client and each project there are different dynamics. Our tagline, "Advancing Business Objectives", reflects our dedicated and exclusive focus on each client's business goals. This philosophy is applied to everything we do, whether its corporate branding, website design and development, strategic marketing, merchandise, or any package of services. Our design works, and we set out to make it work for each and every business client.