We were approached by National Pubwatch to look at their branding. The existing logo was very childlike and not suited to the organisation or its members – primarily pubs and bars.
The objective for the new Pubwatch logo was to create an iconic logo that more represented what Pubwatch was about and that could be used on any media and be instantly recognised. We also wanted to create something that publicans would be happy to display in their windows. Clearly the old cartoon design with child and binoculars looks very young and not conducive to a pub and bar environment.
Good branding design is about keeping the design simple. Use only the elements necessary to cleanly represent the business. We started from scratch with a basic eye shape to represent the general ‘watching’ strategy of what Pubwatch is. No more binoculars! We then incorporated the letter P for Pubwatch. This would give the eye more distinction which is vital for any brand.
We experimented with how this combination could blend and depict how Pubwatch works. We looked at many typefaces and letter Ps but they were all too clunky. We decided to simply bring down a swoosh from the eye icon to depict the letter P. We then created a box to hold the icon, to represent the pub. The icon P swoosh, then leaves the box (pub) which depicts the sending of information out and to the next pub.
The final logo works extremely well in being unique, depicting the Pubwatch method of working, and as a strong iconic logo for years to come.