The nursery near to where I work has undergone several rebrands during the 15 years or so that it has been there. This is the latest one, following a takeover.
You can see from the photos of the nursery’s exterior that they have been consistent with their branding on the fascia, external standing sign and car-park wall sign, and that’s very positive.
What is wrong with the van?
1 The Busy Bees logo was not used. Instead, the signwriter has originated two new combinations of text and images to use on the passenger door and at the top of the middle door.
2 The Busy Bees website address is not in the brand typeface – a new one has been used, and a yellow drop shadow has been introduced.
3 A circle with an inksplash graphic element has been introduced which is not part of the branding.
4 Busy Bees have nearly 400 nurseries in the UK. Many of them will have a multicultural intake but the children at the branch in Teddington are predominantly white middle-class, so the picture is misleading.
5 The black type on the door should have less ‘personality’ – it fights with the other typefaces used.
6 The overall impression is far too busy.
An umbrella company like Busy Bees would have a set of brand guidelines. If the Teddington branch had given these to the signwriters to follow, the van would be a great mobile advertisement for them and their cohesive identity would have gone a long way to inspiring confidence in the brand.
Postscript
I’ve recently seen vans with new branding outside the nursery. Well done Busy Bees, you now have a consistent and professional look.
About the author
Annette Peppis leads the team at Peppis Designworks, a creative hub of established publishing industry experts who create books, branding, marketing material and design templates for leading publishers and businesses. Keep in touch by to her bi-monthly emails.
