The path inward is the path forward
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Wanting to target its sales, marketing and legal consulting services to tech clients with sales upward of $20M, Sales Framework based in San Francisco, did not have a compelling name. After a two day brand strategy workshop where I developed the purpose, mission, and vision of the brand with the founder and CEO, Chris Dailey, we concluded its name sounded like a one-size-fits-all marketing scheme. It conveyed none of the multidisciplinary expertise, much less the spiritual ethos Chris had. According to him, taking a company to new heights of success is as much about harnessing the creative energy of its employees as it is the meticulous analysis of data.
Wanting to target its sales, marketing and legal consulting services to tech clients with sales upward of $20M, Sales Framework based in San Francisco, did not have a compelling name. After a two day brand strategy workshop where I developed the purpose, mission, and vision of the brand with the founder and CEO, Chris Dailey, we concluded its name sounded like a one-size-fits-all marketing scheme. It conveyed none of the multidisciplinary expertise, much less the spiritual ethos Chris had. According to him, taking a company to new heights of success is as much about harnessing the creative energy of its employees as it is the meticulous analysis of data.
I worked with writer Dani Kollin to come up with twenty-two names that ranged from the suggestive to the abstract and utilized a variety of unique spellings (see below). After much discussion, Chris settled on the name “Intreka” as it encapsulated the idea that the journey to business success is a company's internal process of relentless self-awareness, self-evaluation, and accountability. In short, the path inward is the path forward.
The first (below, top) was titled “Humble” and it combined a muted color scheme with triangular motifs suggestive of mountain tops and a journey upward. The second (below, middle), named “metaphor” communicated Intreka's structured approach to sales and marketing and metaphorically conveyed this through the use of organized shapes and patterns commonly found in nature. The third (below, bottom), “Moxie” utilized bright pink and orange to communicate the bold and dynamic energy that goes into the development of a company and was ultimately chosen as the visual direction for the brand.
With the name decided, I presented three logo options. The first (below, far left), was based on ancient symbolism of pine cones. It symbolized a person's “third eye” and the enlightened insights gained from a rigorous process of self-evaluation. The second (below, middle), was an abstract mark that symbolized the integration of Intreka's “listen, learn, and adapt” process it uses with clients. Third (below, right), conveys the idea of “the path inward” and was chosen as the final mark.
