Change for the Sake of Change

Redesigning your firm’s logo is a complex undertaking. Done correctly, it can elevate your brand. But done poorly, it can confuse your audience and even damage your reputation. One of the worst reasons to change your logo is because you are “tired” of it. Change for the sake of change is OK when it comes to a haircut (you can always wear a hat), but not in the case of your identity.

More of the Same

Of late, we’re seeing a trend in logo design towards homogenization rather than differentiation, or what has now been referred to as “blanding.” Consider, for instance, these major fashion labels and their logo updates:

Notice anything? Although all the logos, both “before” and “after,” are typographic marks (without icons or illustrative elements), the original five logos used unique typography while the new ones rely on very similar fonts (all are sans serif, bold, and uppercase). Some explain this striking similarity as a need to appeal to a wider audience. Others point fingers at the Internet and social media, saying logos must be simple and bold to work across all platforms. More likely, it’s a combination of both these reasons, plus the human tendency to join the pack and be risk-averse.

As a designer, I understand the desire to modernize. The old Yves Saint Laurent logo, for example, always irked me in the sense that the letters looked squished together, overly tall and skinny. The slightly angled Y, S and L added to my sensation of squeezing into a tight pair of pants. The new logo has none of this. The bold, straight, dare I say “fat” letters leave me feeling… nothing really. The same way I feel when I read “95 NORTH” on a road sign. Yes, it’s easier to read, but I miss the quirkiness, the very French “je ne sais quoi”-ness about the old logo. It was different. It was memorable. It was THEM.

Blanding that Backfired

For almost 50 years, Cracker Barrel’s logo featured “Uncle Herschel,” the real-life uncle of Cracker Barrel founder Dan Evins, who served as the company’s “goodwill ambassador.” Then, the company decided to modernize its restaurant interiors and update its logo. Uncle Herschel and the cracker barrel were eliminated. But the public would have none of it. Customers and social media were outraged. Even President Trump posted his vexation. Cracker Barrel dropped over $100 million in market share value and ditched the entire modernization plan. And Uncle Herschel is back on the logo, where he belongs.

As a marketer, I found the emotional backlash and public outcry fascinating but not surprising. The Cracker Barrel brand is all about nostalgia. It’s about simpler times, home cooked food, an old-timey charm in a country store atmosphere. People embrace the brand because they want that feeling, that experience. Their costly mistake taught all marketers a priceless lesson: Understand your brand before you make a change.

Hello Again

We, humans, love the familiar, that’s why we’ll listen to favorite songs over and over and movie remakes are so popular. Reinvigorating a familiar logo element can also prove successful. A recent example is the Mail Chimp logo. Originally, their logo included “Freddie” the monkey mascot:

Freddie evolved over time but was eventually removed from the logo and just used as a separate brand element, and a playful script font served as the firm’s logo. Now, Freddie has been simplified to a one-color mark, and incorporated back into the logo with a bold, funky font:

The new logo “retains all the weird, lovable elements that endeared the brand to its first fervent fans” and reunites Freddie with the wordmark, like the original logo designed by Mailchimp’s co-founder, Ben Chestnut.

Keeping What Works

Building on an existing logo, rather than throwing away an old identity, can often work in your favor. Consider the newest logo iteration of Dunkin’ Donuts, for example:

The iconic orange and pink colors and soft, rounded font have been in place since the 1980s. The coffee cup graphic was added in 2002 to strengthen their coffee market and compete with Starbucks and other brands newer to the field. That worked well, and now (I believe) Dunkin’ can afford to drop the graphic as well as the word “Donuts” while still staying true to their core brand identity. My guess is that many people will see the new logo and not even realize the change happened. Yet, it’s simpler, larger (on signage), and stronger overall.

Historic Preservation

Even when major changes are needed, preserving elements of the logo’s design can prove beneficial. The old City of Oslo (Norway) logo used the city’s full coat of arms. The full-color, highly intricate illustration was impossible to read in smaller formats. Over the years, additional logos had been added for various reasons and uses, resulting in over 200 logos for the municipality. This fragmentation was not only confusing but also expensive to maintain. The new logo is a true modernization and simplification of the old coat of arms. It works well at small sizes and online applications. The clean, softly rounded font choice pairs well with the illustrative style and the city’s aesthetic and vision for the future.

Less is (Not Always) More

Another trend popular with professional service firms, especially law firms, is shortening the firm name to one word or even initials. If your firm is considering such a move, again, proceed with caution. Step one should always be to listen. If your current name is excessively long, chances are your employees, clients and prospects already use a shortened version when conversing. Is that shortened version the first word, the first two words, initials? Rebranding using your vernacular name (what people are already calling you) almost always helps strengthen your brand. For example, when we helped the architecture firm Lamoureux Pagano Associates Architects with their rebranding, a concern they had was the difficulty pronouncing and spelling the firm’s name. This also caused issues when Googling for the firm. As we listened to their team talk, they referred to themselves as “LPAA.” Their clients did as well. Luckily, the URL “lpaa.com” was available for a reasonable fee, and a shortened name and all new brand were born.

Knowing When it’s Time

Although there is no set timeline mandating when a logo should be updated, there are several factors that warrant considering a change:

• Readability problems when the logo is reduced or used on social media or other digital platforms
• Too many variations of the logo, fracturing the brand
• Extreme proportions, such as very horizontal or very vertical logo shapes, limiting the logo’s flexibility in use
• A misalignment between the logo and firm’s style, such as a very traditional logo with a very progressive firm

In closing, when considering changing your logo, do not assume that an all-new, “modern” design is always the best solution. If your firm has a strong reputation, leveraging your existing logo by maintaining certain colors, design elements, or fonts, may prove more beneficial than a complete redesign. Be cautious of abandoning brand elements that help differentiate your firm in favor of “bland” designs that look too similar to everyone else.

References:

The Hottest Branding Trend of the Year
Bloomberg on Fashion Brands
Avon Logo
Dunkin’ Donuts Logo
Mail Chimp Logo
Oslo Logo

Vanessa’s article first appeared in SMPS Boston’s Outlook.

The post Branding Versus Blanding: Logos appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.

The old website was extremely dated, unintuitive to navigate, and on a platform no longer supported. It was imperative to update the site to help build attorney and client confidence. Clockwork worked closely with the firm’s National Managing Director of Marketing and web development agency throughout the project. We began with a robust brand research phase of work, then applied our findings to restructure and consolidate the Services and Industries, develop a cleaner site map, and fully redesign the website.

Web Design Scope of Work:

• Website design, including visual web accessibility
• New fonts and branding components, building on the existing color palette
• Robust sitemap development and design preferences review phase
• UI/UX improvements to key section landing pages
• Sticky sitewide and on-page navigation design

“I’m really proud of what we accomplished, and that includes the entire Clockwork team. Danielle was so instrumental throughout the project, I can’t say enough about what an asset she is and how much we enjoyed collaborating with her.”

Martin Hughes, National Managing Director of Marketing, Lewis Brisbois

The post Am Law 100 Firm Lewis Brisbois Launches New Website appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.

When it comes to holiday videos, similar to TV commercials, capturing viewers’ attention in a minute or less usually requires one of these three features:

1. It makes people laugh
2. It makes people cry
3. It is surprising in some way

I recently came across a brilliant video that Delta Airlines produced. I fly fairly regularly, and quite honestly have not watched a flight attendant go through the entire safety spiel since, well, never. Yet, I watched this entire video. It’s funny AND surprising. I kept watching because even though I know how to buckle my seat belt and put on a life vest, I didn’t want to miss a gag. I love how they adapted another safety video for the holiday theme. I especially admire that a major corporation like Delta was not afraid to take a serious subject like safety and make it fun. They understand that sending a message that makes people smile or laugh does not mean they are a silly company or take safety lightly.

Here are a few examples of fun holiday cards we’ve created for a few of our clients over the years:

The post How To Make a Video Holiday Card that People Actually Watch appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.

Frier Levitt is a national healthcare and life sciences law firm known for navigating complexity, providing clarity, and delivering results. The previous website was outdated and difficult to navigate, which was inconsistent with the firm’s reputation. The new website delivers a sophisticated, accessible, and SEO-friendly website to better serve current and prospective clients and employees. 

Notable Site Features:

• Website Design & Programming: A fully custom design and build that highlights the firm’s people, services, and thought leadership while improving navigation and content management flexibility.
• Refreshed Color Palette: Additional accent colors for added visual interest and accessible color contrast ratios.
• Parallax Scrolling: Subtle motion elements that add visual depth without compromising performance.
• Predictive Search: Enhanced search functionality to help users quickly locate attorneys and services.
• Web Accessibility: Built to meet modern accessibility standards, ensuring an inclusive user experience.
• SEO-Friendly Build: Optimized architecture, clean code, and strategic on-page optimization to improve search visibility.
• Gated Content: Lead generation tools that allow the firm to offer valuable resources while growing its prospective client list.
• HubSpot & Centerbase Integration: Seamless integrations with HubSpot and Centerbase to streamline marketing and operational workflows.

The post National Boutique Law Firm Frier Levitt Launches New Website appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.

For instance, on a print project, you’re most likely interested in inches, while on a digital project like a website or ad banner, you’re probably looking to use pixels or points. All of these Adobe apps have typical ways of switching from one unit of measurement to another – via the Preferences menu – but there’s a faster way you should know as well.

Suppose you were using Illustrator, which was currently set for inches:

The speedy way to switch units of measurement is to right-click on either the horizontal or vertical ruler (if there’s no ruler at all, look for it in the View menu of each of these apps) and you’ll be presented with a contextual menu with all the unit choices you could possibly want:

From there, just choose something like points and the rulers will change accordingly:

The same exact thing goes for Photoshop. Right-click a ruler and choose another unit such as pixels:

And again, the rules now display in pixels:

One caveat, however, when it comes to InDesign: if you follow the above steps, such as switching from inches to points:

It only affects the ruler you right-clicked on. Note how the horizontal ruler now shows points, but the vertical ruler remains in inches:

No problem – just right-click the other ruler and make your choice there as well:

And now both display your chosen unit of measure:

By the way, unlike Illustrator and Photoshop, InDesign is a page-layout application. In some situations, the width and height of a printed piece are described using independent units of measure.

The post Mike’s Technical Tip: Easily Change Units of Measure in Adobe Creative Cloud Apps appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.

Web Accessibility Lawsuits by Year

Despite a dip last year to just over 4,000 cases filed, web accessibility lawsuits rebounded in 2025, climbing back above 5,000 filings in state and federal courts.

Web Accessibility Lawsuits by State

State-level ADA lawsuits continue to climb, with New York accounting for more than half of all filings and solidifying its position as the epicenter of digital accessibility litigation. California, meanwhile, stands out as the only major state to see a decline compared to the previous year.

Web Accessibility Lawsuits by Industry

Food service businesses are taking a bigger piece of the pie this year (pun intended), with lawsuits on the rise across the industry, increasing from 11% in 2024 to 21% in 2025. Both eCommerce and food service websites face heightened risk due to the ordering functionality they rely on, where accessibility barriers are more likely to occur.

Web Accessibility Widgets Do Not Protect Against Lawsuits

The number of lawsuits filed against companies using web accessibility widgets, such as UserWay and AccessiBe, continues to rise year over year. These widgets claim to make any website accessible by simply adding their code. However, according to reports from the Federal Trade Commission and accessibility lawyers, they do not actually protect subscribers from lawsuits.

In 2025, 1,416 companies relying on these widgets were sued for accessibility issues, up from 1,023 in 2024. The trend shows that such overlays have severe limitations and highlights that overlays alone are not enough to meet web accessibility requirements.

Other Notable Trends from the 2024 Digital Accessibility Lawsuits

• High risk of multiple lawsuits
  45% of the federal court cases filed are against companies previously hit with digital accessibility lawsuits.
• Top 500 among the biggest culprits
  36% of the top 500 eCommerce retailers had digital accessibility lawsuits filed against them.
• Small Businesses still a large target
  64% of the cases filed were against companies with an annual revenue of less than $25M.

Data Source: UsableNet. UsableNet tracks all digital accessibility lawsuits involving websites, mobile apps, and video content. Their report covers all cases filed across the 11 federal circuit courts under the ADA, as well as cases filed in key state courts, including New York and California.

Additional Digital Accessibility Information

Visit the link below for future resources and information on web accessibility.

The post 2025 Web Accessibility Lawsuit Trends appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.

The answer, however, is not always straightforward. The right approach can vary depending on employment agreements, firm structure, and the subject matter of the content itself. Below, we’ll walk through some possible options and the considerations behind each.

Maintain Firm Credibility through Attribution

One of the simplest solutions is to update the article’s attribution from the former employee to the firm more generally, a practice group, or another current team member. This helps avoid confusion or awkward client conversations when readers attempt to contact an author who is no longer with the firm. Many firms choose to create a generic firm or practice group author profile specifically for situations like these.

Before taking this approach, it is essential to confirm that your employment agreements clearly state that content created during employment is the property of the firm. If this language is not currently included, it is worth adding to future contracts.

Preserve SEO Value via Content Refreshes

Another option is to have a current employee revise or rewrite the article. This allows you to preserve the SEO value and traffic performance of high-quality content while ensuring it reflects your current expertise and team.

Pro Tip: As a best practice, popular or high-performing articles should be reviewed and updated every few years. Regular updates signal relevance to search engines and help maintain strong site traffic.

Protect Site Health with Strategic Redirects

If an article needs to be removed entirely, such as when the firm no longer offers that service or area of expertise, redirects should be put in place. This helps prevent broken links and protects your site’s SEO performance. When possible, redirect visitors to a closely related article or resource. If no similar content exists, a clear message indicating that the material has been archived is preferable to a dead page.

Conclusion

Handling articles written by former employees requires a thoughtful balance of legal considerations, SEO best practices, and client experience. No matter how you choose to handle the change, the key is to be intentional and consistent in your approach. By establishing clear policies and reviewing content regularly, firms can protect their digital presence while ensuring their website continues to serve as a reliable and accurate resource for clients.

The post The Legacy Content Dilemma: Managing Articles by Former Employees appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.

We partnered closely with the D.F. Pray team to create brand materials and a website that honors the firm’s history while positioning it confidently for the future. From updated visuals to marketing-driven messaging, every element was designed to let the firm’s versatility, expertise, and culture shine through. Be sure to check out the new designs and full website experience below!

“Working with the Clockwork team has been an exceptional experience. They listened closely at every stage of the process and guided us through a complete website rebuild with skill and professionalism. We’re truly proud of the final product.”

Mark Kaplan Jr., Sr. Director of Marketing, D.F. Pray

The Project Scope & Features:

• Designed and built a fully accessible website compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA standards
• Highlighted key markets by spotlighting featured projects on the homepage
• Built robust cross-linking throughout the site to encourage exploration and engagement
• Implemented sticky navigation and subtle on-page animations for an enhanced user experience
• Crafted marketing-driven, top-level messaging that speaks to both clients and recruits
• Developed a flexible bio template to streamline future bio writing and updates
• Coordinated printed stationery and branded collateral
• Polished and refined a PowerPoint presentation template
• Created a comprehensive social media kit, including post templates, cover photos, and profile images
• Refreshed the firm’s email template for brand consistency
• Produced a custom brand standards manual featuring new iconography, patterns, and visual systems

The post Construction Firm D.F. Pray Launches New Website & Brand Materials appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.

1. Save Your Cover Image

Download the images you want to use to your phone.

2. Open Your Instagram Profile

Press and hold the Story Highlight you want to update.

3. Edit the Highlight

Select Edit Highlight → Edit Cover.

4. Choose a New Cover

Tap the image icon and select a cover from your camera roll.

Step 5: Save

Tap Done in the top right corner.

That’s it! Your Story covers are updated

Need custom Story covers or social media templates designed for your firm? Contact us and Clockwork can help! Check out our other blog posts below for more insights on social media branding and visual consistency.

Related Posts

How to Use Instagram Stories Professionally

How to Launch Instagram for Professional Service Firms

Social Media Glossary

The post How to Update Instagram Story Covers and Improve First Impressions appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.

What is a Canva Brand Kit?

Think of Canva’s Brand Kit as a digital version of your brand guidelines but more dynamic. With a Canva Pro account, you can store your logos, colors, fonts, photos, and other brand assets all in one place. This ensures everyone on your team has easy access to the correct, approved brand elements. Pretty neat, huh?

Set Up Your Brand Kit in Canva

Watch Our Short Video, Below

Start by locating the Brand Kit tab in the left-hand sidebar. Once inside, you’ll see sections for logos, colors, fonts, and other brand assets. To upload files, you have two options. The quickest method is drag and drop. Simply drag a logo or other asset like an image into Canva and it will automatically upload. You can also click “Add to Category,” then “Upload Asset” to open your file browser and select the correct file you’d like to add. At a minimum, we recommend setting up your logos, colors, and fonts, as shown in the recording above. The additional sections not shown are still very useful and can help reinforce your brand as you create graphics in Canva.

Useful Tips

• Colors: Canva will automatically pull in colors from any logos that are uploaded, and pre-populate the colors area as “palettes”. We recommend removing these and instead uploading your colors individually for the most accuracy.
• Fonts: Don’t see your brand’s font in Canva’s dropdown? You can also upload fonts directly to Canva, granted you have the appropriate font permissions to do so.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Old logos: Outdated logos can quickly find their way into new materials if they’re still stored in your Brand Kit. Be sure to remove any retired or alternate logo versions that are no longer approved. This helps prevent confusion and ensures that only the correct, current logo files are being used across all Canva designs.

Inconsistent Colors: Slight variations in color can add up and weaken brand recognition over time. Make sure only your approved brand colors are included in the Brand Kit, and avoid adding multiple versions of the same color “just in case.” Consistent color usage is key to building a recognizable and professional brand presence.

Brand Controls: Share Across Teams

Watch Our Short Video, Below

Who should mange it?: Brand controls let you manage how your brand assets are used within Canva. When color and font restrictions are enabled, team members are limited to your approved selections. You can also enable design approvals and assign a reviewer to add a second set of eyes before anything gets shared. We recommend assigning a single point person, such as a marketing director or brand manager, to oversee and maintain the Brand Kit. This helps ensure updates are made thoughtfully and consistently. If needed, Clockwork is happy to set up your Brand Kit and prepare it for easy handoff to your team!

Keeping it updated: As your brand grows and changes, your Brand Kit should be updated to reflect those changes. Check in on your Brand Kit from time to time to make sure all assets are current. This is especially important after a brand refresh, when adding an anniversary logo, or when updating team headshots.

A Canva Brand Kit doesn’t create your brand but instead it protects it. The stronger your brand foundation, the more effective tools like Canva become. When your logos, colors, and fonts are clearly defined, your team can move faster without sacrificing consistency. If you need help defining, refining, or organizing your brand before setting up Canva, Clockwork is here to help!

Related Posts

How to Use Canva: A Starter Guide

How to Organize Canva Projects

Making Your Canva Designs Accessible: A Guide

The post How to Set Up a Canva Brand Kit appeared first on Clockwork Design Group, Inc.