There’s no school like the old school. With EVERYONE mimicking each other in brand style, voice, and jargon today, it feels weird and unnatural to go with the grain. Everyone is tech-forward, modern, and sleek – but only a few brands really nail the look and feel. Everyone else feels kinda, blah. Lacking soul, and a story.

I’m a sucker for novelty. I once found myself buying up every type of vintage tobacco pipe, and outdoorsman accessory because I wanted to be like Hemingway or Mark Twain – the iconic “man”.  As silly as that sounds, it resonated with me powerfully. I would see brands, and items that fit that “niche” and I would be drawn to it like a moth to a flame. 

Then one day, when I was thinking about Forge, I realized that to cut through the dull hum of everyone’s branding being the same, I needed to grasp for novelty.

I found some super cool 1960’s and 1970’s LIFE magazines in my grandparents basement and started flipping through the pages. Aside from the cultural differences of the era – the style and look of the print ads were so different and COOL. So naturally, being a novelty junkie – I decided to run with that.

We’re throwing back to a fun-funky late 60’s early 70’s vibe. Our color scheme has shifted from supersaturated, to more funky muted tones – and honestly – it’s so much more fun to design! 

We even revamped our Forge mascot, Spark. He went from ultra-modern to a more ink-style print look. Even though he’s a throwback, we feel like he “glowed” up.

It’s just really fun to be able to actually dig your brand style. I think so many people get caught up in ensuring their brand is TOTALLY tailored to their target audience or customer base, that they forget to be artists and creators. You can be in the finance industry without having your brand only be weird stock images of skyscrapers and middle aged men and women shaking hands in a conference room… (sorry to be condescending…but it’s a little lame).

The “groovy” element may not resonate with some, but if we can turn heads because we are throwing out some style that hasn’t been seen in 40-50 years – we’re cool with it. We’re creators, we’re weird, and we don’t like cultural rules. I wouldn’t say we’re trying to be “the bad boys” or “renegades” – also kind of overused… but we’re shooting for novelty and creativity.

So over the next little while, you’ll see a transition on the website, social media, and overall branding slowly shifting backwards in time, while still offering the modern digital services.

In the words of a pretty cool chick – Do what you do, be you!

Peace Out.

-Kyle

CEO, Forge Marketing