The Detroit Lions logo has gotten a makeover. This one has teeth and claws, and many in Detroit are hoping their play on the field next season will reflect that.

Having seen what happened to them last year, I hope so too -- purely out of pity.

Their friends across town, the Pistons, reworked their logo a while back too. It lasted only a few seasons, and their design investment went up in smoke. My dad still has a jacket with that logo on it. Might be a collector's item someday, like misprinted coins or baseball cards!

The Lions didn't launch off in new directions, they merely refined and streamlined what they already had. The pose is the same, the color scheme is the same, but the impact is cleaner and sharper.

The Pistons went in a more "creative" direction, ditching their admittedly old-school logo for a ridiculously contrived mish-mash of ideas. It's just too much.

Which design is really more creative? That's subjective, but I'd argue that it's harder to pull off what the Lions did than to build a jumble from scratch.

The point is, creativity can be a huge competitive advantage. If you don't have it, find it. (I'd recommend starting with us.)

But know this, "unbridled creativity" is not a good thing for your business. Creativity should be bridled -- that is, made subject to your strategy and a deep understanding of the customer. Then you can unleash creativity within those principles and know that you'll emerge with a logo or promotional material that not only looks good, but makes sense and works for you.

Labels: branding, design, marketing, planning