Smart State Rentals is an Australian provider of rental cars, 4WD’s and utility vehicles, primarily to the mining industry and government agencies. Over the past 5 years, the company has undergone rapid growth to become one of the leading rental vehicle suppliers in North Queensland.

The company is currently expanding their operations, and approached us to create a new brand identity, including logo and corporate stationery.

Project Summary

Smart State Rentals came to us seeking a complete rebrand. The company had already gone through two identities (below) in the past two years, and were frustrated by previous attempts to set their branding on the right track. There was minimal existing brand equity, meaning we essentially had a ‘clean slate’ to work with.

Below is a summary of the information extracted from the design brief:

Smart State Rentals wanted an identity that was simple, clean and professional. Something that would appeal to their corporate clients, without alienating the general public. It had to stand out from the crowd without appearing tacky. The design also had to ‘work’ across a variety of mediums, including their website, signage and on the side of vehicles in their fleet.

The client’s only visual requirement for the new logo design was that it contain a circular element to represent a wheel.

Research

After the client approved the terms of the project and paid a 50% deposit upfront, we commenced research for the project. The research phase included investigating the branding of direct competitors, the conditions of the industry, and what would appeal to the target market.

Sketching and Brainstorming

Before opening up illustrator and jumping into the design, I usually like to do some mind-mapping and sketch a few ideas on paper first. Only a few of the sketched ideas usually make it to a computer-based concept.

Below are a few of my sketches. I am not particularly great at it, and yes, my handwriting is that bad. Luckily, being able to draw well is not a prerequisite for coming up with a great logo.

What was important at this stage was to begin to conceptualize the ideas whizzing around in my head into something more tangible and meaningful.

The concept I ended up running with was the one you can see in the bottom left hand corner.

Final Logo Design

The concept behind the symbol used is representative of a wheel (as specified by the client), with the three indented pillars representing speed, growth, and integrity – the three major attributes used to describe the company in the brief.

I felt the best way to tackle the possible cliché of having a wheel in the logo was through simplicity and minimalism.

The end result is a logo that is clean, simple and memorable. This was the first and only logo concept shown to the client and they immediately loved it.

I think the logo works particularly well in black & white as illustrated below.

Logo Design In Context

Client Testimonial

“Logobird did an absolutely superb job of designing our new logo. Having been burnt a couple of times in the past by cheap online logo design providers,  we felt very skeptical going into another redesign. Working with Duane has been completely different to our past experiences. He accurately interpreted our requirements and responded to our requests in a timely manner. We were deeply impressed with Duane’s creativity and professionalism, and would recommend Logobird to anyone looking for a quality logo designer.”

Warren – Smart State Rentals

Image Credit

What do you think? Whether positive or negative, I would love to get your feedback on the design.

Related posts:

1. Our Logo Design Process
2. Beyond the Brief – Undertanding a Logo Design Client
3. Time to Refocus: Logo and Identity Design
4. Developing an Effective Logo Design Brief