Summary

The CEO of Spunk Labs, David Front, is initiating a complete rebranding of the company after a casual comment from a dentist about the logo, with a vision for a minimalist, human, wordless, and edgy new brand identity, potentially featuring a toe as the logo.

Abstract

David Front, CEO and Founder of Spunk Labs, has decided to embark on a rebranding effort following feedback from a dentist who disliked the company's current logo. In a series of early morning emails to his team, he outlines his desire for a brand that is minimalist and clean, akin to Apple's aesthetic but without direct imitation. He emphasizes the importance of the brand appearing human, suggesting a website design covered in skin to convey this. Front also insists on the brand being wordless and mysterious, as well as edgy in a commercially controversial way, drawing a parallel to the popularity of cold brew. The rebranding process takes an unexpected turn as he proposes a toe as the new logo, believing it encapsulates the qualities of minimalism, humanity, wordlessness, and edginess. He has already created preliminary designs and requests additional options by the end of the day, though he indicates a preference for his own designs.

Opinions

David Front is highly reactive to feedback, initiating a major rebrand based on a single comment from an acquaintance.
He holds Apple's branding in high regard, desiring a similar level of cleanliness and minimalism for Spunk Labs.
There is a clear disdain for companies that aspire to be like Apple but fail to admit it.
He believes that tech companies should counteract their inherent non-human nature by adopting a more human-centric branding approach.
The CEO values originality and edginess, viewing these attributes as essential to standing out in the market.
He is hands-on with the rebranding process, having already created logo design options and expecting his team to produce more, despite his inclination towards his own designs.

Emails From A CEO Who Just Had A Great Branding Idea

Date: October 23 , 2015 at 3:29:02 AM PST From: David Front <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Brand Rebrand

Hi team,

I was having dinner with a friend tonight, and they brought their friend, Jim, who’s a dentist, and Jim briefly mentioned that he wasn’t a big fan of our logo, so now I want a total re-brand. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Thanks,

David. CEO & Founder, Spunk Labs.

Date: October 23 , 2015 at 3:31:05 AM PST From: David Front <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Brand Rebrand

I’ve got some ideas. It has to be minimal. Super clean. Like Apple BUT NOT LIKE APPLE. We are NOT APPLE, but like, the cleanliness of Apple. I hate those companies who act like they don’t want to be like Apple, but they secretly do, and it shows, but they’re afraid to show it. So pathetic.

Thx,

Dave. CEO & Founder, Spunk Labs.

Date: October 23 , 2015 at 3:35:07 AM PST From: David Front <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re:Re: Brand Rebrand

It’s important for the brand to look and feel human. We’re a tech company. Tech is the opposite of human, so we have to make the brand human. Humans attract humans. I’ve got some human ideas. What if our website is just covered in skin? Please, someone mock up the skin site. Play around with it. Make sure these humans know how human we are.

-D. CEO & Founder, Spunk Labs.

Date: October 23 , 2015 at 3:41:09 AM PST From: David Front <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re:Re:Re: Brand Rebrand

The brand should be wordless. It’s mysterious and insane.

-D. CEO & Founder, Spunk Labs.

Date: October 23 , 2015 at 3:46:07 AM PST From: David Front <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re:Re:Re:Re: Brand Rebrand

Speaking of insane, I also want us to be edgy. Edgy is different from cool. Cool is lame now. Edgy is intriguing. You know what I mean. Be controversial, but in a commercial way, like cold brew.

D. CEO & Founder, Spunk Labs.

Date: October 23 , 2015 at 3:59:02 AM PST From: David Front <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re:Re:Re:Re:Re: Brand Rebrand

So, for the logo. What if it’s something random? Something unexpected? Hear me out.

What’s minimal, human, wordless, and edgy? I’ll tell you what…a toe. Exactly, it’s brilliant. I’ve mocked up a few designs myself. I’ve attached them to this email, and I have to say, they’re pretty damn good. I’d love to see 20 more options for the toe by EOD, but we’ll probably go with one of mine, but do it anyway.

d. CEO & Founder, Spunk Labs.