In last month’s article, we discussed the evolution of our mission from a simple statement to our guiding purpose. The next critical step in that original journey, way back in 2001, was to create a logo—a visual anchor for the ideas we were launching.
What’s the true purpose of a logo anyway? A common misconception is that a logo needs to be closely tied to what the business or organization does. We still don’t necessarily agree. Our thought is that your logo should visually represent your brand in a way that gets people to connect with and remember your purpose. The iconic Apple logo, for instance, doesn’t detail consumer electronics, but it immediately reminds you of their commitment to design and user-friendly technology.
Our first logo in 2001 was the company name shown as one word, all lower case, in a serif font. The primary focus was actually the italicized tagline: it’s the thought that counts. From the very beginning, we wanted potential clients to recognize our marketing strategy emphasis designed to achieve a positive business outcome. To realize that goal, a different kind of thinking is required.
Our logo underwent a significant change in 2009. It shifted to a forward-leaning sans serif font, making it simpler, cleaner, and more elegant. The tagline was eventually dropped, and a square, or box, was added. You guessed it—to illustrate the necessity of thinking outside the box. We’ve been using this primary logo ever since, a testament to its enduring strategic relevance.
To support our brand’s growing emphasis on strategy, we created a secondary logo in 2017. As a result, the Think logo was born. We took the word right out of our primary logo to further highlight the thoughtful, strategic nature of how we approach marketing.
And finally, to maximize impact and flexibility across all the digital and AI applications we now use, we added the simple NLT logo in 2020. This sleek mark welcomed us to the future, allowing our brand mark to travel seamlessly across every platform—a necessity in today’s hyper-digital world.
As we mark our 25th anniversary, this visual evolution mirrors our purpose: constantly refining our identity to ensure our brand mark, like our strategy, is unmistakable, memorable, and always forward-leaning.