How it started
Shelly Rosenberg Associates came to Ruzow Graphics at an important point in its growth. The company was beginning to establish itself in the furniture industry and needed a brand that reflected where the business was headed.
The identity needed to be sophisticated enough for a design-driven market, flexible enough to work across sales and marketing, and classic enough not to be tied to a passing furniture trend.
Project goal
Give a growing furniture company a distinctive, professional identity that could work across its sales and marketing — one that felt at home in the furniture industry without looking like it belonged to any one furniture trend.
The challenge
Furniture is an industry built around change. Colors, fabrics, materials and styles evolve constantly. A company’s identity needs to feel current without becoming so tied to a particular trend that it looks dated when that trend passes.
There was another consideration for SRA. Although the company carried founder Shelly Rosenberg’s name, the identity needed to represent a business that could grow beyond one person.
The challenge was to create a brand that felt appropriate for a design-driven industry while giving SRA room to evolve.
When developing the logo, Nancy not only listened and laughed with us as partners throughout the process but delivered a beautiful logo that stands the test of time. Nancy really understood our needs and working with her was a pleasure.”
— Rachel Freedman, President, SRA & Associates
The solution
Let the products follow the trends. Keep the brand timeless.
Rather than building the identity around furniture imagery or a particular design style, we focused on the company itself.
Early conversations led to the decision to use the initials SRA as the foundation of the identity. Moving away from a logo centered on one individual’s name gave the company an identity that could continue to work as the business, its people and its product lines evolved.
The visual language was kept clean and current, allowing the furniture and fabrics, rather than the branding, to carry the changing colors, textures and styles of the marketplace.
The resulting SRA identity is simple, distinctive and flexible.
It works alongside many different furniture styles and collections without competing with them or tying the company to a particular visual trend.
That flexibility became especially important as the relationship continued. Over the years, the identity has extended into marketing materials while remaining consistent and recognizable.
And perhaps the best measure of the design is time: more than 15 years later, the logo is still doing its job.
Designed for what comes next
A lasting identity doesn’t need to predict the next trend. It needs to leave room for it.
For a company whose products continually respond to changing tastes, SRA’s identity provides a consistent foundation. The furniture can change. The fabrics can change. The marketplace can change. The logo is evergreen.
The brand doesn’t have to start over every time they do.
I have worked with Nancy Ruzow almost continually over the last 15 years. She is a creative professional from the start of any design project through to the end — and her team is responsive and a great support to get my work done accurately and on-time.
We were very excited when our logo won a graphic design award, but not at all surprised; the logo has continued to garner many compliments. I highly recommend Nancy — her sense of design is excellent and her ability to glean a client’s needs impeccable. She has been a tremendous asset to my business.”
