By: Frances Sherlock, Proposal and Social Media Coordinator; Stan Walz, CEO; Janis Nagy, CSO; Damien Walz, COO; Summer Vincent, Chief Administrative Officer; and Bob Burnett, VP of Business Development
Why is our corporate logo so important? What does it mean? Most important, our corporate logo communicates our identity. Our unique symbol sets us apart from other organizations, namely our competitors. We all know it’s really more than that; our logo communicates our brand internally and externally. The actions that we take to serve each other and our customers, how we strive to exceed expectations and set the standard for quality in everything we accomplish, become our corporate identity, firmly attached to the VectorCSP logo.
So that’s the deep meaning. But you might be asking yourself how it all plays out, from a purely graphical communications perspective. We are guessing you probably are not, but here it goes anyway. Vector is pretty straightforward. You have to start somewhere and why not with a word that implies progress or movement.
vec·tor ˈvektər/noun – a quantity having direction as well as magnitude, especially as determining the position of one point in space relative to another.
CSP is also very straightforward… Cost, Schedule, and Performance. The Triple Constraint for our Project Management Professionals (PMP). The combination of the three most significant restrictions on any project; you can’t change one without influencing the other. It is significant because it concisely sums up our primary focus in exceeding expectations. It lets our customers know where we focus our time.
The vector under VectorCSP is also important. It can represent different things to different people. Fundamentally it represents progress, exceeding expectations in cost, schedule and performance to move our customer’s priorities forward. To Janis, our Chief Strategy Officer, it also looks a little like a cutter’s prow, harkening back to our maritime roots in the Coast Guard. You might also say that the left side of the vector points back to our lessons learned; experiences that have shaped the best practices we apply today and those that we will undoubtedly improve in the future.
The coloring of our logo also has meaning. Similar to our old logo, the red and blue represent the customers we serve in the US Government. The red representing hardiness and valor. The blue representing vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
The new logo includes a tagline to reflect the standard of work we expect from our employees and provide to our customers. From the outset of establishing the company, we wanted to be better than the competition by delivering “Wow Factor” for our clients at every opportunity. This means trying to “exceed expectations” to the point that clients say, or at least think, Wow… when they see our performance. This continual striving for performance excellence also benefits our employees, as they get to feel great about exceptional delivery and know that they have contributed to helping our clients “make the mission.”
Staying Modern
Why did we decide to update our logo? The first reason is to stay modern. Companies update and refresh their logos every so often to keep up with their own brand, their customers, and the world around them. You may remember Starbucks removing the word coffee from their logo a few years back to represent that they were so much more than coffee. As discussions about our logo occurred around our offices recently, we realized that we had not refreshed it in our 16-year history. We also realized it may be the time for an update.
Usability
The second reason is usability. As we expand into new markets and expand our presence on the web, we realized that the old vertical logo took up a lot of space. In some cases, it was space we could not afford to waste. This new logo takes up less space and is a bit more versatile which fits our needs better. The logo was designed and created in-house. Allowing us to modify it to fit our needs as the situation arises. If it needs to be transparent or have white shading behind it, it can be easily amended. This is something we could not do with the previous logo.
To Better Represent Ourselves
The third reason that we decided to refresh the logo was to better represent our “cut through the noise” approach that we provide our customers. This is a very direct, open, honest, no-BS approach to delivering excellence. To read more about that approach, click here.
According to Damien, our Chief Operating Officer, “from an Operations perspective, our logo refresh provides an opportunity for us to ensure that we remain vigilant about seeking new and better ways to serve our clients and to renew our commitment to top quality delivery. In each of our customer communities, we strive to establish the VectorCSP brand as an ‘employer of choice.’ While our legacy logo was due for an update, it is known by our customers by the shirts and lanyards that our outstanding project staff members wear on a daily basis as they remain laser-focused on satisfying customer requirements. We will ensure that our customers understand that our new, modernized logo is rooted in our tradition of outstanding delivery through our outstanding project teams, proactive and thoughtful management support, and a real commitment to serve the communities in which we work.”
According to Summer, our Chief Administrative Officer, the new logo “captures our uncomplicated approach to business and reminds me of what I want our current and future employees to know –we take care of our employees, our clients, and our community, in that order.”
For Bob, our VP of Business Development, the new logo represents an ever-forward moving organization. “We do not get distracted by the periphery, but continually press on, accumulating lessons learned and momentum to address new obstacles and support our customers to the fullest.”
At the end of the day, the VectorCSP logo elicits a feeling. It depends who you are as to what feeling it elicits. We are hoping that if you are a VectorCSP employee, it is pride in a company that is committed to serving each other and the people that count on us. And if you are a customer, we hope it is peace of mind knowing that the best team is tackling some of your toughest challenges.
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