Is your organization stuck with an old tattoo?
Tattoos are increasingly popular today, and not just with rebellious teenagers searching for their own identities. The newly divorced, people who’ve survived traumatic events, even patients battling terminal illnesses are using tattoos to make a statement about who they are or what’s important to them.

But what happens when those teens grow up? Or when time heals the wounds of a failed marriage? The tattoos are still there. And they’re expensive and painful to remove. Organizations can have their own tattoos, too. Perhaps a name doesn’t adequately communicate a company’s products or services. Perhaps an agency’s logo looks amateurish. Or maybe a firm’s identity is tied to what it used to be, not what it is today or wants to be in the future. Removing or changing those corporate tattoos can be just as costly and difficult as getting rid of the personal kind.

The answer: Be smart about what you call your business and how you portray it visually. Make sure your name reflects what you do – not just today, but over decades. And make sure that your logo, colors, building signage and other graphic elements are timeless, not just a reflection of today’s hot hues or popular type styles.

The things that represent your organization will be with you for a long time. And they’ll play a key role in your long-term success. Have you chosen trendy tattoos or on-target communication tools?

Make a seamless transformation.
Most Americans know the Bell+Howell name from the motion picture projectors that lit up dark classrooms for more than 40 years. In fact, the company has continuously transformed itself from one manufacturing operation to another for nearly 100 years.

Its current metamorphosis is into a software company specializing in products and services for entrepreneurs, multi-national corporations and researchers around the world.

Essex Two helped visually transform Bell+Howell from "old school" to "new wave" through work on the company’s annual report and an update of its identification program. To read more, please visit www.sx2.com

Get used to it.
Years ago, a Playboy interviewer asked country singer Dolly Parton why she didn’t dress more fashionably. Her answer should be the watchword for every organization thinking about what it will "wear" for the coming years. "It’s very easy to be stylish if you buy what’s popular now," Ms. Parton said "But it’s very hard to present a style that is you."

Present what your organization is, and avoid the embarassment of tattoos and out-of-date styles.