Research - Local competitors (continued)

MIF Electrical 

MIF electrical carry out domestic and commercial work in Worcester and other surrounding areas. Their logo varies in colour depending on what it is used for. On their van’s the logo is a dark grey colour and, on their website, it is sky blue. These colour changes are possibly done intentionally.

 I think the spacing of the letters on the logo make it stand out compared to other electricians because of the layout of the letters and the ‘electrical’ text. One aspect of the logo design I personally do not like is the lower case ‘I’. I think if it was a capital letter it would make the logo more visually pleasing to look at as the current design does look a bit scattered. I also think the ‘electrical’ text in the bold shape do need separating a bit more from the letters above as they look very close together.  I think the silver van and the dark grey logo do work well together and you do get the impression that the company is professional and quite ‘up market’ compared to other companies in the area. A formal colour scheme is something I will consider talking to my client about when I show them my mood boards and I will talk about this research and how the colouring and layout make me feel about companies as a potential client. 

MIF Electricals’ website does look very professional at first glance. Thought has been put into the moving image slide show which appears immediately when you click onto the site. One major thing I did notice is that there is only one page for this website, so I feel like everything has been crammed in. There is a navigation bar which sends you to different sections of the page, but I think the website would benefit from having at least 3 pages. Moving image animations have also been added to the website which add a touch of personality but they do look child like and this could have an effect on the company’s image as this does not look like the up market designs on the vans you see driving around Worcester. The change in the company’s logo colour is a bit unexpected when you enter the website. I think logo colour has been changed because they have possibly used a website template and have worked around that instead of the company’s original branding.

Overall, this is quite nice company branding and design, but I feel like the choices of colour made for the website could be different and improve the overall look and feel of the website. 

MA Williams Electrical

This logo is very simplistic and represents a circuit board so the audience can automatically tell this is an electrician by the logo itself. However, this may not be clear to everyone and some people could mistake it for a construction or even an IT company. There are two different font sizes in this logo, so the text is in align with each other. I think the logo would benefit by having the text directly underneath the image of the logo like they do on their vans. This logo Is also a different colour from what they use on their website which doe confuse the viewer and might show that they do not take pride in the upkeep of their company image. 

I decided it was important to look at this company because they do have good reviews on the internet as shown above. I wanted to see if there is a correlation between the popularity of this company and the quality of design. One feature I personally look for when looking for companies is if they have a website. I think a lot of people will be put off by a company if they do not have a website to view because we associate a ‘small extras’ like this as a positive thing and possibly relate this to the companies trustworthiness and reliability. When we are going to be buying a product or service as a customer you would prefer it if there is a website to view so you can delve deeper into the company and decide if you want their product/ services.

One of the main aspects of this website which captured my attention was how easy it is to get in contact with the company. On the drop-down menu on the navigation bar it provides you with the option to phone them or email them straight away. This can be shown in the screenshot above. This is something I will recommend to my client as this could be one of the key factors in determining the popularity of the company. How a company communicates their contact information is important and from looking at this company and other companies it is clear other companies which are not so well known are lacking this minor feature. It is possible that this in combination with good design could create the ultimate company image and help my client gain customers. This is a major finding for me and I will have to consider this when communicating to my client and also when I come to create designs for the company. 

Mills Electrical

I came across this company through searching for local electricians on Google. I noticed they had a website, so I decided to look further into the company. The screenshot above is from there website homepage. There are links to other pages, but they do not work. I think the idea behind this design was to be original, but I think it is quite boring to look at and it does not function how it is meant to. This is all I can find about Mills Electrical but from what I can see on their website they do stick with the blue theme on their logo. 

Malvern Electrics 

Malvern electrics have gone with a red theme for their logo where they have chosen to include their contact number underneath. This is an advantage for the company as they can gain more customers through having their phone number on the logo, however, it does look a bit child-like and unprofessional. The red theme does remind me of Fairways and Rock electrical but with a more generic cartoon light bulb for their logo. I do want to stay away from including generic electrical imagery when I come to design for my client. 

Down to Earth

This is a company based in Malvern who specialise in installing anything electrical. They have a very simplistic website which includes all the main information a potential customer would need to know without over complicating it. Although basic, I do admire their website as it is professional and easy to navigate possibly due to the use of a limited colour pallet.

This company’s logo is not very eye pleasing but it does relate to electrics, however, I only know this as I have some basic knowledge about the topic whereas to a lot of people would just assume it is a green and yellow logo. The company’s name refers to the colour of the ‘earth’ cable used. I will need to take this into consideration when designing for my client as I will be promoting their business by capturing the attention of an audience, this means my logo and other designs will need to be simple but in a way it will draw potential customers in without confusing them about the purpose of the company. 

Hartland Electrical

This is a company I see around town a lot. They are based in Malvern but can be seen a lot in the surrounding area. This means they are quite well known in the local area. They are another company who uses red and black in their logo. These are two eye catching colours when used in contrast with each other. This is a nice logo and I particularly like the use of bold text to make the company name stand out in comparison with the narrow electrical text.

The screenshot above is from their homepage of their website and one of the main things which strikes me is the ‘Established in 1994’ text. I think a lot of people will see this and think they are a trustworthy company because they have been around for so long. This is something I could potentially include in my designs as it could increase attention to my client’s business.