Each piece looks like it came from a slightly different company. A good brand system makes the right version the easiest one to use — which matters most when somebody other than a designer is making the flyer.
Branding and Brand Identity for Contractors and Distributors
Most brand problems are not about the logo. They are about drift: a branch manager makes a flyer in Word, a new rep's business card uses last year's colors, and the Facebook page has a different logo than the trucks.
Branding is the logo, colors, typefaces and rules that make every piece a business produces look like the same company. A&B Consulting Group designs brand identities, writes brand guides and builds editable templates for distributors, contractors and local businesses, then rolls the brand out across vehicles, signage, web and print. We are based in Burr Ridge, Illinois and serve Chicago and the western suburbs, and remotely for clients in 17 states.
Refresh, not rebuild, is usually the answer
Most businesses do not need a new name or a new logo. They have equity in the one they have — on trucks, on signs, in customers' heads — and what it needs is cleaning up, standardizing and writing down.
We will tell you which you need. If a refresh is enough, we will not sell you a rebuild.
What we deliver
The output is a system, not a logo file.
- Primary logo, secondary and icon versions, with files for print, web, embroidery and vehicle wraps
- A color palette and typefaces that hold up on screen, on uncoated paper and on the side of a truck
- A brand guide written for the people who will use it, not for a design award
- Editable templates — flyers, line cards, email headers, social graphics and presentations
- A rollout plan for business cards, signage, uniforms, vehicles, website and social profiles
Templates are where a brand survives
A brand guide nobody opens does not protect anything. What protects the brand is a template a branch manager can edit without being able to break — the logo locked, the colors fixed, the text fields open.
So the templates are built for the pieces your team actually makes most often. For distributors that is usually event flyers, line cards and promotional posts; for contractors, proposals, yard signs and social graphics.
Working alongside manufacturer brands
Distributors and dealers rarely appear alone. Their materials carry manufacturer logos, and those manufacturers have rules of their own about clear space, placement and claims.
The brand guide covers how your brand sits next to vendor brands, so co-branded material follows both sets of rules — which also keeps it eligible for co-op reimbursement.
Brand onboarding for every new client
Every client relationship with us starts by collecting what already exists — logos, fonts, colors, manufacturer guidelines and past materials — and organizing it into one shared brand kit. If it needs work, that happens before anything else is produced, so everything made afterward is consistent from the start.
How It Works
What the engagement looks like.
1
Discovery
Your history, your customers, your competitors, and what is working and not working in the brand you have.
2
Design
Concepts, revisions and a final identity you sign off — or a cleaned-up version of the existing one.
3
Document
The brand guide and the editable templates your team will use.
4
Roll out
Signage, vehicles, web, social and print updated in priority order rather than all at once.
InvestmentGet a firm number
Priced to the scope of the work.
A refresh and brand guide is a much smaller project than a new identity with a full rollout, and most clients need the first.
What moves the number:
- Refresh of an existing brand or a new identity
- How many templates are included
- Number of locations, vehicles and signs in the rollout
- Whether manufacturer co-branding rules have to be built in
Platforms & Tools
What we build and report on.
Brand standards and style guidesEditable brand templatesPrint production managementVehicle and signage graphics
Service Areas
Where we work.
In person across Chicago and the western suburbs, and remotely for clients in 17 states. Our office is at 1333 Burr Ridge Pkwy Ste 200-260, Burr Ridge, IL 60527.
Burr RidgeOak BrookOakbrook TerraceHinsdaleDowners GroveNapervilleLemontWillowbrookDarienWestmontLombardElmhurstLa GrangeWestern SpringsBolingbrookOrland ParkJolietChicago
Related
Where to go next.
FAQs
Branding — questions we get asked
Do we have to change our logo?
No. Most projects keep the logo and fix everything around it — the versions, the colors, the spacing and the rules.
Can our team make their own materials afterward?
Yes. That is what the templates are for. Branch managers and reps can edit them without a designer and without breaking the brand.
We carry manufacturer brands. How does that work?
The guide covers how your brand sits beside vendor logos, so co-branded material follows both sets of rules and stays co-op eligible.
How long does a brand project take?
A refresh and brand guide usually takes three to five weeks. A new identity with a full rollout takes longer, mostly because signage and vehicles take time to produce.
Let's talk about your branding.
Tell us where you are now. We'll tell you what we'd do first — and if you don't need us yet, we'll say so.
Get Started