Associated Logistics Group

ALG can't outspend those companies, so its brand has a different job. It needs to show shippers a partner that's just as capable and easier to work with. That means looking established and steady without the cold, corporate polish most of the category relies on.

I designed the system end to end: the logo, color palette, stationery, sell sheets, promotional items, a WordPress website, and the reception area at ALG's office.

Before sketching anything, I looked at how the big names present themselves: Coyote, DHL, Echo Global Logistics, and others. Most lean on saturated reds, oranges, and greens to signal speed and scale. Next to them, a calmer brand comes across as more confident, and it's easier to remember because it doesn't look like everyone else.

So I built the palette around two colors.

The mark uses simple geometric forms with a sense of forward motion, a nod to freight moving on time and on plan. It works as well at business-card size as it does across a lobby wall, which mattered once the system started to spread.

The website has two jobs. For prospects, it answers what a shipper wants to know before picking up the phone: what ALG moves, where it moves it, and why ALG is different. For current customers, it's the way into a secure portal where they manage their shipments.

I kept the layout simple. Services, company history, and values are all one click from the homepage, and every page ends with a clear next step. The colors and type match the print materials, so someone who's already seen a sell sheet recognizes the site right away.

I also set the site up with SEO best practices from the start, so new business can find ALG through search instead of relying only on referrals.

A lot of people first meet a logistics company through a business card, an email attachment, or a pen left behind after a meeting. I gave those pieces the same attention as the logo:

• Business cards with a clean, uncluttered layout that lets the logo and colors do the work.
• Pens, notepads, and mouse pads for the office and client meetings.
• Stress balls and other giveaways for trade shows, where a friendly object starts a conversation faster than a brochure.

None of these pieces is a big deal alone. Together, they make ALG look the same everywhere a client sees it, and that consistency goes a long way toward looking like a company you can trust with your freight.

ALG's sales team needed one-page overviews of its core services, such as Canada cross-border freight, LTL shipping, and expedited shipping. I designed a series that works as a PDF attachment, a printed leave-behind, or a slide in a sales deck.

Every sheet uses the same grid, type, and color balance, so a prospect who sees three of them knows right away they all come from the same company.

The sheets also became my way to move the brand forward. Leadership is understandably wary of big redesigns, so instead of pitching one, I treat each new sell sheet as a chance to make one or two improvements, like clearer hierarchy, cleaner icons, or a more dynamic layout. Each change is small enough to approve easily, and over time the brand gets more modern without anyone feeling like it was overhauled.

I designed the logo to suggest forward motion, so animating it was the natural next step. I made a short intro and outro to open and close ALG's videos, giving every piece of video content the same branded start and finish.

Both stay calm and quick, like the rest of the brand. They use the same blue and gold, move with purpose, and get out of the way so the content can start.

ALG now looks like the same company everywhere: on a business card, in a sales email, on the website, and on the wall when a client walks in. The calmer blue-and-gold palette sets it apart from the loud, saturated brands it competes with.

The system is also built to keep improving. Because every new piece follows the same rules, I can keep refining the brand one project at a time without starting over.