Guest blog- Branding an Industry

“We want an image that brands an industry, not a crop.” Those were the words that resonated in my mind after the first meeting between the Page Design Group team and California Rice Commission CEO Tim Johnson, regarding the new design for California Rice. This meeting took place in November of 2010 and marked our beginning of the project. Tim was very informative in laying out the framework for the project by presenting an overview of the industry’s current position and his vision for going forward. Even though Page Design Group has partnered with the California Rice Industry for more than 15 years, predating the Commission itself, it’s always helpful to begin a creative project with a wealth of information from an industry leader like Tim.

Working with the fruits of that meeting, project manager, Tracy Titus, and the rest of the design team of Eric Grotenhuis, Kurt Kland, Heather Orr-Martinez, Laurel Mathe and Sara Kunz put together a creative brief to serve as the foundation for our design process. We reviewed the brief with Jim Morris at the Rice Commission to confirm we were on the right track. One of the main tenets of the brief was that “California Rice is to be presented as THE environmental crop” – solidifying the efforts of the Commission and the rice industry over the past decade and a half to be an environmental champion. It was also suggested that, with the strong ties the Commission has established with native waterfowl species, it would be beneficial and appropriate to use waterfowl in the logo imagery.

With the groundwork of the creative brief laid out in front of us, the fun of the design process can truly begin. Page Designers work with the freedom that any and all ideas are appropriate to explore, but also with the knowledge that those ideas must ultimately be tested against the creative brief. Our first round of designs was ample enough to cover our entire conference table. Some of the ideas were fairly refined, others were the modern-day equivalent of cocktail napkin sketches. Typically we like to bring in our clients in at this point for a first review so they can see all of the directions and help us to narrow our choices. Tim and Jim were willing participants in this review, which took place early this year. Through their comments, we were able to follow the best solutions for refinement and leave some of our ideas behind. Several more meetings followed and soon we were focused on six design ideas, each of which showed great promise.

These were among the finalists that were presented at the Commission’s Public Education Committee meeting in March.




Much like Tim and Jim did in our early meetings, committee members provided lively discussion and amazingly insightful design feedback. After the meeting, we were down to two design directions.

At Page Design, we try to be professional and not fall in love with our designs. We want to let client feedback and rational choices rule the day. However, at this point in the process, I must admit I was in love with both of the final two solutions. The circular solution – with the rice, the heron and the buttes – was more of a true “logo”. Kurt and Tracy had encapsulated all of the elements needed for a successful solution into an elegant circle. The second solution was much more one of emotional artistic expression – the rice and heron becoming one in a freeform design.

In the end, artistry won the day. The chosen logo was the product of many who provided information and feedback along the way.


It can be described as elegant, artistic, dynamic, memorable or any number of other adjectives. In my opinion, the best complement is that it is uniquely evocative of the California Rice Industry.

I hope it serves the Commission’s needs for many years.

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Paul Page is Creative Director of Page Design Group in Sacramento. For more information www.pagedesigngroup.com.