Introducing our new logo! from JvR Africa Group on Vimeo.
Since our inception in 1993 as Jopie van Rooyen and Partners we’ve been privileged to grow and diversify into a group of companies, known today as the JVR Africa Group. With the creation of each company, we liked the idea that each be allowed to develop its own speciality, and personality, and as such each had its own “look & feel”.
As we grew it became clear that our shared identity superseded our individual identities, and that the synergy in our group value proposition was “more than the sum of its parts”. Over the past few years we’ve been building our sense of togetherness and collaboration to a point where it made sense to update our “look & feel” to reflect our current culture.
Each of the group companies are still independent, and managed separately to maximise agility and responsiveness to the market, but we make sure to nurture the bonds between each one so that collaboration happens smoothly for us and our clients. Now our brand also reflects this reality.
Going forward all the individual JvR companies will be equally recognisable with our new logo. It underscores the fact that, although we remain as specialists in different Psychological areas, we are proud to be able to function as one JvR when serving our clients.
PSYCH-SPLAINING OUR NEW LOGO
As a group that employs many psychologists we wouldn’t be able to change our logo, without also looking deeper into the underlying meanings and motivations to be found there. So follow along as we “psych-splain” our new logo.
1. Gestalt principle
Some elements in the logo are left purposefully blank. These cut-off letters created a great reference to the Gestalt principle where the eye fills in the gaps within the font and make it perfectly decipherable still. We felt that using this overtly psychological principle was a nice nod to the company’s expertise and field of knowledge.
2. Von Restorff principle
The Von Restorff effect is the idea that the oddball out is the one that gets remembered. Any time you are designing, you want your audience’s eye to be drawn to one spot - even if there are other design elements around it. This might mean using a different colour, font, size, or design element.
3. Psychology of Colour
There are not two, but technically THREE colours in our new logo, each with a different symbolic meaning behind it:
Black is sophisticated, formal, and indicates authority.
Blue is secure, calm, honest, trustworthy, strong, and caring.
Green refers to ideas of growth, organic, nature, caring, freshness, and earth.
Since our logo colour is black and turquoise - a mixture of blue and green, our intention is to refer to the softer side of our field. We are caring. We are trustworthy, knowledgeable and secure.
4. Psychology of Shape
Like colours, we associate different shapes with certain emotions and characteristics.
Circles, ovals, and ellipses have positive emotional messages attached to community, friendship, love, relationships, unity, and femininity.
Squares and triangles signify stability and balance, strength, professionalism, efficiency, power, and masculinity.
Whilst not all of the elements are overt, our new logo incorporates very hard geometric shapes which convey messages of stability and efficiency. On closer inspection you will notice oval shapes in the J and the R, therefore creating a pleasing balance between symbols of unity and strength.
LOOKING AHEAD
There is an African proverb that says: “If you want to go quickly go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Our mission is to go far, striving for thriving individuals, teams and organisations, using the science of psychology. Together, as one JVR, and together with our clients we will make a difference.
When we get through the Covid 19 crisis, you will see us at JVR having come through a metamorphosis - sporting a new logo but obsessively still standing for integrity, high standards and client support, continuing the journey together.
