Case study

Logo designed for SPBS

BY ZAIN AHMED KAMAL

Any designer will understand that becoming a graphic designer is one struggle and building a career in it is another. I am here sharing my own story in the form of a Case Study on the logo designed for SPBS. Let’s begin.

THE story behind
spbs logo

So here I was at the end of 2018 with only two logo designs in my portfolio GIGGL and The Joint Clinic, no new prospect and huge loss which I need to clear soon, but how did this all happen?

It all started with a very big project of 20,000 visiting cards for a pretty famous restaurant in Calcutta. No, it was no ordinary card, but on a gold paper with outlines, lamination, and stuff. It was not just a complex job but an impossible one. See I knew about the technologies in the printing line but was not aware of their limitations which is equally important (Tip No. 1 for all the beginners)

So I tried it three times with three different vendors and each time it got rejected. Believe me, it was a nightmare. All my efforts went in vain, everyone started doubting me. I felt so lost.

But I guess every entrepreneur must witness such failures, it teaches a lot.

As it is said “Success is not built on success, it is built on failure, frustrations and sometimes even catastrophes”.

This was the rock bottom period of my life but thank god, not for a second I thought of quitting, and for this courage, I was rewarded.

See when things are going smooth anyone can do well, but what breeds champions is the struggle and hardship, the determination to keep going no matter what comes ahead. (Tip No. 2 “Never give up, no matter what and you will create wonders”)

So how did I come out of all this?

The first thing – I took a loan from a friend and returned every penny I owed to my client. Though everybody told me to block the client’s number and forget the matter as I will not get any more work from him, but that was against my values. So I took the hard way.

Guess what?

Today he is still my client giving me much more work and has even referred me many times. (Tip No. 3 ”If you make a mistake don’t run away from it, face it and learn from it”)

Then I made a small presentation for my company and posted it on my Facebook page, tagged all my friends, and waited for some response. Below is the video, do check it out.

Unluckily nothing great happened.

Now I only had some 3,000 rupees in my account and I had to use it properly. So I went to Google and searched for database providers. Out of many websites I chose the one that was selling at the cheapest rate – “BOL7”. (Tip No. 4 “Don’t crib on what you don’t have but make use of what you have, most of the times it is more than enough to make a difference”)

At the end of the day, I bought 25,000 WhatsApp numbers of businessmen in Calcutta for 1,000 only. (I am willing to help all the newbie with this database for free, just connect at [email protected])

So now every morning this was my task – save at least 250 numbers and WhatsApp those people the presentation and my Facebook page link.

I vigorously did this every day Monday to Sunday. For a month nothing happened and everybody started telling me I am wasting my time. (Tip No.5 “The most important time when you have to believe in yourself is when the world does not believe in you”)

I sincerely believe in one thing “finish what you started”, because if you don’t then how will you know if you did right or wrong and if you are not aware of your right and wrong then how will you ever learn?

After a little longer than a month I got a response – can you come to meet me? Of course, I can, was my answer.

I was beyond happy, wore my formals, and went for the meeting. It was very far from my place and on my way, I was imagining that this is going to be a big project and stuff.

On reaching the shop I got to know that the person is a very small businessman and needed just 100 visiting cards. Not focusing on the quantity of the work I gave him a very reasonable quote but he said – “no, that is too expensive”.

I was so devastated and de-motivated, went back home all disheartened.

Still, I did not give up and again started the process. Believe me, doing this every day in and out was not an easy task. Often times I used to get negative responses from those people. I blocked all of them and the number is much more than you can even imagine.

Slowly the response started improving; I was back to back going for meetings. None of them turned out fruitful though but I was building a flow.

Then one good day I was called for by the owner of SPBS (Shri Panchmukhi Balaji Steels), a very nice person. I cracked that deal and got my first project from this insane act of marketing.

why?

The owner being a follower of Hindu religion believed in a god called hanuman who carries a weapon called “gadha” and he wanted it in his logo.

So I placed the gadha in the center of the letters and made this logo.

conclusion

“Courage wins over all”

This rock bottom period was the turning point of life, after that day I never looked back.

In this way I whatsapped more than 50,000 people and made many more clients, obviously, I don’t market my services this way now but to start somewhere is any day better than to make excuses.

This is how I build a base for my company ZAK Designs; many of those clients referred me to their friends and relatives. I grew and grew. To date, I have onboarded more than 50 clients.

My marketing started with 1,000 only but now I have a much bigger budget for marketing.

Slowly but steadily everything will fall in place if you don’t give up!

I hope you enjoyed reading this, let me know in the comment section how you felt about it.

If you are a graphic designer then do check out the following blogs, it will help you a lot:

1. Ultimate Guide on Graphic Designing

2. Ultimate Guide on Printing

If you are a businessman or starting your entrepreneurial journey and need any help in anything then do contact me. I started my own business from scratch and so I have experience which can be helpful for you. You can also check the following blogs, it will help you a lot:

1. Brand, Branding and Branding Strategy

2. Core Purpose – A must for Branding

Check out more case studies:

1. Logo designed for Artinsive Interiors

2. Logo designed for GIGGL

3. Logo designed for The Joint Clinic

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