> PHOTOSHOP USER>^ MARCH 2017[ 094 ]
CLIENT
[ before ]
Append Media
append.mediamoving on up
We’re looking for real-world makeovers for future installments of the “Design Makeover,” so let us know if you recently had a branding makeover or if you did
a branding makeover for a client that you’d like us to consider. We cover everything from product packaging or labels, print advertisements, websites, logos, and
magazine covers that are currently in the marketplace. So if you’d like to be considered, send us an email at [email protected].makeover submissions
Append Media specializes in developing branded Web
applications for large companies. Web apps perform tasks
like standard desktop applications, except they run in a
browser—think e-commerce transactions and Gmail.
Christopher Eaton founded the company in late 2014,
originally calling it The Dev Expert to reflect his role as a
freelance developer. Within a year, though, he’d decided
to concentrate on large clients. “I really see Append Media
as being launched in late 2015,” he says. “That’s when
I switched gears. I came up with the name because one new
focus was to be a brand identity technology company.” What
that means is that Web apps that companies use internally,
as well as customer-facing pages, would be “a working
model of the whole brand.” When Append develops a
Web app, it also incorporates the client’s brand identity
to create a tool that fits exclusively with that company;
for example, they’ve created a Web app for Adidas’s
internal use, but “when you go to use the app, it’s as
branded as the Adidas website,” Eaton explains.
Append Media launched with a logo Eaton designed
himself. “It has worked as a logo that says the name,”
he says, “but I knew I needed a professional to create
an identity that could last a long time.” The company,
however, has been so busy since its launch that it never
had the time to work on its website or its branding. As
this column is being written, the website is just a brief
statement of the company’s purpose and a contact form.
“I knew the whole company needed a true brand iden-
tity,” Eaton says, and they finally started the process this
past November.JAKEWIDMAN
Design Makeover
“‘It has worked as a logo
that says the name,’
Eaton says, ‘but I knew I needed a
professional to create an identity
that could last a long time.’”