Teledata
New owners, a new logo, and two websites
Teledata installs phone systems, data cabling, and networks for businesses across northern Indiana and southern Michigan. In 2018, Wes Miller and his son bought the company from the owner who had run it for 28 years, and they wanted the business to look like the one they meant to build. I designed the new logo first, then the company’s website at the end of 2018, and in 2020 a second site for Teledata Cloud Services, built to feel like the cloud itself.
The cloud services homepage. Navy, white, and red, with the cloud drawn as a place your business can work from.
The cloud services site still runs on my build
- Client
- Teledata and Teledata Cloud Services
- Where
- Goshen, Indiana
- Built
- The logo in 2018, the company website at the end of 2018, and the cloud services website in 2020
- What I did
- Logo design, two websites with SEO built in, and copywriting
From one reel to two websites
The moments that mattered, and the results that followed.
The logo came first, in five rounds over three days. The company site went live at the end of 2018, and its first customer inquiry came three days later. In 2020 a new cloud business got a site of its own, built to feel like the cloud.
The cabling and phone company
A thirty-year-old company with new owners.
Teledata has installed and serviced business phone systems, data cabling, and networks across northern Indiana and southern Michigan since 1989. Its crews run copper and fiber, install phone and paging systems and security cameras, and certify their work. Most of its customers are businesses within about 75 miles of Goshen.
In 2018, Wes Miller and his son Micah bought the company. The owner before them had run it for 28 years, and the new owners wanted to freshen it up and build a different culture inside it. They started with the brand.
The rebrand
One brand, built in the order the business needed it.
Micah filled in the logo questionnaire in March 2018, with an April 1 deadline. "We want a new logo because we are buying the company and want to freshen up the company," he wrote. They wanted it to feel "solid, dependable, established, (not trendy)," and they were debating two color schemes, red, grey, and black, or the blue of data cable.
- 1solid, dependable, not trendy
- 2data moving point to point
- 3red + black, or cable blue?
The work came in three parts, a year or so apart, and each one built on the last:
The logo, 2018
The company's first new mark under the new owners, needed for vans, the building sign, shirts, and invoices.
The company website, 2018
A new site for Teledata that said who the company was, what it did, and who did the work.
The cloud services website, 2020
A separate site for Teledata Cloud Services, a new business the owners started to sell cloud services nationally.
The design work
A logo with a hidden message, a friendly company site, and a site that moves like the cloud.
The logo: data going around the world
The owners wanted to show data moving from point to point. I paired a clean, modern typeface with a graphic of data streaming around a globe, and I hid a message in it that says "plug into the world." Can you see the plug between the E and the D? Together the two letters make one, with a line running from it to the globe. The mark went in red, grey, and black, so it would look strong on a white van and a dark shirt alike. The colors and the type became the brand for everything after it.
The company website: modern and friendly
For the company site, Micah asked for a site that was "clean, organized, simple, informational, helpful, modern," and, in his words, "JAZZ HANDS." The owners wanted a technical company to look current and still feel friendly, and they wanted people to see that Teledata was a good place to work. So the site gave the crew a page of its own, with a photo of each person. It explained each service in plain words and kept the customers' favorite feature from the old site, a link to put in a service request.
The cloud services website: built to feel like the cloud
In 2020, the owners started Teledata Cloud Services as a separate business. Cloud services are a different kind of work from cabling. They can be sold across the country, and they need a lot of explaining. The cabling stayed on the main site, and the cloud business got a site of its own.
Built to drift like the cloud
I wanted that site to feel like the cloud. The pages are navy, like a night sky, and each one rests on a band of soft white clouds. Illustrations of servers, devices, and people working float above them, and the graphics move up and down as you scroll, so the page seems to drift. The red from the logo carries the headlines and the buttons, so the two businesses look related at a glance.
Plain words for a hard subject
The words had to make a hard subject simple. The site's promise is "The Cloud Simplified," and every page follows it. Each service, from cloud computing to managed security, gets a page that says what it is and what it solves. Pages for each industry, from manufacturing to hospitality, show what the cloud does for a business like the reader's. A button to schedule a consultation sits on every page.
New owners, or a new line of business?
Tell me about itResults
A brand the owners could build a company around.
Wes put the result in his own words below. The website shows the culture they set out to build, and it says clearly what the company does. Two sites now carry one brand, and the cloud services site still runs on my build.
A first inquiry in three days
3 daysFrom launch to the first customer inquiryThe company site went live on December 28, 2018. Three days later, on December 31, the first message from a business looking for help came in through its contact form, and I passed it along to make sure the team had it.
A picture for every service
80+Illustrations on the cloud siteThe cloud site carries more than 80 illustrations, one or more on every service and industry page, from servers in a cloud to a hotel lobby. Each one shows what the page is about, so a reader who isn’t sure what the cloud is can see it before reading a word.
The crew, front and center
20+People on the team page todayThe team page gave every person a photo and a few lines in their own words about how they came to Teledata, what they think of it, and a fun fact. It started with the crew in 2018, the office dog included. Today it holds more than 20 people, and Teledata’s own team keeps it up.
Five rounds, then one logo
5 roundsLogo concepts in three days, then a yesThe logo questionnaire came in on March 12, 2018. The first concept went over on March 26, and two days and five rounds later the owners approved it. The same mark now runs on the crew’s vans and shirts, and on both websites.
Want a logo and a website that grow together?
Start a project"Our website depicts that culture as well as clearly defines what we do."
"My son and I purchased a small company in 2018 and Josh helped us rebrand with a new logo and website. Josh took the time to understand what we do which helped him create our new logo first, and then our website. He has a great mix of technical and creative skills. We are attempting to foster a different culture within our company and our website depicts that culture as well as clearly defines what we do. We have been really pleased with his work, good work Josh!"
The business today
Two businesses, two sites, one brand.
Both sites still run on the builds I made, and since 2022 Teledata’s own team has looked after them. The two link to each other, so a cabling customer can find the cloud business and a cloud customer can see the company behind it.
This project shows what a rebrand looks like when the logo comes first and the websites are built from it.
Logo Design
A new mark for the new owners, with a hidden message and versions for shirts and the cloud business.
Company website, 2018
A site for the cabling and phone business, with the team, the services, and a service request link.
Cloud services website, 2020
A separate site for a new business, with scrolling and motion effects and a page for every service.
Copywriting
Plain words for technical services on both sites, from data cabling to cloud computing.
Looking back
Telecommunications isn't known for being exciting, and that's exactly what made Teledata such a fun challenge. How do you make phone systems and data cabling look interesting? Wes and Micah had also built a culture at the company they were proud of, and they wanted the website to lead the way in showing it.
I started with the logo. My favorite logos have always carried a hidden message, like the arrow tucked into the FedEx lettering, so I built one into Teledata's, a cable that runs through the name and plugs into the world. It's there for anyone who looks closely. From there, phone cords and data cables became part of the design itself.
The cloud services site called for a different approach. The cloud is a hard idea to grasp, so I made it the most graphics-driven site I've ever built, with every line of text written to work alongside the pictures.
Two businesses under one name needed two very different solutions, and finding the right one for each was the best part of the project.
Questions about this project
Still have a question?
Ask me directlyWhat should come first in a rebrand, the logo or the website?
The logo. It sets the colors, the type, and the feel, and the website is built from them. Teledata's logo came first in 2018, and both websites grew out of it.
When does a second business need its own website?
When it sells something different to different people. Teledata's cabling work is local, and its cloud services can be sold anywhere. Putting both on one site would have muddied each one, so the cloud business got its own site, linked to the main one and carrying the same brand.
Can a technical company's website feel friendly?
Yes. Teledata's owners wanted exactly that. The company site gave the crew a page of their own and explained each service in plain words. A customer could see who would show up to do the work before calling.
What do motion effects add to a website?
Used with care, a sense of place. On the cloud services site, the graphics drifted as you scrolled, so the pages felt light and airy, like the cloud the business sells. The effect stayed in the background, and the words and buttons stayed still, so nothing gets in the way of reading.
Do you design logos for new owners of an existing business?
Yes. A change of ownership is a natural time for a new mark. I start with what the new owners want the business to become, and what customers already know and trust about it, so the new logo marks a fresh start without losing the company's history.
Can you do this for a business like mine?
Yes, if your business needs a new look, a new website, or both. The work starts with who your customers are, what you want them to think of you, and what they need to see before they call. We settle what yours needs on a short call, and you always know what comes next.
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Tell me what your business is becoming.
Send a few lines about your business, what’s changing, and what you need, whether a logo, a website, or both. Your request comes straight to me, and I’ll reply to set up a short call. Start with the form.