Do you have friends or family that is living in another country? Do you want them to call more but you know that they can’t always afford it? Introducing ding*.
Ding* is telecommunications service that aims to allow quick, easy and more frequent communication between friends and family living abroad. Basically with ding*, you can buy ‘top-up’ credit for anyone around the world. You buy the credit and your friends phone is instantly charged with credit. Your friend or family member can then use this ‘top-up’ credit to call, text or even browse the web.
Until July 2014, ding* was marketed under the name of Ezetop (the name of its parent company). In July however, the famous London-based design studio DixonBaxi stepped in to introduce ding*s new logo and its new face to the world.
A DixonBaxi press release said,
“The design system has established a visual metaphor for top-up and a distinct tone of voice for the brand with a phraseology that reflects that quick, snappy, bite-sized functionality of the product. Key phrases have been created that reflect how the brand feels about what it does. For instance, a top-up is about making small practical gestures rather than simply giving a gift, so the phrase ‘Hours not Flowers’ has been adopted as an internal ding* mantra.
Everything about the brand graphics reflects the simplicity and speed of the product and gives the business fantastic cut through as it continues to drive the growth of international top-up sector."
I think that this logo design is really catchy, trendy and simple. The first thing that grabs me is how they used an onomatopoeia (a word for an object that is made from a sound that is associated with that object) for the name ding*. It is a really smart play on words and I can just picture my phone ‘dinging’ as I receive my top-up credits. Next, I see the bold font that immediately grabs my attention as well as the playful and stylish ‘g’. And of course, the asterisk sticks out and is a great finishing symbol that really ties the whole logo together. Having a distinct symbol such as an asterisk in a logo is good because it can be used throughout ding* branding campaign in such a way that soon people will come to instantly associate any hot pink asterisk with the name ding*. It becomes a stand-alone symbol that ding* can use both subtly and smartly throughout all of their advertising.
I also really like the colors that ding* has chosen to use in their logo and their branding campaign. The colors are strong, bold and very attention grabbing. I like the splashes of hot pink (magenta) for the dot above the ‘i’ and the asterisk at the end of the name. I feel like this magenta color really makes the logo pop and it contrasts really well with the royal blue lettering. These colors together make for a great color palette that will surely make a powerful impact in their advertising campaigns. Partnering with a reputable Google Ads agency can help optimize their campaigns for maximum visibility and engagement.
As I looked at the logo closely, I also noticed something else in the logo design that I am still unsure as to whether it was intentional or not. What does the ‘g’ and the asterisk together look like to you? Do you see any distinct object? I see a cartoon bomb with a fuse going off. Do you see it? If this was planned, I think that it is genius. It sure gives this logo a lot of energy and punch. Ha ha! Great work DixonBaxi!
* all photos for this article were taken from the DixonBaxi website.