Make It Pop

The Relationship

Make It Pop is the dedicated installation service for AF CULTURES, Brand Shepherd’s official partner for custom commercial signage. Together, AF CULTURES and Make It Pop deliver a full-service experience, from custom sign production to professional installation, for businesses looking to make a lasting impression with their physical brand presence.

Brand Shepherd was brought in to elevate Make It Pop’s visual identity, giving them a mark that matched the quality and professionalism of the work they deliver in the field.

The Challenge

The brief was deceptively simple: create a logo that truly “pops.” The name practically demands it. But there was a critical tension hiding beneath the surface.

Make It Pop installs custom signage, meaning every project they showcase features someone else’s logo. Their portfolio, their marketing materials, their project photos, all of it puts their clients’ custom work front and center. Which raises an uncomfortable question: what happens when the installer’s logo outshines the work being installed?

That was the real challenge. We needed to design a mark that was vibrant, confident, and unmistakably “pop,” without creating something so visually dominant that it would overpower their clients’ custom logos when shown alongside them in sales, marketing, or informational assets.

In short: the identity had to pop on its own, but know when to step back.

The Approach

Brand Shepherd led the Make It Pop team through a deliberate, iterative process designed to arrive at the right answer.

Multiple concept rounds. We explored a range of directions, each calibrated to strike a different balance between energy and restraint. The goal was to give the team real options that surfaced different facets of the brand’s personality.

Mockup-driven decision making. Rather than evaluating logos in a vacuum, we placed each finalist in realistic mockup contexts. This gave the team a clear picture of how each option would perform in the real world, especially alongside the custom logos they install every day.

Space to explore. When the team gravitated toward a direction but wanted to push it further, we built in room for additional exploration of the final concept. This ensured the chosen mark was fully realized.

A trusted recommendation. Throughout the process, Brand Shepherd provided a clear point of view on which direction best served the brand’s long-term interests. In the end, the team went with our recommendation, a mark that everyone felt confident about.

The Result

The final Make It Pop identity hits the sweet spot. It’s energetic and distinctive, true to the name and the spirit of the brand, while maintaining the visual discipline to sit comfortably alongside any client’s custom signage without competing for attention.

The mark works hard across every touchpoint: on the truck pulling up to a job site, on the technician’s uniform during the install, in a proposal deck alongside a client’s branding, and in portfolio photography where the installed work should always be the star.

Most importantly, everyone is happy. The Make It Pop team has a visual identity that feels like them: Professional, energetic, and ready to make an impression, and Brand Shepherd delivered a strategic solution that serves the brand now and as it grows.

“The best brand identities know how to behave in context. For Make It Pop, that meant designing confidence with restraint.”
— Dan Crask, Brand Shepherd

Why It Matters

This project is a textbook example of why brand strategy matters even for service businesses that might not think they need it. Make It Pop’s logo plays a specific role within a larger ecosystem of brands.

Getting that role right required more than graphic design skill; it required strategic thinking about context, hierarchy, and the relationships between brands.

That’s the Brand Shepherd difference.