AP Lazer Brand Upgrade: A and P Drawn in One Continuous Laser Path

A and P drawn in one continuous laser path

In 2017, Xinming Design completed a brand upgrade for AP Lazer, a US maker of laser engraving equipment. The new logo is a fine line AP monogram: the A is a tall arch, and the P is drawn with the same line inside the arch, each stroke made of two parallel lines like the track left by a laser head moving back and forth. The design notes describe it this way: the letterforms follow the path of laser cutting and engraving, with each letter joined end to end. To the right sit the condensed capital wordmark AP LAZER and the line LEADING THE WAY. Three colours, tech orange, ivory white and industrial grey, carry the identity to meeting invitations, business cards, letterheads, trade show signs, billboards, staff passes and hoodies. The logo is still in use.

A laser engraving equipment company

According to the AP Lazer website, the US company makes CO2 and fiber laser engraving equipment built around a patented open architecture, serving small businesses, sign makers, woodworking and furniture, educational institutions and memorial care.

The brand already had a logo. The upgrade had to answer: for a company that makes precision equipment, how can the logo itself look like laser work, rather than show a beam or a machine icon?

From laser path to letters

The design's answer was to make the letters look as if a laser had engraved them:

· A: a tall arch, rounded at the top, with two straight legs reaching the ground;

· P: not a new stroke, but drawn out of the inside of the arch, looping into the bowl of the P and back to the ground;

· Double line: every stroke is made of two fine parallel lines, like the outward and return path of a laser head.

The design sets three keywords for the logo: connection, track, precision. Each letter joins the next end to end, forming an ordered structure and direction; the fine, precise lines express the detail and accuracy of laser engraving.

The wordmark AP LAZER uses tall, condensed capitals, its horizontal and vertical strokes equally fine, matching the precision of the logo's lines; LEADING THE WAY sits below in a smaller size. Construction drawings fix the proportions and spacing of the logo and wordmark.

Tech orange, ivory white and industrial grey

The design sets three standard colours:

· Tech orange (#FA5900): C0 M78 Y95 K0, RGB 250 / 89 / 0, PANTONE 021 C; defined in the proposal as energy and technology, and used for 90% of brand colour;

· Ivory white (#FFFFFF): defined as simple and efficient;

· Industrial grey (#CBCBCB, converted from RGB): C24 M18 Y18 K0, RGB 203 / 203 / 203, PANTONE Cool Gray 3 C; defined as intelligent and steady.

Tech orange fills almost every layout, like the sparks thrown off by laser cutting; grey and white give the orange room to breathe. The colour pages also give six tints of orange and grey, from deep to light.

Supporting graphic: parallel lines

The supporting graphic comes from the double lines of the logo:

· a set of parallel diagonals and bent lines, like texture engraved layer by layer by a laser;

· a large rounded block of orange cutting diagonally into the layout.

The parallel lines appear on envelopes, the backs of business cards, folders and invitations, so the brand is recognisable even without the logo.

From invitations to trade shows

Business materials

· Business cards, letterheads, envelopes and folders: orange and industrial grey grounds with parallel line texture

· Meeting invitations: full tech orange, with parallel bent lines reaching in from a corner

Staff

· Staff passes and orange lanyards

· Orange hoodie: white logo and wordmark on the chest

Trade shows and outdoor

· Trade show signs: an orange column with the logo and Machine Comparison product information

· Billboard: a laser engraving machine with product comparison information

The application images on this page are proposal mock-ups; the names and portraits on business cards and staff passes, and the meeting name and dates on the invitations, are placeholders.

Deliverables and extensions

Logo design

· AP monogram (double lines following the path of laser cutting)

· Wordmark AP LAZER and line LEADING THE WAY

· Construction drawings

Core identity

· Colours: tech orange, ivory white, industrial grey, with six tints

· Supporting graphics: parallel line texture, rounded colour blocks

· Brand keywords: connection, track, precision

Applications

· Business materials: business cards, letterheads, envelopes, folders, meeting invitations

· Staff: staff passes, hoodies

· Trade shows and outdoor: trade show signs, billboards

Looking back

Three points are worth taking from this project:

1. Make the logo look like something the product makes. Instead of drawing a laser beam, the letters themselves look laser engraved, so it is clear at once what the company does.

2. Write two letters with one line. The P grows out of the arch of the A, turning two letters into one continuous path, simple and easy to remember.

3. Let one colour fill nine tenths. Tech orange covers almost every layout, recognisable at a glance at trade shows and outdoors.

The logo of a laser equipment brand works best when it looks as if its own machine engraved it.

How to verify

· Client: AP Lazer (United States)

· Website: www.aplazer.com

· Year: 2017

· This case page: www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3270.html

Further reading

· GLIRST Phone Accessories Brand Upgrade: Two Gs That Form One Circle (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3168.html)

· DaChan Bay Terminals Brand Extension: A Port Drawn as Building Blocks (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3228.html)

· BIG BUTLER Big Data Brand Identity: Data Pixels That Gather into a D (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3200.html)

FAQ

Who designed the AP Lazer logo?

The current logo and visual identity of AP Lazer were designed by Xinming Design in 2017 for the US laser engraving equipment company, and are still in use.

What does the AP Lazer logo mean?

The lines of the logo follow the path of laser cutting and engraving: the A is an arch, and the P is drawn with the same line inside it; each letter joins the next end to end, with parallel double lines expressing the detail and accuracy of laser engraving.

What keywords did the design set for the logo?

Connection, track and precision.

What are the AP Lazer brand colours?

Tech orange (#FA5900, PANTONE 021 C), ivory white (#FFFFFF) and industrial grey (#CBCBCB, PANTONE Cool Gray 3 C).

What did the project include?

The logo, wordmark and brand line, construction drawings, a three colour palette with tints, parallel line supporting graphics, and applications including business cards, letterheads, envelopes, folders, meeting invitations, staff passes, hoodies, trade show signs and billboards.

Which brands can learn from this case?

Industrial equipment and precision manufacturing companies; brands selling to overseas markets that need a simple lettermark; and technology brands that want the logo to show the craft of their product.

Xinming Design is a brand systems design firm. Its work centres on systematic judgment, turning brand strategy into structures that can run and be inherited. www.xinming.sg