A simple idea was born out of this conversation; turn a well-known, if slightly risqué, phrase into a slogan, one that slyly pokes fun at the firm's profession, informs, intrigues and ultimate provokes a knowing smile.
This was brainstorming at its rawest, an idea plucked literally out of the air and then given a strong graphical treatment to make it work.
The design treatment intended to inject personality and humour into a business sector perhaps not renowned for its sophistication.
Elmwood's design therefore approached its subject with a combination of wit and down-to-earth directness. The use of dominant sludge-brown and yellow colours was supplemented by a variety of concise strap lines, coupled with the most important move of all, changing the company name to Serious**.
These two crucial asterisks allow slogans like 'taking care of **it' and 'Take my word for **it' to be used on vehicles and printed materials, cheeky but also honest. Elmwood built a versatile and direct brand personality for Birkett. 
We built the personality on two things,' Sands says, 'David was serious about his industry and his business, but equally he didn't want to be seen as earnest and he has a great sense of humour. He came to us for the right reasons - he saw an opportunity to create the first national brand in his sector. He didn't have strong views about what it should look like but he believed, as we did, that it should have a strong attitude to give it brand stand-out.'
