an old
favourite
an old
favourite
branding for a professional services firm
the challenge A leading technical staffing firm had acquired a number of regional firms. They decided to merge them into a single, national company. None of the component firms had a sufficiently strong brand, so a new brand had to be developed from the ground up. Naseem Javed, who had previously named TELUS and Celestica, was hired to develop the company’s new name. And I was hired to create all the elements of the new firm’s visual identity.
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the solution The new company’s area of specialization meant that their target audiences were steeped in the culture of engineering and technology. Every element was therefore painstakingly constructed in accordance with a rigorous geometric system that imbued the final designs with order and inner logic calculated to appeal to technical audiences. A sense of dynamism was injected by slanting the rectangle surrounding the company name “upward” according to a precise arithmetic ratio opposite to the angle implied by the name’s conspicuous typographic ascender and descender. This distinctive slant was referenced throughout the comprehensive identity system.
tl;dr The visual identity had to project the key messages of technological currency, energetic action, and the new firm’s being a “people company.” I chose a vibrant orange as the principal corporate identity colour because of its appropriate symbolic associations (and after carefully weighing the cultural contingency of such symbolisms).
The lettering in the logotype was designed to be fairly consistent with Helvetica—the sans serif typeface sans pareil of the late Modernist revival style. However, the tittle over the “I” was omitted and the letterforms subtly redrawn to both impart greater individuality to the design and improve trademark protection.
Naseem Javed, who has never been shy about criticizing identity designs, enthusiastically recommended the approval of my work. He later wrote, “I like the color, I like the type—I like everything about it,” and stated his opinion that this visual identity programme is a “great work, indeed.” The client company’s Executive Committee quickly and unanimously approved my designs, after which the CEO succinctly expressed his opinion: “You’re a bloody genius.”
Expertise required
.
Brand research & analysis
Brand strategy
Branding design
Branding standards
Environmental design
Graphic design
Signage design
branding for a professional services firm
the challenge A leading technical staffing firm had acquired a number of regional firms. They decided to merge them into a single, national company. None of the component firms had a sufficiently strong brand, so a new brand had to be developed from the ground up. Naseem Javed, who had previously named TELUS and Celestica, was hired to develop the company’s new name. And I was hired to create all the elements of the new firm’s visual identity.
.
the solution The new company’s area of specialization meant that their target audiences were steeped in the culture of engineering and technology. Every element was therefore painstakingly constructed in accordance with a rigorous geometric system that imbued the final designs with order and inner logic calculated to appeal to technical audiences. A sense of dynamism was injected by slanting the rectangle surrounding the company name “upward” according to a precise arithmetic ratio opposite to the angle implied by the name’s conspicuous typographic ascender and descender. This distinctive slant was referenced throughout the comprehensive identity system.
tl;dr The visual identity had to project the key messages of technological currency, energetic action, and the new firm’s being a “people company.” I chose a vibrant orange as the principal corporate identity colour because of its appropriate symbolic associations (and after carefully weighing the cultural contingency of such symbolisms).
The lettering in the logotype was designed to be fairly consistent with Helvetica—the sans serif typeface sans pareil of the late Modernist revival style. However, the tittle over the “I” was omitted and the letterforms subtly redrawn to both impart greater individuality to the design and improve trademark protection.
Naseem Javed, who has never been shy about criticizing identity designs, enthusiastically recommended the approval of my work. He later wrote, “I like the color, I like the type—I like everything about it,” and stated his opinion that this visual identity programme is a “great work, indeed.” The client company’s Executive Committee quickly and unanimously approved my designs, after which the CEO succinctly expressed his opinion: “You’re a bloody genius.”
Expertise required
Brand research & analysis
Brand strategy
Branding design
Branding standards
Environmental design
Graphic design
Signage design