Case Study: Inclusify’s Brand Identity
Introduction
Last time we talked about the group of MBA students and enthusiasts who started Inclusify with a vision to normalize the hiring of the blind and visually impaired in Malaysia. Creating a platform for both, the visually impaired and blind people on one side, and companies on the other side, Inclusify is solving the high unemployment rate among the blind and visually impaired people in Malaysia.
In that previous blog about Inclusify, we dug a little deeper into the first and second part of the Brand Strategy, which is defining the brand positioning, value proposition, then brand personality and tone of voice, and the key messaging pillars.
Since then, we have worked on the Brand Identity as the third and final part of the Brand Strategy before moving on to social media and viral campaigns. Here is what we’ve accomplished so far:
Project Scope – Brand Identity
It is important to point out that before creating any of the brand identity elements, such as the logo, a designer needs to understand the brand, its mission, vision, and purpose. That is exactly what we did – along with the Inclusify team, we solidified a great part of the Brand Strategy (we call it Brand Heart & Brand Messaging) which made it easier for us to visually present who Inclusify is, which we achieved through the logo, color palette, typography, website design, etc.
We think of Brand Identity as the visual, tangible representation of a brand’s values.
This is what we created for Inclusify:
Logo
The first option we showed the client is this logo - the shape of an eye. If you look closely, it contains a few meanings. The shape of an eye is symbolically referred to as ‘sight’, which implies vision and seeing in general. Just like all the people in the world are unique and individual, all eyes can see from different perspectives, and that was the goal – to put the eyes on the blind and/or visually impaired whose needs are the same as everyone else’s, especially when it comes to employment opportunities.
The second important thing in this logo is the “open eye” in the shape of the letter ‘C’. This refers to the word “INCLUSION” which stands for openness and equal access to employment opportunities which we wanted to show through this logo.
Similar to the first option, we have an “eye” as the symbol of sight, with open spaces at the sides that show inclusion and, this time, two circles that are intertwined in the middle which means that something great is in progress. Two objects combined, creating a, sort of, ideal solution that none of them could do on its own.
One circle represents the blind and/or visually impaired, the other circle represents employers & companies - and together they create a perfect match on the Inclusify platform.
The last option, and the one the client chose, is…
This is a minimalistic design compared to the other two. An open door as a symbol for openness and inclusion is very powerful, yet simple. The white diagonal line clearly creates the shape of the letter “N”. In all three logos, we wanted to highlight the “IN” from the word ‘INclusify’. You can also notice that in the word below the logo, the “IN” is always in a different color. And when it comes to colors, this is the final version of the logo that was made for our client:
Purple haze and ivory. Purple stands for innovation, imagination, and serenity. And the Inclusify team is all about innovation – but at the same time, they are very empathetic and daring. Ivory or gray in the second part of the word stands for balance, strength and the personality of the brand which is always challenge driven. The members of the Inclusify team come from Morocco, Brazil, & India. Their unity is a combination of the characteristics their own brand stands for:
Innovative & inclusive,
Empathetic & daring,
Enthusiastic & challenge-driven.
That defined their brand personality which is shown through the above logo and choice of colors.
Project Progress
Besides the logo and color palette, we also defined the typography and iconography, and determined the style of the images.
All will be available soon and visible on their social media, which we will share with you, as well.
With this third part, we have completed our Brand Strategy: Brand Heart, Brand Messaging, & Brand Identity.
Currently, the Apher team is working on the client’s website design, social media strategy, & viral campaigns which we have put a lot of creative thinking in. With each blog, we are even more excited to show you the progress of our work.
Our aim with blogging is to write about each project we have. In case you want to know more about our projects, industries we have covered so far, or the services we offer, you can always contact us via our website or social media (IG, FB, LinkedIn, Twitter).
