Idean

  • Steve Whapshott

Rebranding a global design organisation from the inside.

Challenge

As Idean grew from 170 to 750+ people in the space of a year, evolving the story of our brand became crucial to scaling successfully.

Solution

Global direction. Local flavour.

To inspire, drive and own a brand at scale, we put our people first and at the heart of the brand.

A strong brand system is finding a balance of clear rules and creative freedom. For a brand to work on a global scale, rules are the central pillars for consistency — but for a brand to live, breathe and adapt it needs to be open to evolve. It’s about giving every Ideanist the ability to play their part and roll their local studio culture and clients into the brand.

The idea

We’re fearlessly human – here to challenge what’s possible.

The way we share our beliefs and express ourselves through the brand needed to reflect the spirit of our people. It sets out with some clear goals in mind. To grow our culture. To communicate our purpose, our spirit and our personality. To grow our brand and attract new talent. We believe these things will help us achieve excellence everyday.

Our manifesto

Fearlessly Human

Human energy

Our visual identity is based on ‘human energy’. We wanted it to embrace human imperfections to be authentic to this idea. The flaws, the little details that truly make us who we are and, well, human. It’s an unapologetically bold look that champions who we are and the way we work. The identity captures our fearless expression of human actions, balanced with a foundation of beautiful, considered design.

Making a mark

“Make a mark” is designed as a flexible system that gives our network of studios creative freedom and connects all of us globally. The team created a whole suite of graphic elements using mark-making techniques that enables everyone to creatively express themselves. Add to this new colours, presentation templates and illustrations to play with.
Read more about the project and process here.