A branding and identity design startup is a company that specializes in creating and designing branding and identity materials for businesses. This can include everything from logo design and development to creating and executing marketing campaigns. A branding and identity design startup can help a business to establish its brand, create a unique and recognizable identity, and develop a cohesive marketing strategy.
About the customer
We were approached by a manufacturer of thermowraps. This packaging is widely used in retail, culinary and pharmaceutical industries to keep the temperature of the product longer. The bag can be used many times: it is useful not only for storing cold products, but also for hot products.
The challenge
We were to develop the naming for the product line and design a thermowell in a way that would tell a story about the usefulness and functionality of the pack. The items should be easily scalable, as the customer plans to expand the product line to include thermo bags and thermoses. Details should be connected by one idea, which the brand can develop in communications and advertising.
Only a small part of the audience knows that the thermo pack is a reusable product. Most often such packaging is associated with the frozen food department in the supermarket. Therefore, few people know that you can also put food in this package, which should be kept warm. These little-known, but useful features the customer wants to talk about in communications and advertising.
The client had a limited budget and a month to launch the project. Decided to take this challange and apply an express approach to all phases of the development of the identity.
Step 1: Naming
We adhered to a strategy of “collective and effective”. We gathered a team of three people to make a big name assault in one working day. We had to find an intuitive, easy-to-read name in Latin. At the same time, it had to be easy to read for the non-English-speaking part of the audience.
The most important criterion is that the name should reflect the essence of the product.
Usually we prepare a proposal for naming from a week. This is painstaking work, where we organize both joint and solo storms, make several selections and prepare a presentation for the client with detailed comments and initial due diligence of the names. The work strategy we followed on this project is an exception to the rule that would suit small brands or startups.
The next day, we selected a shortlist of ten names and sent them to our patent partners for a quick check. As a result, we were left with two options with the highest probability of registration. The client opted for the name termy. This is an intuitive neologism formed from the word thermic.
Initially we developed the name for a specific line of products, but the client’s team liked it so much that it was decided to use it for the parent company as well.
Step 2: Preparation of the concepts
We selected two promising ideas. The choice was guided by the fact that we needed to show two different moods: empathic and technological. We also kept in mind that the client wanted to introduce a character into the brand communications.
The first idea: The thermo pack of the future.
Inspired by the functionality and technology of the product itself, we decided to convey this feeling. So we created an image at the junction of space food and modern gadgetry.
It is an expert assistant, who is guaranteed to keep food fresh, maintain temperature or deliver medicines.
The image of the logo and graphic reception is based on thermography – the scientific method of obtaining images in infrared rays. Thermographic images show a picture of temperature distribution. The bright technique was complemented by laconic infographics, which tells about the properties of the package in detail.
The second idea: The attentive friend from the grocery department.
Our brand is an attentive friend who cares that the products are comfortable. We imagined that termy is not only the name, but also the name of our main character. Termy is an expert on temperatures, re-freezing and keeping warm.
The logo is based on the Inter font. It is a technological and functional font. We softened the shapes of the signs a bit to make the logo look more empathetic. The sign was inspired by the images of snowflake, sun, asterisk star and degree. These four meanings formed the basis of the overall symbol.
The information on the package was divided into two sides: the first is emotional, with illustrations; the second is functional, with pictograms about the properties of the package.
Both concepts were prepared in a short time. Each of the solutions was formed in three days.
Client’s decision
The client opted for the second idea. It was important to give the brand an empathic voice and introduce a character if possible. The client’s team could immediately see how to develop communications, where to involve the characters and what to broadcast in the ads.
Step 3: Development.
The brand wants to talk about the functionality of the product. Friendly characters and infographics will help achieve this goal. We immediately assumed the development of an identity on social media.
We assumed that Termi can be actively used not only on packaging, but also in communications. In this case we thought that the main character could take different forms depending on the circumstances – covered with frost, thawed by heat or keep a neutral, spherical shape.
As a result, the client got not only the name and the design solution for the package, but also a basic set of tools for further work. The brand already has an idea and character that can evolve from medium to medium. In seven days a complex work was formed which would help to solve the main task of the product – to reveal the benefits of the package through communication and evoke a pleasant emotion in the consumer.
