Creating an Umbrella Brand
Sasiadek’s needed us to develop a brand that felt big corporate, yet friendly and approachable. Everything had to be unified together with branding collateral, as well as a full eCommerce website that allowed companies to purchase subscriptions.
After the foundation meeting we began research on the single product software market to get a more accurate design direction. We noticed a focus on clean aesthetics, bold color and geometric shapes that reflect the digital world. This helped us choose a clean and open aesthetics direction that make for an approachable feel, yet strong enough to align with large corporate brands.
Even though the main focus was on Sasiadek’s we couldn’t brand it without first creating a brand for the Guardiant umbrella company. Through multiple iterations we created a unified brand mark that you see below.
Client
Sasiadek’s is part of Guardiant Group: a collective of IT companies that help businesses with their IT needs. We were put in charge to first develop the new Sasiadek’s brand and eCommerce website, followed by a complete rebrand of the parent company as well.
Though the main logo mark is primarily multi colored, the shape allows us to make single color versions as well to easily separate sister companies while still being easily identified as a Guardiant brand.
The Brand Mark
Developed mark incorporates geometric shapes and bright modern colors to create a visually engaging logo. The geometric symmetry of the logo creates a sense of strength, stemming from the sharp edges and use of black to contrast the vibrancy of the color palette. In using bright colors, mark appears approachable and friendly, while still communicating the large size of the company.
Color Choices and Variations
The logo’s color palette is a more vibrant take on traditional and primary colors. The colors compliment each other, while the influence of black creates depth in the logo. Pairing both warm and cool colors adds versatility to the brand. In using black in every version of the logo it not only creates a strong contrast but also helps to unify the sub-brands together.
For Sasiadek’s we used blue color variations to represent IT. Red variations for the backup sub brand and green for Balmorhea a networking sub-brand that’s still in development.
Collateral
We ended up creating very basic stationary and a few sample product mockups. For cards we selected heavy uncoated stock to give cards a natural feel with a spot gloss over the mark to make the logo stand out.
Connected Web Platform
The goal was building web properties that stood on their own for each sub-brand of Guardiant but also shared the same DNA. Each website provided unique customer pacing portals, while on the back end all brands were tied into, and accessible, under the umbrella brand’s platform.
Single connection
The site features a full eCommerce system that lets businesses subscribe for services as well as buy add-on equipment. All subscriptions can be easily managed from the back-end
Markets
All the Guardiant brands deal in the overall IT sector but each has unique markets they are targeting. Through the development of multiple sub-brands, we allowed customer’s needs to be more effectively targeted and met via this segregation while keeping internal efficiency through connectivity on the back end.
Efficiency Throughout
The improved customer portal streamlined customer acquisition through the reduced effort for sign up which meant more new users month over month. We also developed FAQ and quick help links for each system that greatly reduced reliance on the customer service teams, allowing Guardiant to scale its users base without the need for additional staffing.
Results
Multiple recurring revenue streams with individual strong branding resulted in far fewer cancelations of plans, while at the same time increasing signups among the targeted niche subscription model services.
