Ion Consulting Brand Identity
The Challenge:
ion consulting facilitates and develops lasting and distinctive change and strategies for the growing business by enabling confident decision making through critical analysis of systems, organizations, relationships and techniques for recognizable results. Consulting is an aggressive space and there are a lot of freelance as well as agency firms out there who can offer similar services but not with the same experience.
Brand Scope:
Discovery & Strategy
Logo
Typography
Color
Pattern
General Best practices sheet
The Exploration:
Following the discovery process, we researched and brainstormed to unveil three distinct options to ion consulting inspired by the creative consideration of having a positive and negative sign representing the i - for the charges of an ion.
The Exploration:
For round 2 of the exploration, we expanded on the first logo option. Option 1 and 2 of this round, had a wider top to the n. Option 1 had a similar placement to the o as the original, whereas option 2 had the top of the o on the same x-height optically as the i and the n. Option 3 was most similar to the original mark, with some smoothing of the curves. Option 4 is option 3 with a smaller o that is sitting on the same x-height optically as the i and n. The chosen direction was option 1.
Color & Typography
This color palette is inspired by the luminance of teal and orange as well as the specific colors elements make when they change energy, and the ionization that causes the northern lights. Most items appear in teal and blues. Orange is used minimally for emphasis. Teal is often thought of as a rejuvenating color, which aligns with the mission. The primary and secondary colors were specifically chosen to work together and be WCAG 2AA Compliant 18+ or better to ensure website accessibility.
The headline font, Basenji Variable, is a geometric display typeface that features futuristic curves and is influenced by Bauhaus design. It is used for the “consulting” part of the logo, but for the header is implemented a bit thicker. All headlines all lower case, as a nod to the logo being set all lowercase and how the owner normally types. League Spartan is a more readable geometric sans with high ascenders. It mimics the roundedness of the header font but can be smaller which makes it compliment nicely. Aleo is a slab serif typeface perfect for body copy. It’s semi-rounded features pair well with the geometric sans fonts. Serif typefaces are effective as body copy because the serifs help your eye travel across the line which helps with readability and reading speed.
The Solution:
This branding initiative was fueled by the desire to stand out amidst the crowd, resonating particularly with corporate and enterprise clientele and executive decision-makers. The logo signals ion consulting’s commitment to excellence and professionalism. The chosen logo was inspired by connectedness and uses the dot of the i and arrangement of the o in ion to subtly depict an actual ion. The i and the n are joined in order to resemble both a mountain and to represent challenges and momentum. This option has a lot of movement and animation potential to highlight these graphical elements. The font for consulting was kept rounded and simplified to represent movement and change. This leans into the lowercase “i” in the name and continues the lowercase application in the full name. Instead of using case to distinguish hierarchy, more importance is placed on ion with a thicker weight.