Author: Paul Barlow

Optima Health

Launching a fresh look to support workplace health and well-being

Optima Health illustration

BRANDING — healthcare

Optima Health

Launching a fresh look to support workplace health and well-being

Optima Health is tasked by some of the UK’s largest public and private sector employers to manage and support both the physical and mental health demands of their staff.

With the merger of two businesses and the rapid uptake of wearable health technology the opportunity for Optima Health was to deliver health support across a range of organisations, geographies and environments. Working closely with their leadership team we started by defining a brand strategy before bringing it to life through a new brand identity.

The new identity is centred around the ‘O’ symbol, which reflects the multiple strands of health services provided. The rich colour palette supports this and enables Optima Health’s identity to stand out within larger client organisations. The illustrative icons represent both the physical and mental health dimensions of the business as well as the four primary service areas.

We have produced everything from an explainer animation to exhibition stands, digital assets to data sheets, mobile medical centre liveries to a launch booklet. The branding has helped galvanise the business as it steps into this new era of holistic workplace healthcare.

JANUARY 2019

Driven by our belief that business should be a force for good in the world – 12 months ago we set out on our journey to become a certified B Corporation or ‘B Corp’. It’s been a tough but fascinating process to comply with B Corp’s exacting standards across a range of categories.

Certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement that meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. There are more than 2,400 Certified B Corporations® in over 150 industries and 60 countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business.

It feels great to be in the company of these businesses, working together to update the old capitalist model that pursues (short-term) profit at all costs. Amongst our new peers are enlightened organisations such as Patagonia, Cook, Ben & Jerry’s, Method and more recently Havas London have become the first major agency to qualify.

The question is, what does it mean for L&Co? Well, the certification (B Impact Assessment) process was not just about ticking boxes, it forced us to think about all aspects of our business. For example, we have adopted a more rigorous vetting process for our suppliers and shifted our banking to the leading ethical bank Triodos. We have even rewritten our Articles of Association to give equal weight to shareholders, staff and the community we operate in.

Our next step is to focus on creating real positive impact. In 2018 almost 20% of our income came from organisations that were driven by a positive social or environmental purpose, and we plan to grow this over the next two years to at least one third.

The bottom line for us is no longer just about profit, it’s about people and planet too. And while we intend to wear the B Corp logo with pride, it’s the next two years that we should be judged on.

ThirdSpace

Defining a new space for digital security & identity

branding – tech

ThirdSpace

Microsoft identity and digital security experts Oxford Computer Group approached us with their own identity crises. Their former colleagues and namesake in the US were causing confusion within the market. The business enables customers to access their data securely, providing protection while enabling people to work at home, at work or indeed anywhere – a third space. We created the name and descriptor: the control to liberate, bringing the new brand to life through a new logo and supporting design framework. The square brackets from the logo expand and contract across the visual identity to frame elements within photography and word play, suggesting the idea of security anywhere.

ThirdSpace
ThirdSpace whitepaper
ThirdSpace
ThirdSpace
ThirdSpace

Worldpay

A single global brand identity

branding – finance

Worldpay

In August 2017, Vantiv and Worldpay, announced a $10.4bn merger creating the world’s largest payments processor and becoming a Fortune 500 company. Our partners MBLM in New York worked with Worldpay to develop a strategic brand platform, promise and tagline – Advancing the ways the world pays. Concurrently, a brand architecture framework was developed to streamline and rationalise the product offerings. Once the new logo had been created MBLM invited us to work with them to design the visual identity system and establish the new look and feel. Working closely with the client’s marketing and communications teams in the US and UK, we created the assets, templates, a proprietary typeface, image and icon libraries. In support of bringing the newly merged companies together, we helped create specific components for the internal values and brand launch. This included digital and print communications as well as environmental applications. The launch has been a great success, presenting an engaging, unified outlook to their colleagues, customers, company, and communities.

Worldpay logo
Worldpay
Worldpay Sans
Worldpay Sans
Worldpay
Worldpay white paper
Worldpay

JLL

Keeping global real estate business JLL fresh, relevant and consistent

JLL London cityscape

BRANDING – PROPERTY

JLL

We started by reviewing the brand identity of this global property company. We helped create their property marketing design system so that condos in Sydney and offices in New York can be presented with a consistent look and feel. We commissioned young photographers Lillian Wilkie, Mindaugas Komskis and Lex Fleming to find fresh angles on architecture around the world, and illustrators Chris Dent, Chloe Mutton and Diana Boyle to draw cityscapes. We’ve created guidelines for signs and interiors and more recently we were asked to create an animation for the annual MAPIC retail property conference illustrating six facts about the global retail market.

JLL Brand Book
JLL Brand Book
JLL - Red