Fresh From The Field — Abletech brand and website refresh – By Wonderlab Ltd
Wonderlab shared with us a bit of their design thinking and how they helped Abletech, an almost two decade old IT company, leverage their brand’s goodwill in order to develop a brand-story and identity that respects the past without being shackled to it.
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The Brief:
After fifteen plus years in IT, Abletech’s business had become far more sophisticated and successful than their simple logo would have you believe. Having never fully developed their brand, they knew they needed a more comprehensive identity that reflected their true value. They also needed a new website to demonstrate they were tech savvy and marketing smart. But how far should they go? Rename? Rebrand? Or just refresh? Wonderlab was there to guide them through a positive process to an outcome that excited both clients and their team.
The Design Response:
Wonderlab recognised the goodwill of the existing company name, so it was decided to leverage it rather than start anew. But a brand repositioning was in order and so more research was needed.
Wonderlab steered Abletech’s team through a process of collaborative workshops and surveys. The workshops generated an outward focussed set of company visions and values, a defined set of customer personas, and set a direction for their brand proposition.
From there Wonderlab
– redefined the company’s ‘why?’
– provided a brand-story focused on ‘hearts over heads’ that resonated powerfully with Abletech
– aligned the company’s aspirations
– and resolved their brand proposition: innovation delivered.
Visually these concepts were translated into a humanistic expression with accessibility, smarts and understanding. The aesthetic is clean and fresh while still retaining a definite ‘hint’ of creativeness and passion for craft. An unusual mix in an industry often focused on the technical wizardry.
The Design Team:
Leyla Neilsen – art director + design lead,
Becky Luck – senior designer,
Cam Macduff – brand and creative strategy
https://www.wonderlab.co.nz
facebook.com/heywonderlab
instagram.com/heywonderlab
linkedin.com/company/wonderlab-nz/
twitter.com/heywonderlab
The Client Team:
“I felt it was a truly collaborative effort where we were gently guided and challenged, with a common goal of producing a great outcome. It did make us question who we are, why we do things the way we do things, what our unique value proposition is, and what our ideal client engagement would be. We designed into that future, with respect for the past but without being shackled to it. The process and the timing were incredibly valuable and we are all very pleased with and proud of the outcome.
We have had great feedback from our team and from clients. In fact we were so pleased, we have engaged Wonderlab to go through a similar process for our sister company AddressFinder!”
Michelle Harvey, Group CEO, Abletech + Address Finder
http://www.linkedin.com/company/able-technology
https://www.facebook.com/abletech
https://www.twitter.com/abletech
https://abletech.nz
Collaborators:
Abletech.nz – technical implementation and website build.
