Sanivation | Brand Identity
Design
DELIVERABLES | Brand Identity Design, Branding Guidelines
BRANDING | Branding Guidelines Presentation
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One of the best decks I’ve made
More brand guides should utilize humor
The Synopsis
The process of designing this startup brand identity was a high-stakes exercise in threading the needle. The organization was little more than a few impressive engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a dream to help the third world, starting in Kenya.
They had a brilliant approach to sanitation, and good hearts, but trouble winning trust from a wide range of stakeholders. So I developed a multi-faceted brand identity that accounted for a lot of variables, and within a year Sanivation raised nearly $1m and was named “One of the ten most innovative companies in Africa” by FastCo.
Since then Sanivation's work has been featured by the World Bank, Kenya National Government, IFC, and the World Economic Forum, among others.
What I did right
Accounting for both the cultural implications and the pragmatic considerations of real-world use-cases helped guide my decisions.
I developed a logo system featuring a spirograph rose icon aimed at potential investors and institutional relationships. Then I lobbied for a secondary mark that served as a safety seal, and could be easily recreated by hand, in environments where printers weren’t accessible.
The colors and typeface were culturally appropriate and universally accessible; and my unique approach to empowering their internal team through humorous brand guidelines has stood the test of time.
What I did wrong
This was a pretty smooth project, featuring great counterparts at Sanivation and thoughtful input from their team. In retrospect, I think a more structured iterative process would have been a more efficient use of our time.
I also believe that the deliverables would have been easier to implement with a better change management plan. Even a series of short videos would have been helpful.
