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Case Study

Element Example
Firm Name: KCI
Background:

When the client came to us, they were using the name "Knowledge Connections, Inc." and had no formal brand. In discussion with the clients a core message emerged:

KCI brings knowledge management to corporate law departments, to help identify organizational knowledge and connect those who need it to those who have it.

Brand Name: We recommended that the firm change its name to KCI, for KnowConnect, Inc. This name is simpler, more memorable, and conveys the cutting-edge nature of the work. We suggested that they reserve the URL www.knowconnect.com because it was easier to remember than their former URL.
Logo: The bridge emerging from the fog became KCI's logo because it is the perfect metaphor for the firm's message: In most law departments there is too much information (the fog); when you identify key information (emerge from the fog) and make it easier for people to connect to information and to one another (the bridge), you create efficiency (you get there from here).
  In the logo, the letters "KCI" emerge from the fog, leading to clarity. On the firm business cards, the partner's first name similarly emerges from the rectangle, also creating a subtle frame for each partner's nickname:
 
Tag Line: The tagline "know. connect." conveys clearly and concisely what knowledge management does for law departments.
Fonts: Hei, an unusual sans serif font, gives the brand identity its modern, clean lines. Formatting the logo without caps emphasizes simplicity. Periods in the phone number echo those in the tagline, eliminating additional characters.
Color Palette: Black and white, with elements of cool grey, provide the right palette for the client's message of simplification.
Design Elements:

A simple thick horizontal rule completes the design elements:

The rule leads sometimes to the firm name, sometimes to the tagline. Like a bridge or a road, it arrives at a destination.

Subtle variations of the font, logo, tagline, and rule combine to create all the firm's communications: letterhead, business cards, website, and PowerPoint template.

The result is a clear, unified brand that

  • reinforces the firm's core message,
  • clearly identifies the firm as the source of its communications, and
  • builds confidence in and loyalty to the firm's communications.

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