We don’t showcase our identity-related work very much, but it’s still a big part of what we do at smashLAB. The fact is, a lot of the organizations need help in defining their brand strategies. Once we’ve helped them do so, we’re often brought-in to work on a more long-term basis.

 

 

 

 

Our process with illumivision was in respects “carriage before the horse”. They came to us looking for a website redesign (case study here). As a result of its success, they come back to us for the creation of a new identity system, wordmark, and various assets. We’re now working with them on their online marketing efforts.

 

 

THE BEFORE:

The original illumivision materials were relatively cohesive and usable. Spaces were clear and generally quite well organized.Additionally, they weren’t burdened with overly many treatments; that being said, on some occasions it felt as though the elements were trying a little too hard.

 

The wordmark’s reliance on two colors proved somewhat challenging, forcing them to utilize a white background in most materials. This limited them from conveying the more cinematic qualities of light, that really help sell their products. This is quite clearly illustrated in the banners, which try to showcase their stunning photographs, but are somewhat sapped of their energy with the white gradient required for the logo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE AFTER:

The illumivision redesign ultimately came down to conveying a single notion effectively. As such, we’ve concentrated on light, and worked to represent it simply in the identity materials. This luminosity and energy works well in a wide range of materials.

Meanwhile, the wordmark is really an exercise in restraint. While the earlier version had a number of awkward spaces and was challenging to work with in certain settings, the new one is largely a stylized “block”. Using Hoefler & Frere-Jones’ Gotham, we were able to build a stable form that functions rather effortlessly, regardless of size or setting.

The people at illumivision have been lovely to work with. By really concentrating on their core message we were empowered to establish a simple, yet effective system. We’re very happy to continue to work with them.