Leveraging Roots to Inform
a Solid Identity

Solving Business Problems on the Web

OpenRoad is a technology consulting firm that has amassed deep web-centric expertise, over their 16 years in operation. They offer strategy, user experience design, custom development, and web analytics services. These efforts are manifested in websites, intranets, custom web applications, and mobile apps that help clients solve critical business problems.

The seasoned team of professionals at OpenRoad share a desire to explore and take on new challenges. Similarly, they feel that planning and effective project management are critical to achieving success. The results of this are evidenced by the glowing reviews from the many customers who have stayed with them over the years. Some of these groups include Electronic Arts, the Government of British Columbia, and the World Bank.

Positioning Service-Based Companies

OpenRoad wanted to continue to attract lucrative and challenging contracts, while growing into broader and more international markets. They also felt that after so many years of operations, they really needed to take the time to carve out a defensible position. Part of this would depend upon better communicating their expertise and reputation for thought leadership.

Positioning is particularly challenging for service-based companies as there are so many similar groups with seemingly identical offerings (at least to the naked eye). This wasn’t made any easier for OpenRoad, given that they still didn’t have a clear identity system in place and their online presentation didn’t convey their diverse experience. In fact, their existing website felt a little like that of a dry bureaucratic organization, and they believed this stood in the way of branching out to new industries.
 

An Identity from What Was Already There

Our process began by asking probing questions into why existing customers continued to work with OpenRoad. Through our talks with their founders and staff, we learned that their customers often chose them because they felt like a safe choice. Large organizations in particular wanted to feel assured that their team could handle the task at hand. OpenRoad management also believed that their methodical approach was a core differentiating factor.

We then crafted an approach that focused on two pivotal aspects to their operation: planning and exploration. The first would largely be represented in their website; instead of the phony generic images endemic to their industry, we’d show candid snapshots of their actual people at work. We’d also craft a structure that better drew attention to key information that they needed to convey. For the second point, we would harken back to the roots of the company: a group of keen young students at Simon Fraser University.

Their History Informs the Visual System

The finished identity relies heavily on a pattern based on the topography of Burnaby Mountain, where the company first began (in the early days of the web). This treatment plays with notions of movement and depth, which reflects their exploratory spirit. It is backed-up by a meaty wordmark that uses negative space to also imply this sense of movement and direction. All of this is tied together through a clear set of standards for easier continued use.

When you walk up to OpenRoad’s front door, you’re immediately met by their new identity. The blue, stratigraphic pattern is leveraged across all of their assets, including their space. The identity system then goes on to inform everything from invoices to PowerPoint slide decks. What’s great is that while it looks visually interesting, it also feels really solid and dependable. This is echoed on the website, which introduces their staff as friendly, real people you can trust. All of this adds up to a single, unified, professional voice.