Visual identity

Workshop

To capture the Civic Data Cooperative brand and its purpose, we began with a Visual Wall Workshop. These dynamic sessions promote the fun side of brand development and we encourage free-flowing thought and conversations throughout. Our designer then gets a feel for how the brand needs to be presented. Voting takes place to help test the room’s feelings on what has been created. As this session was carried out during COVID-19, we ran the workshop virtually using Miro. Utilising this tool ensured there was energy and engagement during the entire session, giving us the best contributions from both teams whilst working remotely.

Research & Development

Following on from the workshop, our designer then starts the R&D phase. The free-flowing conversations that took place between the Matchstick Creative and Civic Data Cooperative teams take centre stage for this part of the process. Our designer explores ideas and concepts at this point in the journey so stronger ideas come to the forefront and can be developed efficiently as the project continues. This allows us to refine the initial ideas early on, ensuring structured conversations are happening throughout and limiting any teething problems. Workshop conversations and vision boards are used to convey the purpose and tone of LCR CDC visually and several options are then presented to the client, along with further discussions to help inform and navigate the logo design phase.

Logo Design & Asset Creation

The brand logo was created to represent Civic Data Cooperative’s new direction and a new colour palette was also developed to represent the brand values.  We provided the CDC team with mock-ups of how the new visual brand could be used across the website and social media, giving real world examples and context to the new guidelines. 

Brand Guidelines

Creating a full brand guidelines document allows the Civic Data Cooperative team to fully immerse themselves in the world of LCR CDC and gives them a reference point to continuously refer back to if needed. The document is easy to understand and relate to, ensuring the entire team could put them into practice. 

Brand Voice

Tone of Voice Workshop

Meeting with the team allowed us to learn about the brand firsthand. This allowed them to platform their wants and needs for communicating confidently as LCR CDC. Taking them through guided exercises allowed us to generate results, including the below from our Stakeholder Mapping exercise. This allowed both us and the team to get a real understanding of who they are talking to in their marketing efforts. 

Guidelines

Colleagues at Civic Data Cooperative felt they were lacking the empowerment they needed to communicate confidently on behalf of the brand. We created jargon-free Tone of Voice Guidelines, with the aim to address some of their worries, including:

• Applying the Tone of Voice in different scenarios
• Understanding what their brand values are so they can confidently communicate them
• Empathising with LCR CDC’s customers and users 

We also included some examples of the Tone of Voice in action to develop their understanding and put these guidelines into practice in a real, practical way.

Handover Training to Staff

To solidify their understanding and confidence in their newly established marketing communication skills, we took the Civic Data Cooperative team through the guidelines in person. This helped to address any remaining worries and provide solutions face-to-face. This addressed the goal of de-mystifying the brand and what it does for each key audience – as well as simplifying the purpose behind a new form of sensitive data-sharing.