The Challenge

Fairbridge required a Brand Identity for their new conference event targeting founders and investors called "Progress Summit". The branding needed to be related to Fairbridge, so that there was a visual association. However, the client wanted the brand to look different from it's parent company, and to be able to be identifiable in it's own right.

The Solution

We took inspiration from the Fairbridge branding and chose to use the same primary sans serif font. This was to create recognition to the parent company. However, we introduced a fresh italic serif font that differentiated Progress Summit from Fairbridge. This italic serif was used in the logo as well as a tool for emphasis in headings. Italic serifs had been trending on social media, so would fit into the existing social media narrative. Serif fonts also have the perception of formality, academia and finance — all of which would appeal to the target audience that are well-educated and financially savvy.

We looked to the colour palette of Fairbridge, which was inspired by nature. We wanted Progress Summit's colour palette to also have a nature-inspired origin, but to be more muted than the Fairbridge brand. We took inspiration from gem stone colours, namely sunstone (shades of red-orange) and malachite (shades of blue-green). We noticed how these gem stones have gradients of colour and how these gradients create depth and a sense of calm. We translated this through a series of gradient backgrounds and gemstone-like graphic motifs.

The Design Showcase

The single-page brand guide which gave a snapshot overview of the logo variants, brand fonts, colour palette and background motifs.