Problem
The need for fresh perspective
Founded in 2012, Syncona was set up to take a long-term view to building globally competitive life science businesses.
An exciting and passionate company; its people really make the business, its culture, values and purpose sing. Unfortunately, its corporate identity didn’t tie up; in fact it was quite the opposite. Drab, dull and generic, it lacked any of the personality that was so apparent when interacting with the company F2F.
Recognising this, Syncona approached 330 with a brief to completely overhaul the brand from the ground up — taking them from their stuffy, print-led past to an exciting, digital-first future.
The brief would encapsulate every single element of brand from strategic differentiators, to market segmentation and positioning, through to creative aesthetic and execution. Syncona's results stand out from the crowd, so it's brand needed to do the same. We were to tear up what they had and show them what they could be....
Solution
The power of transformation
Good design is so often about going back to purity, back to simplicity. And after starting with a wide net of inspiration, our moment of clarity came during one of our investigative workshops.
"Transformational science; that's it, that's what we do: transform lives, through science."
The concept of transformation is such a powerful one standalone, but with it also neatly aligning with Syncona's purpose to invest to extend and enhance human life, it tied everything together perfectly.
Big type, bold messaging, attention-grabbing imagery, audacious colours; everything was considered during exploration.
"We mean what we say and we say what we mean; if you can say it with less words, then even better."
Words are important to Syncona. There's no room for convoluted messaging or wishy-washy headlines. Alongside a direct, plainspeaking tone of voice, we worked with A2 Type to develop a bespoke typeface just for Syncona — Subject Light. A sans serif with a human touch, it expertly brings the gravitas (as well as stand out) that Syncona's words deserve.
Impact
A new dawn
Feedback from both external and internal stakeholders has been fantastic.
"We couldn’t believe it when our analytics showed more than a 25% uptick in website visitors during the first month of relaunch."
Founder, Martin Murphy was blown away, commenting how everything feels so fresh and new, yet still articulates the founding principles of the business from all those years ago. Whilst several shareholders commented on the leap forward during investor roadshows following Annual Report publication.
"A decade into our journey, we took stock and refocused the business for the years ahead. The starting point for all of that was getting our brand right, which 330 have absolutely nailed."
The difference between Syncona 2.0 (as CEO Chris Hollowood is labelling it), and the old brand is night and day; giving the business the perfect foundation to grow and scale, at pace.
With the new brand firmly in place, we continue to work with Syncona across all aspects of their corporate comms; from annual and sustainability reporting, to video and presentation work — and everything in between.
