Carter Wong has created a new visual identity for international marketing services group St Ives - now rebranded as Kin + Carta. Carter Wong's design conveys the transition of St Ives Group from its print heritage to a wholly digital business with Kin + Carta specialist agencies working together under a new methodology called The Connective.
'Kin' means family, representing the heart of the business and seamless collaboration between group and client; and 'Carta' is representative of vision - the head of the business, as each specialist business within The Connective comes together to help Kin + Carta clients navigate the digital space. The logo expresses the Kin + Carta proposition, connecting the two words with a plus symbol to represent the bringing together of specialist teams to deliver a bespoke and seamless digital transformation offering to clients. A bold, capitalised typeface reinforces the strength of Kin + Carta's holistic proposition.
"We've built on the Kin + Carta team's strategic thinking to create a thoughtful brand positioning that's encapsulated in a bold new identity which clearly expresses its core values and position as a global connective," said Sarah Turner, Managing Director, Carter Wong. "Working in collaboration with both Kin + Carta and Reed Words allowed us to slot straight into the team, making the project a seamless experience from start to finish."
The logo has in-built flexibility allowing it to be used seamlessly across all internal and external communications. Brightly colored connective overlays in six tri-color palettes enable Kin + Carta to amend the nuances of the visual identity to appeal to different sector audiences whilst retaining the strength of the core brand.
These overlays consist of an abstract 'K' and 'C', with forms that overlap and intersect like a Venn Diagram, reflecting the collaborative nature of the in-house teams bringing together ideas, disciplines, people and processes - individual but united under a single identity.
Animated versions of these overlays are available for use across the wider brand world, with the connectivity of the shapes fluctuating - moving from interlocking to standing alone. The movement embodies Kin + Carta's adaptable and flexible nature whilst also emphasizing its ability to employ abstract thinking.
The multi-colored brand landscape represents the diversity and multi-disciplinary nature of Kin + Carta, with each color combination grounded in the core brand personalities of: Family, Collaborative, Vibrant, Visionary, Intelligent and Curious.
Photos: Courtesy of Carter Wong