RegGenome

Founded in 2020, RegGenome is a University of Cambridge commercial spin-out that aims to change the way regulatory information is used and shared. Through the use of technology, it aspires to transform how the world consumes regulatory information.

Steven Gibbon, Senior Art Director at Wardour, talks us through the process of creating a logo for RegGenome and how this was a springboard to the development of a more comprehensive brand toolkit.

Why is it important to develop a good brand toolkit and how can companies utilise one?

The visual assets we create for clients can convey a large part of their story and identity, before anyone has started reading about what they do.

Also, the components in a toolkit can be used continually. The marque can be used to create different icons and block devices on a website. So, in this sense, the toolkit can keep on providing something for a business.

With RegGenome, we have started to use elements from the logo to create icons and assets for a video animation. They can also be used across different channels and media too.

Can you tell us a little bit about the process for RegGenome?

We submitted several concept approaches to RegGenome to get a feeling for where they wanted to travel with the identity. The concepts we presented employed different techniques, varying from simple marques to typographical and more abstract graphic suggestions.

We combined two of the concepts in the development of the final brand set. There is flexibility for RegGenome to use the full logo marque, or use the marque as a standalone entity for applications such as social, video identification and stationery, for example.

How important is storytelling and company purpose when deciding on logo design?

It depends on the nature of the company’s business. In the case of RegGenome, everything they do comes down to data, so it was logical that the visual representation of the brand alluded to this.

What was the thinking behind the design? And, as a designer, how did you begin to think of logo ideas?

Regulation is a complex and time-consuming area, but the idea of using technology to hugely streamline and improve the sharing and use of regulatory documentation guided the thinking. The identity needed to demonstrate authority and order, it needed to feel contemporary and cutting-edge.

RegGenome together with Cambridge Judge Business School are founding members of the Regulatory Genome Project and the parallel with the Human Genome Project helped to qualify what type of approach was needed.

How does the existing website or front-facing content feed into your work and making something like this for a brand?

The colour palette RegGenome had started to use on their website was smart and minimal, with nice accents of gold. This was something we could keep in mind when coming up with design ideas.

How did you use feedback in the development process?

We covered aspects of each of the initial concepts they liked. This formed a discussion on how we could move forward and develop the identity. It was quite a straightforward process; the client gave clear instructions and feedback from the main stakeholders, and we were able to transfer that into the logo.

What are you hoping the design says?

I’m hoping it says clean and smart, something of authority. The marque is supposed to signify the sequencing aspect of the company, in a sense that the blocks and dots are pieces of information that are pulled together to form the ‘rg’ of RegGenome.

What was the end result?

The design is pretty flexible, so RegGenome now have a marque that can be used for many varying applications. It will be used for print and digital purposes of different scales, including stationery, vinyls and banners.

To learn more about how Wardour can help with your next campaign, pop us an email at hello@wardour.co.uk – we're a content marketing agency with expertise in content creation, employer brand and stakeholder communication and we’d love to have a chat with you.