2017 Winners & Shortlists

The Campaign

As Fludium is The Brand Catalyst, we create and refresh brands to ignite growth. We created Fludium, element 119, a man-made catalyst that ignites brands. (The periodic table of elements had 118 elements when we created the brand). The new visual language is a fun representation of chemistry, which is a branch of physical science that studies the composition, structure, properties and change of matter. This is aligned with our methodology of the branding process, from brand strategy through to implementation. Our new narrative includes terms that are shared by both the branding and chemistry fields such as solutions, magnetic, formulate and ignite. Our hand-drawn blog style is a light-hearted, fun and quirky expression of content that can otherwise be bland. This is to engage customers in a tactile, more approachable manner.

Creative Execution

Our new visual language is a fun representation of chemistry. We have used scientific elements such as beakers, test tubes, reactions and explosions to illustrate our thinking and processes. Our hand-drawn blog style is light-hearted, fun and quirky. The use of ink sketches and speech bubbles keeps the content fresh and engaging. We are integrating both styles on our social media platforms, with Facebook being the most successful so far. We have updated our printed and digital stationery, branded our office interiors, as well as launched our new website, blog and social pages. Majority of the work has been mid 2016 to early 2017, with a start to the identity refresh in late 2015.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The refreshed brand has been well received by current and prospective clients, partners and individuals seeking employment. The project has so far successfully met the brief. Business cards are always conversation starters. The website is responsive and engaging. The start of social media and blogging has attracted immediate interest.

Although we operate in a creative and dynamic space, we noticed that our competitors presented themselves in a serious, corporate manner. Their work may be fun and interesting, but their own brands generally are not. There is a lack of wit, tongue-in-cheek and light-heartedness. So we occupied the space of being fun, real and approachable yet still delivering top-notch insightful, creative and strategic solutions both in the content we produce as well as the visual expression of our brand. Our intention is to attract more clients that believe that fun needn’t be frivolous and shallow. We also want to attract people to work for us that have a sense of humour while still being professional and focused on results.