William Duncan + Co
Not all branding work needs to undo everything that has gone before. Working closely with clients to align their business thinking doesn’t have to be a revolution.
William Duncan had a lot of the ground work covered. We wanted to ensure that the messaging and brand were aligned, so undertook a brand audit to identify the areas that could work harder for the brand.
This looked at the competition both local and in the digital marketplace, developing the brand to better reflect the values and service in a new age of digital accounting.
Our aim is to wrap up the existing ‘do what you love’ ethos in a new & progressive way that encapsulates the business as a whole and the integral role of valued customers. With a professional and positive tone.
The next 100 years
We developed a messaging structure that could carry the business forward from their centenary year. By incorporating the established date we can highlight the 100 years of knowledge and expertise while building a formula for future growth of the business.
Adopting the ‘leading the way’ band message allows us to embody the companies forward thinking and innovative approach to modern accountancy. Digitally led they are leading their customers to a new way of thinking, paving the way for the future of the business.
By showing the people behind the sector or service user it allows the viewer to see themselves and the relevant services that could apply. It establishes trust and professionalism. Backed up by images of key staff members we help to showcase the caring and approachable nature of William Duncan + Co.
A suite of icons was developed to support the sectors and offerings of the business. Colour coding was used to allow ownership of a sector, given the companies varied specialist. We softened the colour palette to allow them to sit in support of the master brand blue. To allow multiple icons to be used at once – without creating too much of a rainbow effect – we highlighted parts of the icon that represented the action and gave them the denoted colour.
People buy from people
Focussing on the customer relationships that are integral to William Duncan + Co business, we adopted a people centric approach. Encapsulating the warm and friendly atmosphere of the offices and the employees, we put people in the frame. As a digitally-focused, forward-thinking firm, we represented both the variety of sectors together with the specialism expertise they can offer with a welcoming and approachable feel at the foundation.
After carrying out a brand audit it was clear to the client that we needed to tidy up the offering to be a truer reflection of the business today. The solution moved away from an existing illustrative style that didn’t fully embody the trusted and established nature of the business, who had been building customer relationships for over 100 years. This formed part of the challenge, how to represent this long standing ethos without the assumption that the business was old and stuffy. Leading the way with digitally-focused and forward-thinking support, it was important to stand out as leaders in their field. Leading the way.
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Services in this project
Brand Styling
Brand Strategy
Copywriting
This work was undertaken in my role as Head of Design, The Shine Agency, Glasgow.