FIRING uP
Startups

Building a new incubator brand

Backstory

Client name : Jeff Vinik and Lakshmi Shenoy

Location : FLorida, USA

What they do : 
Jeffrey Vinik is a successful businessman and philanthropist who moved to Tampa Bay with plans to develop the city and turn it into the silicon valley of the east. He also owns the Tampa Bay Lightning Hockey Team. Lakshmi Shenoy is a former colleague who joined Jeffrey in his quest and was appointed to lead the new company.

Jeffrey Vinik wanted to build a business incubator that would serve the Tampa Bay community and invite other startups to build their brands there so they could utilize the benefits of the state. His vision is to turn Tampa into the Silicon Valley of the east. Lakshmi, a former colleague, was appointed as CEO of the innovation hub and is working with us to build this new brand from the ground up—from the brand story, naming, and design.

The innovation hub needs to project the brand purpose and how it could help startups confidently build their brands and, at the same time, enrich the community. It also needs to be attractive as good design also promotes trust. Since many successful hubs around the globe sought out design agencies to help them brand their hubs and design their spaces, Tampa Bay’s innovation hub seeks to do the same level of attention to design to ensure that they can become competitive.

Solution

We presented three visual system concepts and chose one that represents many of the qualities of the brand:

The logo direction we selected is a simple monogram of an E and C, interpreted as a ladder or a funnel that suggests progress, and paired with a simple wordmark, evoking confidence.
We designed a graphic system derived from the logo to project progress and built on an inclusive set of colors.
With the verbal team's help, we could dynamically illustrate the messaging using ladder-like fluctuations that show encouragement and progression.

Did it pop?

We were happy to help a former colleague make the brand successful. Under her leadership, Embarc Collective started with 25 members in 2019. Then, at the beginning of 2020, membership expanded to 49 and moved to a 32,000 square-foot facility in downtown Tampa with its Endeavr coffeeshop! Their quick success continues to help the community of Tampa, and it’s on its way to becoming one of the best innovation hubs on the east coast.

Our design also won awards in the 12th International Design Awards, taking Gold in the Print / Key Art category and Bronze in the Print / Collateral Materials category.

`The new Embarc Collective building at 802 E Whiting. Photo from Embarc Collective`

Process

The strategy team started working on the brand story and exploring new names for the brand. Simultaneously, design is learning about incubator brands and discovering that many brands are well designed. These findings helped us shape a brand that will feel world-class to compete in attracting startups.

`Team review of territory mood boards. Shout out to Emma and Priya for looking very interested`

Inspiration

We worked closely with Lakshmi to identify the right visuals through inspirations boards and met some of the community's startups to gauge the type of groups interacting with the brand. We also want to ensure that the brand will be inviting, as some innovation hub brands we came across gave a sense of rigorous initiation even to enter. Therefore, finding inspiration from bold, enough edginess and straightforward graphics helped us with our exploration to make the brand feel welcoming.

We explored designs that will translate well to the space to encourage startups as they make their way to success. Therefore, the brand needs to be straightforward, energetic, forward-looking, flexible, and innovative to ensure that we create a buzz in the world of entrepreneurship, become the best innovation hub, and become more than just another workspace.

Project squad

Designed with Prophet

Craig Stout, Partner • Joanne Polott, Senior Engagement Manager • Baron Santiago, Design Director • Pramod Maharana, Designer • Marissa Molinaro, Designer • Anastasia Kharchenko, Design Intern - Motion • Kalia Armbruster, Verbal • Priya Bhanderi, Strategy • Emma Patterson, Strategy

Cover photo by Jud mackrill from Unsplash.

With the assistance of Craig, I lead Pramod in exploring design concepts. Pramod and I developed the logo and initial visual system while Marissa helped extend the elements. Later, Anastasia created a video they used for their launch and marketing.

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