Client
Société Européenne des Satellites
Scope
September 2014 - December 2016
Role
Brand Designer
Deliverables
Brand Identity, Brand Guidelines, SES Magazine, Satellite Catalogs, Brochures, Marketing Campaign, Website
Team
Art Director, Brand Strategist, Senior Designer
OVERVIEW
Background
SES prides itself for being the world’s leading content connectivity provider. Together with their industry partners, they aim to do the extraordinary in space to deliver amazing experiences on earth. SES is focusing on worldwide growth and a globally unified brand. MetaDesign worked with the satellite provider to develop a completely new look in only three months – one that carried the company into the future and won the Corporate Design Award and the Rebrand award.
Design Challenge
SES restructured and the company needed to streamline the organization's activities under a single management team and one main brand (SES), incorporating the company's two previous operating entities, SES Astra and SES World Skies.
SES previous brand identity
The Value of a Design System
Our goal was the implementation of a scalable system that unifies the company's two previous operating entities, SES Astra and SES World Skies with the development of one main brand model (SES). Setting forth a critical roadmap to future business success with a common understanding of the new identity within the company and inside the minds of the company’s customers.
SES new brand identity
Redesigned Brand Identity
Our primary objective when establishing a new brand identity was the interplay of the design language with distinguished basic elements to ensure distinction in the industry while conveying stability and continuity to customers and employees. The basic elements unite three very different brands and cultures and act as an anchor.
APPROACH
How I work
BRAND STRATEGY
Core Identity & Brand Strategy
The brand model offers a comprehensive overview of “who” a brand is. It shows how the constituent components relate to one another. The model shows the SES brand as an organic, integrated whole that consists of the brand essence, core identity elements and brand personality.
Brand Architecture & Master Brand
The business decision to align all divisions of the SES organization under a single management structure necessitated the creation of a powerful SES master brand on a global scale. The SES master brand is instrumental in achieving improved clarity and consistency of offerings towards different customer segments and their specific needs. While optimally serving existing segments and future growth areas, it is designed to leverage synergies between different offerings.
DESIGN
Basic Elements
The brand’s key visual element is the beam, it shows the way forward and moves beyond borders.
The beam transforms everything it touches, thus revealing the positive impact of SES. The beam is predefined in a beam shape with two layers (SES Blue and SES Magenta) for web applications and print.
There are four different beam shapes predefined in SES Blue and Magenta. Blue is the predominant color and always used as the front layer. Magenta is the second layer in every beam shape.
The beam can be placed on light, medium and dark images. The image should be chosen so that the background colour doesn‘t conflict with the beam.
The beam always interacts with the text or the background image and enhances these.
Logo Properties
The symbol (beam) unifies SES into one strong umbrella brand. The word mark is a typographic signature that creates a harmonious overall image. The typography conveys approachability and combines technology with a human touch, as seen in the contrast of sharp and rounded edges in all letters. It communicates the aim of combining customer focus and technology.
Typeface
SES Allumi is a sleek typeface designed with technology in mind. The SES Allumi shapes are neither perfectly round nor geometrically square. It’s a human design with a high tech touch.
Color
SES Black and White project excellence and simplicity. Both colors are used for the logo and typography. SES Blue and SES Magenta are the brand’s guiding colors; they are the energy behind the beam. Within the corporate design context, the various colors perform various tasks for illustrations and graphics. . The manner in which they interact imparts all applications with a consistent, unmistakable identity.
Image Attributes
Images help to create an emotional identification with the brand and to distinguish the brand from its competitors. Therefore, the imagery needs to transmit the brand’s personality visually (”committed & solution driven – approachable & trustworthy – thorough“) while supporting the company’s reliability and serious approach.
To illustrate the SES image concept, “Beyond borders“, images used in SES media must meet the following formal criteria:
1. Every image used in the “Our world” and “Our vision” sections must feature the horizon.
2. The picture must contain a calm area to ensure optimal legibility and visibility for the SES design elements.
3. The picture layout must be asymmetrical to create a dynamic layout. The ideal proportion between the calm area and the remaining picture content 2:3 or 3:2.
This proportion can be on a horizontal or vertical axis.
Graphics
A fresh illustration and icon style makes SES technology clear and understandable. The graphics are divided into six categories: pictograms, technical drawings, fleet and teleport maps, illustrations, footprints and information graphics.
SES pictograms have crisp, clear forms. They enable the viewers to grasp the message rapidly and to understand what SES technology can do for them.
APPLICATIONS
Marketing Collateral
REFLECTIONS
SES is focusing on worldwide growth and a globally unified brand. MetaDesign worked with the satellite provider to develop a completely new look in only three months – one that will now carry the company into the future and has already won the Corporate Design Award and the Rebrand award.
Key Learnings
Creating a comprehensive design system.
Designed and produced various multimedia pieces that created cohesive and effective visual communications across different channels.
Applying knowledge of branding methods and best practices with a demonstrated ability to interpret and implement brand guidelines consistently.
Leveraging brand strategy sessions to establish the positioning and craft an identity that connects with the target audience, while differentiating SES from their competition.
Assisting with preparation of files for optimal online use and print, bleed areas, CMYK, Pantone, RGB with an understanding of different pixel resolutions required for print and online.