Monarch

This was an unusual visual identity project to create communications at large and small scales, from interactive office graphics to digital communication tools, in order to showcase and raise awareness of the financial institution’s new internal tech system, Monarch.

The visual identity needed to work for two audiences:

• firstly to help the EBRD’s staff get to know the new system, which streamlines internal processes – introducing them to user profiles and the new data model

• secondly for the Monarch implementation team to keep track of the system roll-out process through a product roadmap.

It was important that the graphics fitted well with the newly designed office space, so we took inspiration from the shapes and angles in the interior to create a suite of ‘Monarch’ shapes based on an equilateral triangle, with a colour palette that harmonised with the space.

The product roadmap became a 9 metre long interactive magnetic and writable wall which stretched across one side of the office, for the team to update on a daily basis. This was then translated into a PowerPoint presentation template to update colleagues on progress too.

The user profiles took the form of large chevron shapes across a glass wall opposite the product roadmap.

We then devised a game to help explain the data model, which could be played with colleagues either on the magnetic wall or in the café area.

Playful use of language (relating back to the Monarch butterfly) made the graphics more memorable and aided the staff’s understanding of the new system – a ‘roadmap’ became a ‘lifecycle’ and ‘user profiles’ became ‘species’ and so forth.

The visual identity extended to pencil cases for staff, icons for the intranet and a team Christmas card (wishing you a ‘transformative’ new year – of course).