When Century Business Solutions merged with Sotis Business Technology, they came to okellydesign to reposition and reinforce the strengths of each company through a new identity, along with an accompanying stationery suite.
The new identity had to reflect the business and its personality, namely a long-established boutique printer supply company, with personal, fast and efficient service. The focus needed to emphasize business solutions through the personal relationships and knowledge, moreso than being on the product itself (chiefly high-end Sharp printers for office-scale usage). The identity also had to reference both the security and environmental aspects of the business’ product and service.
As Sotis’ main client contact is at the ‘C’ level, the identity had to feel sophisticated and professional, inspiring confidence in their reputation and service (and product). A nod to the combined histories behind the new company (Sotis was established in 1929) was also be included, not least as it is a main selling point against its competitors who mostly use younger, less-experienced technicians and support staff.
I was struck by the knowledge that the company name ‘Sotis’ originates from the Italian founders name Soti’Pesagis meaning ‘bridge’ or ‘underpass’. It occurred to me that this could provide an ideal vehicle for the brands stated goals. It also acts as a neat metaphor for the network of printers within an office (interconnection, data travelling from one port to another), and finally, alludes to a sense of permanence and solidity, important for showing the security side of their products. Being a New York company, it was obvious to look at the Brooklyn Bridge as a starting point.
After much trial and error, I managed to create a graphic device based on the structural wires of the Brooklyn Bridge. Rather than taking a more literal direction(ie drawing a bridge!), I thought it would be better to show the underlaying mechanism of it, alluding to how their products help to support the work of an office through the print data network. The endpoints of the lines are carefully aligned to form a shield, alluding to the heritage of the company. The top of the shield forms a graphic representation of the Brooklyn Bridge towers, helping the viewer to ‘see’ the bridge in the logo.
Lastly, a graphic element was devised to allude to the personal nature of the business. The interlocking shapes form an ‘S’ to stand as a monogram for Sotis, while also alluding to a hug or a handshake, as well as to the connections of cables and ports on the machines themselves.
A vibrant color palette was chosen, building on a solid deep navy which emphasizes the heritage and security of the company. The navy is complemented with a bright cyan and pink, alluding to the printers palette and to the personal and technology sides of the business respectively. Meta-Serif was chosen to be the corporate typeface as it is a contemporary serif, showing both the heritage of the company and its forward-looking business offering.
The stationery continues in this vein, incorporating the look and feel established in the identity. Stationery serves as the primary point of contact for most clients with the company itself, so I felt it was important that it emphasize the sophistication and service aspects of the company, whilst remaining legible and efficient in its structure. The stationery was printed offset on uncoated recycled paper to help show the ‘Green’ side of the business, as well as giving a lovely tactileness to it for the recipient.