The Opportunity

Ankor was in a sea of blue at the boat shows so we wanted to stand out. The branding exercise was aimed at creating a unique and memorable brand identity that would help Ankor differentiate itself from competitors and establish a strong presence in the market.

The Solution

The solution was to create a bold and vibrant brand identity that would capture the attention of potential customers and convey the company's values and mission. The new branding included a fresh color palette, typography, and visual elements that were designed to be modern, dynamic, and memorable. The branding was applied across all touchpoints, including the website, marketing materials, and product packaging, to create a cohesive and consistent brand experience.

Ankor Software
Role: Project Lead
Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the charge to uncover unmet branding issues
• Organised and refined process for brand exploration and brainstorming
• Created mood boards and style tiles to explore different visual directions
• Developed logo concepts and variations
• Designed brand guidelines and templates for consistent application across all touchpoints
• Collaborated with marketing and product teams to ensure brand consistency
• Presented branding concepts and strategies to stakeholders for feedback and approval

Brand Identity

Our brand identity allows us to tell engaging stories to our different audiences. It's how we look and act. The simplest way to describe it is a dialectic between lo-fi and hi-fi, or today and tomorrow. It intertwines the final built outcome with our process and culture. 
It demonstrates our ability to get things done, while also celebrating our inquisitive side; the side that's constantly innovating.

Ankors Values

01 Bold Innovation: Challenge the norm to create solutions that transform industries.

02 Relentless Excellence: Aim to exceed expectations and set the highest standards.

03 Youthful Energy and Dynamism: Stay fresh, vibrant, and fueled by enthusiasm.

04 Technology-Driven Impact: Use technology to create meaningful solutions and solve critical challenges.

05 Disruption with Purpose: Replace outdated systems with better, more equitable solutions.

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At boat shows, the issue wasn’t our branding itself—it was differentiation. Our booth blended into a sea of blue-branded exhibitors, so we didn’t stand out or attract much foot traffic.

The naming problem

Our naming convention is inconsistent: Some product names include 'Ankor' at the front, like AnkorPay, while others are more literal, such as ‘Contracts’.

Internally, we are unsure which names to use: Either the names are too complex or not memorable enough. This inconsistency is evident across assets and artifacts such as emails, articles, tooltips, the website, and more.

Name similarity is confusing customers: For example, customers often refer to a Route as an Itinerary or use Itineraries to describe a presentation. We need names that create a clear distinction and be precise with our definitions.

App functionality has outgrown the current names: Itineraries now offers more than just itineraries, and Calendars includes more than a simple calendar.

Once and for all

The launch of a Trips 2.0 was about to occur and with it the opportunity to make some changes to our vernacular. We have a great opportunity to land this branding and names once and for all.

Taking a step back

We began by stepping back to assess the various apps—what they offer, how they interact within the ecosystem, how data flows between them, and how they align with the company’s flywheel structure. This led us to the following approach: As shown, yacht data is the central focus. It’s highlighted in the primary purple colour because it drives API connectivity, which in turn powers the other components in the network, like enquiries, brochures and ultimately payments. The naming had to emulate this structure and follow a series of carefully thought out criteria.

Product Ecosystem

Groupings & Flow

Next the task was to organise the apps into user story groupings so we can better understand how these flow from one to another.

Logos

The original logo was kept with tweaks to the colours

Show Booth

Show booth design for when Ankor visits the many boat shows happening around the world

Application Colours

The new colours applied to the various applications that Ankor makes

The Team Photos

Fun and goofy team photos to reflect the company values as disruptors in the industry.

Stylistic Shapes

Geometric shapes used in presentations, socials, webinars and general marketing.

Illustrations

Fun illustrations for pictography and placeholders

Social Media

Samples of the social media content