I recently created the brand identity and website design for Beliyf. I wanted to share some of the design concepts behind it and how I went about conveying the brand message through the design.
What is Beliyf?
Beliyf is a company set up by Mark Sampson. In short, Beliyf specialise in company culture and identity. They help companies and organisations articulate who they are and why they matter. The Beliyf program aims to re-energise and re-focus organisations that have perhaps lost their identity and therefore, their purpose for being.
Given the nature of Beliyf’s offering, it was imperative that I convey the true identity of Beliyf and its mission, through the design of their branding and website.
A Visual Metaphor
When explaining an idea or concept it’s sometimes easier to do so using a metaphor. Using the right metaphor allows people to grasp your idea or concept quickly and easily.
After a number of conversations with Mark about the concept behind Beliyf, it became clear to me that using the lifecycle of a tree would be the perfect metaphor to explain the various stages of the Beliyf program. A tree is a great icon to represent an organisation. It lives, breathes, grows and changes. This idea is the backbone to my design.
The Home Page
The home page is the first of three pages that set out to explain the Beliyf concept. The home page opens with the words:
Your product can be copied in a heartbeat, your prices undercut, your people poached.
Discover the one thing that can never be stolen.
Of course, the one thing that can never be stolen is a company’s Beliyf: Its vision, its values, its focus and its reason for being.
The words are supported by an image of ten leaves, arranged in a circle. I collected the leaves locally to my studio. Each leaf represents 10% of an organisation’s whole. Upon page load the leaves start out white; then a simple animation reveals each leaf to be individually designed. A button labelled ‘Discover Beliyf’ guides the viewer to the next page.
Discover Beliyf
The ‘Discover Beliyf’ page explains to the viewer that ‘Beliyf’ is the 10% of your company that is unique. I visualise this by using the cross section of a tree trunk and highlighting the core to represent the 10% of your company.
Your Journey to Beliyf
This is perhaps the most important page of the website. It is here that the four stages of the Beliyf program are set out.
The progam of Beliyf is split into two halves. The first half, ‘Rediscover’ and the second half, ‘Reimagine’. Rediscover is split into ‘Soul & Heart’ and Reimagine is split into ‘Touch & Voice’.
To visualise ‘Rediscover’, I created a kaleidoscope of leaves using autumnal colours. This is to represent the reflective nature of ‘rediscovery’.
To visualise ‘Reimagine’ I created an arrangement of leaves inspired by the ‘phoenix rising from the ashes’. The leaves are coloured in shades of green. This represents new life; new life being breathed into a company or organisation.
Finally, we have ‘Galvanised by Beliyf’. At the end of the Beliyf program your company will have reaclaimed its identity, regained its focus and will live by it values. To visualise this I created an illustration of a tree, made from multi-coloured leaves. This represents a revitalised organisation ready to take charge of its destiny.
Creating the Assets
All of the assets for the project were hand made and illustrated. I gathered the leaves locally to my studio and I sourced the tree trunk from my Dad’s wood store. First, I painted the leaves white, then used indian ink to create the leaf designs. I then coloured and arranged them using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
Logo Mark
The logo was the last thing I made on this project. Beliyf’s mission had been established, its message and identity forged. The mark just had to reflect this.
There was never any doubt that the mark would be some sort of leaf or tree; the question was; what form would it take?
After much exploratory work I opted for a simple mark made from two overlapping leaves. I created the shape of a tree trunk on the front leaf using the negative space. The tree trunk also forms the letter ‘Y’. This represent the ‘Y’ in the name, Beliyf. The ‘Y’ stands for ‘You’ (Your company).
The mark is complemented by the word mark for Beliyf, which was created using customised letters from the typefaces Accord Alternate & Myriad Pro.
Conclusion
Every company’s identity is unique to them. The people who work for it, the values it strives for and the vision it has. No company is the same and they all have their story to tell… they just need to tell it!
Thanks
I’d like to thank both Mark Sampson (my client), who I worked closely with on this project and also to Tom Kentell who was the developer on the project.
