Embrace Paradox. Defy Inertia.

At the end of 2016, a group of three incredibly talented business strategists approached us to handle the branding for their new management consulting firm.

Before beginning their partnership, each of these three partners had built incredibly successful consulting careers at some of the largest companies in the world. Jim Spira was a former President and Chief Operating Officer for American Greetings; Patti Schaar was a leading strategic management consultant at McKinsey & Company; and Neeko Crider was a technology solutions strategist at Lubrizol.

Together, this talented trio form an incomparable dream team of business strategists.

In the initial stages of our process, we worked together to identify three strategic imperatives that would be pivotal to the success of the project:

1. We needed a new name that was in line with their business philosophy, and that was more representative of their now-expanded team.

When we began working with Jim, Patti, and Neeko, they were operating under the name Jim had been using for his individual consulting practice, Spira & Company. We all agreed that a new name was necessary, and that new name needed to be reflective not just of who they are and the work they do, but also of their motivations for doing it in their own way and on their own terms.

We led their executive team through a collection of exercises geared toward the ideation of potential names, which then progressed into concept development. Ultimately, through this process, we identified their new operating name: BlüShift Strategy.

Blueshift
Noun, Astronomy
1. A shift toward shorter wavelengths of the spectral lines of a celestial object, caused by the motion of the object toward the observer.

The denotation of this name, along with the connotations associated with the concept itself, illustrated some key parallels to the unique approach Jim, Patti, and Neeko take in their work. Where traditional firms tend to adopt a lengthier, compartmentalized process that slowly builds towards the implementation of a strategic plan, the BlüShift team pushes executives to adopt their “And-Both Mindset,” which embraces the power of “quantum thinking” to strategize for the present and future simultaneously.

2. We needed to position the brand as a more provocative and unconventional alternative in order to stand out against more traditional firms (we won’t name names, but they rhyme with McFinnsy and Detroit.)

Having worked closely with Jim over the years, we knew firsthand that his self-described status as a provocateur was not only accurate but also incredibly valuable as a differentiator in the space.

After our initial meetings with their team, we learned that Patti and Neeko shared Jim’s philosophy that, in order to achieve profitable, continuous growth, leaders must defy inertia and embrace paradox. This is the core idea at the center of BlüShift’s philosophy, and we crafted all of their brand messaging to be reflective of that concept, including the brand manifesto, which lives proudly on their website, where their prospective clients can gain a sense of what to expect from a partnership with BlüShift’s somewhat unconventional team.

3. We needed to create a visual system to match their new name and positioning as provocateurs within the industry.

In creating BlüShift’s visual identity, we looked to their new name, as well as their status as “provocateurs,” for inspiration for each element in the larger system.

The custom graphic wave pattern that we created hints at the concept behind the BlüShift name while simultaneously distinguishing each piece of brand collateral, online and in print, as a unique, ownable piece of the BlüShift ecosystem. This adaptable pattern can take on several shapes, positions, and angles, allowing for infinite possibilities in various mediums.

The modern color palette we craft for BlüShift is somewhat unexpected in an industry defined by navy blues and forest greens. Our electric blue, bright chartreuse, and dynamic red hues push the boundaries of what one would expect from a management consulting firm while maintaining a sleek, professional aesthetic that is more in tune with many of today’s business leaders.

The primary font we selected for the brand, Helvetica Neue, is straightforward, modern font that brings a sense of stability, balance, and authority to the larger visual system. It is worth mentioning, however, that we will often use the font in various weights, or with different treatments, within a single copy element in order to emphasize key ideas or important terms.

Moving forward…

Now that we had the BlüShift’s name, positioning, and visual system in order, we extended it into the brand touchpoints that would define the larger brand experience of a potential client, including their website, business cards, and sales decks (among others.)

To see some of this work, and to get a better sense of the BlüShift brand, head to this condensed case study we created for Instagram.