SERVICE: Branding, Visual Design
INDUSTRY: Finance, Technology
TEAM: Wai Yuan, Robbie Queton
RBCx helps tech companies scale and make an impact on the world by connecting them to the right people, ideas, and financial solutions of one of Canada’s largest banks. The value proposition has been redesigned, and its brand needed to follow suit. As a team of three, we repositioned and redefined the visual identity to make it feel elevated but still familiar.
REDEFINING OLD STANDARDS
We couldn't stray too far from the existing brand rendering it unrecognizable, so we had to be strategic about what adjustments were made. RBCx is still a subsidiary of one of Canada's Big 5 Banks, so we had to work within established parameters and ensure it still felt like an extension of the trustworthy bank but through an elevated and modern lens.
The previous brand featured a twist motif that was challenging to work with. In application, it was rigid and took up a lot of space in layout. We had to keep the concept of the twist because it was integral to the brand, but we needed to introduce flexibility and variation to the shape. Without removing the shape entirely, we turned the heavy graphic into minimal strokes that could intersect at different points and be used in different applications. The new X could be used:
AS A TEXTURE
AS A FRAME
AS A HIGHLIGHT
TYPOGRAPHY
Part of working with a brand as large and established as one of Canada's Big 5 Banks, there were some aspects of the brand we could not change too much of. For example, the previous brand used Roboto heavily, and we were unable to affect that. However, we found a great alternative of using Roboto Flex, and customized the weight and width of our letterforms to convey the feeling and voice we intended for the brand. We also introduced a secondary typeface within the Roboto family, Roboto Mono, to add texture and hierarchy.
PHOTOGRAPHY
PRIMARY PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTION
With this primary photo style, we wanted to highlight human connection. Images will feel approachable. We want to create and select images that show some movement, depth, and collaborative nature.
SUPPORTING PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTION
In this supporting imagery, we wanted to highlight the X in natural forms in our environment. Whether these existed in urban or rural intersections and in shadows and geometry within architecture, we wanted to communicate and extend the RBCx brand in our everyday settings.
COLOUR PALETTE
We developed a primary and secondary colour palette, one that would serve as a "first impression" of RBCx and additional colours and shades for the interior of the brand.
PRIMARY COLOUR PALETTE
SECONDARY COLOUR PALETTE
EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION
We worked closely with the marketing team in order to define a bespoke illustration style to support their content. I created an illustration style that felt smart and reputable for RBCx, but also conveyed complicated financial information in playful but clever metaphors. These illustrations were an opportunity to utilize our secondary colour palette and further reinforce the voice of the brand.
Let's make magic together!
Made with love © Steph Truong