Co-Founded Branding a new co-working space

Shrewsbury-based digital agency Forj were looking for a new office location, but decided to take a different approach and instead set up a co-working space. They approached Superfried design studio to develop the brand strategy for their new business venture.

Spread across two floors within a beautiful period building at the Welsh Bridge, the new space would be called Co-Founded. The name was very apt, but quite long. It was immediately apparent that this was likely to be shortened and commonly referred to as simply 'CO' for short. With this in mind, it made sense to adopt a typographic focus for the brandmark using these initials.

During the discovery phase, the client had referenced previous Superfried projects featuring a minimal, geometric style. Consequently, the letters were reduced to their simplest geometric form of a semicircle and a circle. The simplicity was elegant, but lacked distinction. Extending the semi-circle created balance and symmetry between the two blocks.

The nature of the space is to connect people, so routes to reflect this were developed. The solution was achieved through an incision that passed across both forms, creating a distinct negative space and a strong visual link. The logo was strong and versatile, its robust geometric structure adapting to the development of graphic language via patterns, containers for content, and masking of imagery.

Moving onto the logotype, a friendly and approachable feel was required, so a lowercase route was adopted. A geometric sans was selected as a base from which a distinct C and F were developed. Looking at the hyphen, this was making a potentially long name even longer. Therefore, to address this, the hyphen was adapted to form the horizontal bar of the F simultaneously.

It was important for the brand identity to be flexible and adapt as the company grows. This was particularly significant since the client had said they would potentially open additional locations in the future. A hierarchal lock-up system was devised to accommodate a generic strapline, and distinct locations regardless of word length across one or two lines.

Meanwhile, the Forj team were working with property developers and an interior designer to renovate the space. Since time was against us, to maximise efficiency and avoid future complications, the core palette was restricted to my favourite colours – black and white. This would ensure the brand identity would work with any colour scheme selected for the interiors.

With the graphic language, logo and logotypes in place, brand-led assets were developed. This included marketing templates, stationery, stickers, signage, interior glass vinyls, printed invites, art direction for the website, bespoke beer cans for the launch party, brand guidelines, and an animated logo ident.

The brand identity has been well received, and even before the official launch, over 60 enquiries for desk and office subscriptions had already been received.