Creative Supply partnered up with FONGIT to professionalise their visual identity and better position them on the Swiss innovation scene.
The Fondation Genevoise pour l’Innovation Technologique or FONGIT has been supporting innovative tech ventures in Geneva since 1991. FONGIT provides a holistic support ecosystem to startups. It includes business coaching, administrative and accounting services, facilitating access to financing and domiciliation in its fully equipped offices. In order to modernise its brand and stand out in a crowded field, FONGIT reached out to Creative Supply.
A visionary and supportive partner
Using our proprietary Brand Story Canvas, we helped clarify the FONGIT positioning – a platform (digital and physical) providing 360° support for tech-based entrepreneurs who want to either kickstart or better manage their growth. This idea of “platform offering a rich array of activities and services” also informed the development of the new visual identity.
Balancing stability and dynamism
One of the main challenges when creating the visual identity was to bring together the two sides of FONGIT – On one hand, FONGIT is an established institution, partially funded by public funds. On the other hand, it is a dynamic community of entrepreneurs. To strike the balance between the two, our Art Director, Aloïs Ancenay, used the graphic starting point of an “electronic motherboard”, a platform which is stable yet dynamic at the same time. Building on the idea that a motherboard assembles several elements in a modular way, we created a simple visual identity based on a 3×3 grid.
A modular system
This modular logic is used across all visual assets. The new FONGIT logo, for example, is modular by design and can take different shapes. A square for institutional and digital use, an L-shape and a basic horizontal one for print and digital documents. The same grid system drove the creation of a large range of collaterals, such as event posters, social media posts, business cards, letterheads, invoices and various goodies.
We traded the historical faded blue colour of the FONGIT for a modern electric one to signal both stability and innovation. Secondary colours such as pink and yellow were chosen for their contrasting qualities.
To bring a human touch to the identity, Nelly Damas, one of our illustrators, drew illustrated icons for key brand messages. In this case, illustrations (rather than photography) allowed us to convey complex information in an engaging way.
“Creative Supply’s clear approach and solid references convinced us from the start. Throughout the project, they were always available to discuss and made sure our comments were taken into consideration. The result is a bold, timeless and modular visual identity that reflects perfectly our organisation. Thank you!”
, Director Fongit
Preparing for the future
Rolled out in 2021, the new visual identity of FONGIT coincides with the opening of the foundation’s new headquarter in Plan-les-Ouates, a Geneva neighbourhood. For FONGIT’s new home, we created several visual assets, such as an entrance logo sign, decorative posters as well as basic signage elements.
