LOAN STUDIO: BRANDING/VISUAL ID, WEBSITE & FITOUT

10.11.12

Loan Studio is a team of savvy lending specialists who service a range of loans including home loans, personal loans, car loans and construction finance.

As a startup company, Loan Studio's goal was to distinguish themselves from the traditional and conservative world of corporate finance. Its founders approached Studio Equator to create an effective, multi-faceted brand that would communicate the company's fresh, young and community focused personality, and provide great return on design investment.

Drawing from this unique point of difference, Studio Equator suggested the name 'Loan Studio' to communicate the company's exciting corporate identity. The name infers a friendly, originative communal space which harbours partnerships between clients and specialists.

The accompanying visual ID (logo, stationary, supporting graphics...) reflects this core brand personality, and is easily adaptable across all applications.

Adopting a stylistic approach, the logo was kept minimal with simple, stylish typography complimented by secondary supporting graphics. Exquisite in its simplicity, the logo exudes gut and personality, and conveys the brand's values and mission.

All marketing collateral (sales brochures...) was treated in the same manner. The branded image moves away from traditional 'financial clip-art', and instead focuses on communicating the brand's general residential lifestyle. Studio Equator photographed real families in their element and treated the photos in sepia for an honest and truthful effect.

To further establish the brand, Studio Equator designed fitouts for their pop-up offices. The design concept was to create a theatrical, playful, other-worldly atmosphere – a completely different approach to the rest of the competitive lending industry. Using a contemporary, fresh and natural color palette to highlight the brand's vitality and youthfulness, the fitouts allowed Loan Studio to engage with customers in a relaxed and fun space. These portable offices proved functional, yet distinct and memorable, with a total of 8 being set-up based on this ethos. Because Studio Equator advocates smart, effective and flexible design, the props used in the fitouts were recycled as backdrops for the staff photo campaign.

The website design focused on engaging with local communities and marketing Loan Studio's services. The site features social network integration, customer communication facility, email marketer, and a self-maintainable platform to create blogs and news items to increase customer interaction with the brand. This also allows for organic search engine optimisation (SEO), thereby increasing site traffic. Graphic elements were kept minimal and consistent with other branding and visual ID.

The end result is a youthful, vibrant brand that stands out in a highly competitive corporate industry. The brand continues to grow, and makes staff, partners and customers want to be a part of it.