Background

NIBRT is a global centre of excellence for training and research based on an innovative collaboration between industry, government and academia. NIBRT’s mission is to help the growth and development of the biopharma manufacturing industry by providing cutting-edge training and research solutions.

CONCEPT is a newly built facility within NIBRT, funded by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). It incorporates 1,800m2 of new space, including five research laboratories and two training suites. Equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation, CONCEPT accommodates around 25 researchers and training staff.

What sets CONCEPT apart, beyond its state-of-the-art facilities, is its innovative modular offering, rooted in a deep understanding of the varied needs of the scientific community. Its purpose-built laboratories have been designed with modularity and process efficiency in mind. Each laboratory is dedicated to one of its four workflows, with floorplans and instrumentation layouts carefully designed for process optimisation.

We wanted CONCEPT’s brand identity to visually communicate the innovative thinking and the scientific excellence at the core of this new facility. However, we felt that an equal amount of focus should also be placed on the world-class team of scientists working there. CONCEPT’s modus operandi is based on collaboration. It was essential to bring the people of CONCEPT to the fore, showcasing their passion, drive, focus, approachability and openness to instil a sense of trust and connection with the brand at a human level.

The Idea

Using modularity as our conceptual starting point, and tapping into the language of scientific pictograms and iconography, we created a series of geometric symbols to represent the essence of CONCEPT and its people: modular, accessible, state-of-the-art, inquisitive & analytical, and collaborative. These symbols provided the structural basis for the letterforms of the logotype, as a way of embodying the brand essence in its most distilled form.

Modularity is also built into the visual language through the use of dynamic layouts underpinned by solid grid systems, which is reinforced by the eye-catching brand pattern made up of brand symbols.

Brand photography and videography, capturing CONCEPT’s team members interacting with each other or working in the lab, complement the bold visual language. They showcase the team’s expertise and dedication while also adding humanity and approachability to the brand.

Execution

The brand's primary palette is purposefully aligned with the sector, featuring tones of blue and navy. However, deviations from the norm are evidenced by the brand's vibrant blue, hues of purple, and the use of a bright, contrasting light teal.

A bold and vibrant secondary palette is introduced to colour-code CONCEPT’s workflows (Sequence Generation, Biologics, Gene Therapy, Cell Therapy, and RNA Therapy). The use of a double-encoding system, pairing each colour with bespoke iconography, enabled a streamlined and intuitive approach to visually reference the various workflows in terms of information hierarchy both on print and on the website, and for wayfinding and labelling.

Bold, technical, yet approachable typography was chosen to echo the confidence and expertise of our clients in the life sciences sector, while the use of motion and dynamic grid systems mirrors the vision and innovation at the core of CONCEPT.

The result is a brand identity that belongs to the scientific sector yet feels fresh, positive, impactful and human.