A New Face Always Gets Noticed

Client

Ten years is not old for any company. But Symphony Solutions, nearly 11, wanted to explore ways to evolve their branding. Ideas and visual expressions had been added over the years, such that the image was not as single-focused and cohesive as Founder and Chief Executive Theo Schnitfink once intended.

Challenge

In 2008, the company was small and cohesive. The rich red burgundy was chosen as the main color for the brand. The name Symphony Solutions recognized the connection between music and technology,

• for the precision and commitment and passion that each field demands,
• for the harmony that people working together can create.

By 2018, the company had grown in number and in locations. The brand needed better integration, such that a strong brand image could be re-established.

“The biggest challenge was to combine a sufficiently broad theme of music with its visual variability and quite literal code, to combine 2 key ideas into one synergistic imagery that would communicate a meaningful slogan for both the client and the employees, and to capture this within the cultural embrace of Symphony Solutions.”

Iryna Kalyn

Designer

What we Did

Focus Groups

Focus groups were conducted to gain insight into how Symphony Solutions is perceived among employees, segmented by tenure and seniority in case those viewpoints differed. This included all 4 locations: Lviv, Ukraine; Krakow and Rzeszow, Poland; and Skopje, Macedonia, 9 groups total, mixed gender, 75 people.

The methodology uses visuals and words to create a composite image for Symphony Solutions. Respondents are instructed to “choose visuals (and subsequently words) that reflect the essence of Symphony Solutions.” This methodology was selected because it elicits unconscious feelings and eliminates tendency for left brain censorship.

Here’s how it works:

• Each group is shown monadically 45 visuals of wide variety, from which they ultimately select 6. These are taped on the wall.

• Then 45 words are shown monadically until 6 are finally selected.

• Those words are taped to the wall with the visuals in a unified group, and a discussion ensues about what it means.

“We were so motivated by what we found, especially because it is differentiating for Symphony Solutions. We often say that ‘it is not what we do, but how we do it that makes us different.’ We think this branding embodies everything that is Symphony Solutions.”

Valentina Synenka

CMO

That composite, consistent among tenure and seniority across all 9 locations, follows.

Analysis

Analysis shows a warm, open welcoming culture, striving and supportive with clients and team members, freedom of expression to work on new solutions, creative ideas, working and socializing together.

1. Culture – Open, welcoming, supportive spirit.
2. Creativity – Flowing ideas, collaboration, music as analogy to coding.
3. Freedom – To be oneself, freedom of expression.
4. Fulfills Aspirations – Professional and creative pride.

The Symphony Solutions brand image is more human, because the deciding factor in coding and playing music is the human being behind the instruments.

Copy Line

The line Write Code Like Music conveys the creative link between 1) the heritage and ethic of the company name and 2) writing music and writing code. This line is ownable to Symphony Solutions whose name implies the connection between these two disciplines.

Visuals

The visual elements are modern and strong:

• wafting musical scales to show motion, creativity and freedom,
• abstracted code symbols and musical notes,
• use of bold warm colors in reds, white, black, and grey to add richness and brand identity.

This contrasts to cool color families like greens and blues and blacks often used by competitive companies in futuristic, robotic worlds.

Result

The branding is executed on the new b2b website, on ads, on display banners, brochures, T-shirts and bags, and on conference display units.
Though Service Design results are still very recent, early results show:

• higher response by potential clients and candidates on LinkedIn;
• brand awareness at 62% in Lviv, Ukraine;
• the popular branding video has been viewed by 53,000 people in one month.