Stink Studios has created a new visual identity and positioning for “intelligent document processing platform” Hyperscience that celebrates the modern symbiotic relationship between humans and technology.
Stink Studios’ new branding includes a simplified wordmark and a suite of animations and illustrations built on the duality of Hyperscience’s proposition of humans and machines.
The New York-based brand appointed Stink Studios to develop a new positioning that better communicates its growth stage, stature, and ambitions, with branding that delivers the right messaging and visuals to help Hyperscience achieve its goals.
Stink Studios began by conducting both stakeholder and customer interviews to understand what sets Hyperscience apart and found that its human-cantered approach was at the heart of its unique value to customers.
To draw a clear distinction between Hyperscience and its off-the-shelf competitors, Stink Studios’ new positioning and brand model demonstrate both the business and societal impact of the brand’s “human-in-the-loop” automated processing.
In addition to the typical elements in a rebrand – logo, fonts, colour palette, and motion design – Stink Studios also expanded the visual language into 3D, which resulted in a more diverse mix of new components. Once combined, the elements create a set of abstract assets, visually different in aesthetics, but all sharing a common language.
To go a little deeper behind the brand, we spoke to Viv Greywoode, Head of Design at Stink Studios.
What was the brief for the rebrand?
Hyperscience came to us with somewhat of a disjointed brand experience that hadn’t matured at the same pace as the business. They needed help creating a new brand positioning, tone of voice and visual identity to really land their unique proposition and better reflect their stature in the market.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
Early on, we realised that Hyperscience’s human-in-the-loop approach to automation set it apart in the market. The idea of a symbiotic nature between technology and humans came up in the initial pitch phase and we found it immediately interesting from a strategic and creative perspective.
Ultimately, Hyperscience is more than an off-the-shelf solution, they’re a partner, and we needed to help them talk to machine-learning experts, c-suite audiences and the wider world with confidence all at the same time. At the core of Hyperscience’s new purpose is the idea that combining human and artificial intelligence creates better outcomes for companies, customers and the world.
What was your thinking behind the rebranding solution?
Hyperscience always tries to rise above the mediocre and our new brand identity does just this. I’m excited with the result and how much personality we’ve injected into the brand, especially in a category that can often be guilty of dull design aspirations. Our new identity for Hyperscience is more than just a logotype, it is a set of elements that come together to create something stand-out that is instantly recognisable.
Our new visual identity reflects the need for a mutual symbiosis between humans and machines. We needed to deliver a bold, instantly recognisable and flexible system that speaks to the binary machine world, and the organic human world, in equal measure.
Did you learn anything new during the project?
As well as delving deep into the world of AI and ML, we sharpened our design and stakeholder management skills for a fast-growing, and ambitious business, balancing immediate needs with its future context to set them up for success for the next 5+ years.
What was the biggest challenge? How did you overcome it?
Designing for the depth and breadth of the offer. The Hyperscience world (its sectors, products, tools), and the types of businesses it touches, is vast. We needed to create a modular and flexible system to work within that.
In the end, we created a modular design system with 32 different icons that told different stories and information. A deeper and wider depth of expressing the brand and the meaning. More in-tune with them.
What kit/tools/software were used to create it?
Creative Suite, Milanote, Figma,
What details are you most proud of any why?
We’re super proud of the breadth of delivery and how everything works together across all of Hyperscience’s touchpoints. But if we had to choose one, it would be creating a design language and look and feel that is very much their own. Ownership is important in a sector awash with newcomers and we aimed for stand out, as much as design consistency.
What visual influences fuelled your solution?
The project was influenced by the concept of balance. In this case the symbiosis of humans and machines - boiled down to squares/pixels and circles/ink. It had to feel balanced, calm and always in motion. For a world that is built on technological innovation, it was a very organic response.
To create the harmony that we’re celebrating, we took cues from Visual ASMR. Everything works and fits together seamlessly, giving viewers an immediate satisfying feeling.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand
We hope this sees them through their planned levels of growth in the next 5-10 years with consistency and craft at heart.
What would you do differently if you could do it over again?
It is not often you get to say this, but genuinely a dream client. Our ambition and their involvement and input were matched throughout. We’re all thrilled with the final outcome.
Credit list for the work
Jo Ring - Creative / Copywriter
Viv Greywoode - Head of Design
Gareth Jones - Designer
Tom Barnes - Head of Strategy
Kate Sutherland - Executive Producer
Sarah Soldan - Producer
Tim Gardiner - Director of VFX and Motion Design
Mohammed Ubaidah - Motion Designer
Seb Camilleri - Motion Designer
