Brightsmith Group - made up of Tommy Bright, Adam Smith and Jenny Gladman - is a recruitment specialist that partners with forward-thinking organisations to attract and recruit highly skilled professionals in the fields of sustainability, future mobility and clean energy. With a simple belief — a greener, cleaner, more sustainable future for the planet — Brightsmith challenges people to 'live your purpose'.
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Two years into their journey, Brightsmith recruited Nephew to extend their existing identity, with a focus on being more expressive and enabling communication that remains true to their values.

Brightsmith's existing identity was conceived at the same time as the company itself. Although appropriate at the time, their overall aesthetic had become very corporate and sterile. Design decisions were heavily influenced by competitors which meant that Brightsmith's true voice wasn't being amplified. There was a major desire to 'break the mould'.
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With some new exciting campaigns and initiatives in the pipeline, the identity had to be more expressive. The Brightsmith logo had gained some equity in the industry so was strictly off-limits; so too was the use of green as a key identifier. The rest of the identity was under the microscope.

Brightsmith want to make tomorrow better. That's a vision we can get behind. The solution we created completely focuses on visualising a brighter future with Brightsmith confidently and positively guiding people towards that future. We developed two flavours for the brand: a businesslike corporate-ness that speaks to high-end professionals and a warmer, bolder more energetic style that demands attention and leads the cleantech conversation. Combined in application, this duality creates the ability to express totally unique and dynamic voices to different audiences.

The new identity moved away from a singular brand green to a more ownable and expressive set of mood colours. We developed a comprehensive colour wheel that enables the Brightsmith team to hand-pick harmonic colours based on the tone of communication, ranging from provocative to trusted, optimistic to inspiring. Inspired by colours from the natural world and underpinned by a new agile set of brand greens, the evolved palette serves as a key foundational element for the Brightsmith brand.

"Break the mould" they said. So we did. We carried out a complete typographic refresh, replacing the generic Montserrat Google font with a pairing of Nodo Type Foundry's NT Bau and Recife Text from Luzi Type. Working together within a system, the pair offer rich contrast to represent the interaction between nature and technology. To add further expression, we added 'Stay Dreaming', a script font from Set Sail Studios, that provides a playful diversion.

Imagery is always inspired by the power of nature on earth. The rolling waves of the ocean, the eternal force of wind, the bright glow of the sun. These are the sources of energy for the future. When technology takes centre stage, images show how it interacts with the natural world.

Together, all the elements of the identity create a robust system that can flex to express Brightsmith's unique point of view. To apply the identity, we created a set of templates that can be used across social platforms to advertise the latest vacancies, promote industry initiatives and events or frame articles of thought leadership.  

Measuring the success of a change in brand identity isn't always an exact science. But since the launch, Brightsmith has experienced major growth including an expansion into North America and an increase of 540% on year-on-year revenue.