Brand and marketing design for a training operations SaaS product.

Administrate is a Training Management System for in-house L&D enterprise teams and corporate training providers. In 2022, the company had well out-grown its visual identity, and needed to visually identity itself as a challenger brand in the HR software space.

In addition to building best-in-its-class software, Administrate has strong values and has an organization with people and community at its center. Visual and written expressions of the brand needed to be faithful to company culture.

The new logo is a combination trademark with an asymmetrical symbol based on the first letter of the brand name. The sleek, abstract representation of the letter “A” emphasizes the company’s commitment to progress and marks a significant departure from our old emblem, which was a static letter set in the primary brand typeface, Inter.

The three stems of the abstracted “A” in the logomark shoot up and to the right, meeting in the center and symbolizing how Administrate unifies training systems, functions, and tools.

The logotype uses Söhne, with some subtle customizations. Söhne’s tight spacing, low contrast, and humanist qualities temper the bolder logomark.

Prioritizing developing recognizability in our market with the new mark, we also moved forward with a branded house approach for subbrands and products.

One of the most notable changes of the new brand identity was shifting from using blue as a primary brand color to purple. Our Core Purple brand color highlights our role as the changemaker in our industry and differentiates Administrate from competitors.

Blue was shifted to a supporting role in the palette, but remains a vital aspect of our visual communication. Similarly to the logotype, a strong use of deep blues keeps our brand grounded. A set of vibrant, supporting accent colors have also been introduced to the palette.

A detailed set of brand guidelines were developed in order to communicate the changes to our company and partners.

This project underscored the importance of comprehensive research, a clear creative vision, early and frequent involvement of leadership, and rigorous implementation. The visual work here aimed to authentically capture the brand personality and values of the company.

Detailed guidelines and instructions played a pivotal role in ensuring consistency and adoption. I worked with the Administrate team to help prioritize key needs, and updated email signatures, social media templates, advertisements, swag, trade show booth assets.