Project: Brand Identity and web design

Client: Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI)

Sector: Public Sector

Responsibilities: Brand Identity, Web design, UX and UI design

The challenge: OPSI, part of the OECD, works with governments to understand and encourage new approaches to address society’s complex problems by empowering public servants with new insights, knowledge, tools and connections to help them explore new possibilities. Their website hadn’t been refreshed in a long time and no longer reflected the innovative nature of the organisation. They asked us to help them update and future-proof their brand and website so they had a strong foundation for growth.

• We ran a series of workshops to uncover the future vision for OPSI and get to the heart of the brand
• Refreshed the logo and brand language to include new colours, fonts, and visual elements
• Implemented a new site structure and navigation that was more intuitive and useable for site visitors
• Created a dynamic and engaging design that mirrors OPSI’s innovative brand personality
• Worked with our trusted development partner Human Made for the build

As part of an initial discovery sprint, we worked closely with stakeholders to define how OPSI’s new digital presence could best reflect its mission and goals. We wanted to effectively communicate the key elements that set the organisation apart from others in the innovation space and also make it super simple to surface the wide range of projects and initiatives that OPSI helps to promote. Along with stakeholder research, we also ran multiple collaborative workshops including a detailed brand essence exercise to help set the foundational elements of the new visual brand direction.

The team at OPSI was eager to establish a new brand identity that felt creative, cutting-edge, open, and collaborative. They wanted to refresh the logo and explore new colour palettes and font pairings. We explored various options before settling on a preferred route that best suited the brand.

The modified logo-type features a sharp cut through the I and the P, representing that OPSI is at the “cutting edge” of innovation and looking to the future. This concept runs through the wider visual language with the use of the “shard” elements, image masks and micro-interactions. All of these elements create a dynamic, energetic and inspiring look and feel, whilst the sophisticated colour palette reinforces trust. The focus was on creating a brand that creates the authority of a government organisation, without being too traditional.

Previously, photography was not a principal brand asset, however we have now introduced new imagery guidelines that complement the content. We are using bright and natural images showcasing the sectors OPSI works in and the places and people impacted by the innovations.

In parallel with the branding work, we began working on an updated user experience for the site. We re-designed key templates to be more consistent and to allow better surfacing of the depth of quality content that OPSI offers.

In order to better market the organisation we put a greater emphasis on its latest work, news, and events across the site. We developed a more visual homepage that clearly highlights the latest happenings. We also introduced filterable listing pages in a consistent styles in order for users to easily sort through the many case studies, tools, and resources.  

We applied the updated brand and visual styles across the website, introducing custom patterns that echo the new logo design and bring a distinct OPSI  feel to the site. We worked closely with Human Made, to apply the designs in build and bring our vision to life.

A brand new website that OPSI can proudly share with their innovation partners around the globe. The website is now live at https://oecd-opsi.org/.