Background

Founded in 1988, as a software engineering development firm, Blockade Systems Corp. had been previously focused on designing and developing enterprise security software. Blockade's core competency in distributed technology platforms and mainframe/ legacy environments enabled it to develop and evolve into a leading provider of advanced computer software specializing in administration and management of the user identity life-cycle.

Design Goal and Objectives

To create a new common creative architecture for Blockade that included not only a revised logo, but also a branding or common "look-and-feel" across all materials.

To take the marketing power back from the engineers, who ran the company, and design sales sheets — not just data sheets coming from engineering

A number of challenges needed to be addressed:

• The business had changed focus;
• Consulting with a large number of stakeholders and decision makers;
• There were many different print deliverables that needed to be created;
• All materials needed to be repurposed in electronic form as well.

Design Solution

The new Blockade Systems corporate logo was created to reflect the dynamic nature of the user identity life-cycle as the key theme. traffic developed a very simple and clean design grid based on colour and typography that featured the logo and allowed it to be presented on print materials including sales sheets, presentation folders and on the web.

Results

The Client was very pleased with the new design of the Blockade corporate identity. traffic continued to work with Blockade and leveraged the design to a tradeshow booth that reflected the new branding. As a result, partly of the new design work, Blockade attracted the attention of a larger competitor and was acquired in early 2005.