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Unigroup engaged RevUnit for a joint venture: a startup that would leverage the gig economy for local moves — a market the moving industry giant had not yet captured. Creating a separate entity, we needed a modern “minimum viable brand” to start building the identity of this new venture.
I worked with the leadership team at RevUnit and Unigroup to determine a name for the new company and built out an initial brand identity to match.
Our first step was to name the new venture. The leadership team wanted something that was distinct from either parent brands.
This would be a new brand breaking into an established market, so we needed a name that reflected the modern vision of the company, was easy to remember, and could gain the market’s trust. After debating a set of names, the team ultimately chose “Handled”. Because it was a concrete word, it would be easy to remember, and the name definitely communicated the safety of the brand despite its newness. (And bonus points, there were some good domains we could snatch.)
After settling on a name, I then began working on building out what I call a “minimum viable brand” – a simple set of guidelines and logos to start off the visual identity in the right direction.
We wanted something that would again convey trust, look modern and different from the Unigroup brand, and give viewers a sense of calm.
As we looked at competitors in the space, we noticed many of them came off as cold or classically masculine. We wanted to stand out as different from the “guys in a truck” and traditional brands out there. We wanted someone to look at our brand and feel comforted – like we would handle their move for them. (See what I did there?)
So, we chose a warm color palette and rounded fonts for a softer, more comforting look. I designed a simple wordmark for the logo with an emphasized period at the end – a sort of finality to all the questions that come with moving. It’s handled. The intention was that the “dot” could then be used across applications like in the iconography for continuity.
As the venture got off the ground, a joint RevUnit and Handled team designed and built out the application, evolving the brand to meet digital and accessibility needs. The talented Celi Burke took over the brand and creative direction, and further evolved the visual language for the brand.
After two years, lots of new technology, and great traction in the market, Unigroup brought the venture back in house where it now lives under the parent brand.
