Behind the Scenes: Building the Germane Advisory Brand
A behind the scenes look at how Germane Advisory's brand was conceived by guest author and designer Jo Chunyan.
A behind the scenes look at how Germane Advisory's brand was conceived by guest author and designer Jo Chunyan.
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This post is guest authored by Jo Chunyan
When David Stocks first approached me, what struck me was his clarity. He knew exactly what Germane Advisory needed to convey: trust, expertise, pragmatism, professionalism - while also being people-focused and collaborative. Germane Advisory’s mission was to help organisations feel safer and more assured when implementing new technologies, and this needed to resonate with their ideal clients.
Not all of Germane Advisory’s clients are IT specialists. They can be board members or executives at large companies. The brand identity needed to connect with them through accessible communication and calm confidence, but also point to the strong technical capability that underpins many of Germane’s services.
To begin, I mapped Germane Advisory’s personality using Carl Jung's archetype system, to give the brand a human-like quality so that it emotionally resonates with their clients.
Germane Advisory’s primary archetype is the Hero; confident, certain, disciplined, and solution-focused. This is layered with the Citizen; dependable, collaborative, people-focused and the Ruler; expert, decisive and articulate.
This brand personality blend ensures the brand feels nuanced, real, professional and approachable.
During the research phase, we discussed that most cyber security brands default to shields, padlocks, or armour. These obvious symbols are oversaturated within this niche.
To stand out visually, I explored the meaning of "germane”; relevant, pertinent, essential.
The asterisk emerged as a core symbol. It is a mark of importance and is also used in passwords and represents encryption and protection.
To make it unique for the brand, I merged the asterisk with the data node to symbolise security, technology and connection as Germane Advisory acts as the critical link between technology and organisational resilience.
After exploring the look and feel of hundreds of fonts, I selected Hanken Grotesk to be the primary font. I chose this font because it is strong and confident yet approachable. In heavier weights (the thickest version), it commands attention for headings. In its regular weight, it is clear and approachable as body text.
I paired Hanken Grotesk with Bitter, a contemporary serif that balances out the intensity and adds a further level of warmth. Azeret Mono was also chosen for small captions as a nod to the tech industry.
Research on colour showed a sea of cyber-blues and purples for this niche. For differentiation, I chose a deep, solid, green hue for the Primary Brand Colour - grounded, modern, confident and optimistic, aligning with the brand’s mission and values.
Energetic accent colours such as Zing (an electric yellow) and Bolt (a bold red-orange) for their dynamism, effectiveness and responsiveness of Germane Advisory’s service and used to draw the eye.
Icons can be used across various applications to bring more of the brand into a design. These icons; variations of the Logo Mark asterisk and data node can be used to highlight information.
For textures, instead of the typical Matrix-style digital number patterns or sci-fi swirls that saturate this industry, I designed pixelated retro-modern patterns that subtly reference the tech industry. With gradient colouring and embedded brand icons, these one-of-a-kind textures add visual interest - perfect for documents and presentations.
Every design decision is strategic and used to differentiate Germane Advisory from other businesses within the niche. Working on this project was a reminder that brands should challenge industry conventions and leverage what makes them unique. The brands that resonate most are those that connect at a human-to-human level.
With this visual foundation in place, Germane Advisory has the tools to deliver on the promise their brand makes; bringing calm confidence to complex cybersecurity challenges. The brand creates space for Germane Advisory to operate consistently reinforcing their position as the pragmatic, professional experts their clients need.
