Ex-custody-officer turned successful property developer, Alexander Seery came to us with an idea to help police officers (under immense pressures with budget cuts, long hours, stress, PTSD and mental health issues) change their own lives by building a business.
What’s in a name? Although it was a great idea, his new business name, Escape the Shifts was all wrong. It was far too negative, about running away from the problem rather than the transformation the company could bring.
We started by renaming the company: Shifts to Success. This new name spoke about moving from shift-work to business success, but also the incremental shifts needed to get there.
Design: We started by looking at themes of bravery, freedom, leadership and regeneration; lions, eagles and phoenixes rising from the flames, but we also looked at typographic ideas which would allow a monogram of the two S’s. Alex loved typographic ideas best – modern, stylish, sleek and aspirational.
The final logo incorporated ‘shifting’ text, letter-spaced to give a sense of space to think and grow. The S/S ‘shard’ signifies upward, dynamic movement and growth, both personal and business.
Colour psychology: Deep blue is the key colour: a safe. familiar one for police officers, communicating authority, stability and trust. A mid-blue represented care (like the NHS blue) and a paler blue for dreaming big (blue-sky thinking!). The orange pop colour this tonal palette a shot of energy, and represents positivity and change.
Comprehensive brand guidelines were provided and used to roll out his brochure, website, book, social media, workbooks, event banners and videos… Alex was so thrilled with the process and result that he invited Sapna to join his team as Brand Mentor for the course, a role she fulfilled for the first four years of the company journey.
Alex’s brand made him so much more confident and he quickly attracted backing and investment from Dent Global. This has allowed him to scale fast: the company is now global and has expanded into other areas of the public sector and services.