visuals
Control Risks elements
From the brand re-fresh of 2017, it was obvious Control Risks had moved away from the "chevron" being the main brand element.
Competitor websites and styles
Looking at similar company websites, it was quite obvious who's site you were on. they all included a very clear and distinguishable element of their brand. Something I wanted Control Risks to have.
Competitor social media
This was the same with their social media. Imagery was all very similar in style apart from EY, who integrated their element into the image, making it very clear it was their post at a glance.
Control Risks imagery
There was a real mix of styles being used on the Control Risks website, from "real-life" to abstract. No clear direction or style.
Image solution
By adding a "filter" to all images and concentrating on a few criteria, we managed to find a solution which made us distinctive from our competitors.
Control Risks existing site
The existing site featured the "extended solid arrow" heavily in all banners, taking away a real opportunity to showcase and embed the main element of the Control risks brand. The solid arrow also covered the banner image, which meant selection of images was reliant on the image working only on the left hand side.
Website solution
I increased the banner image area and introduced the Control Risks chevron, which was given a function of pointing to the page text with a transparent background colour of the chevron. This gave a direction that could be used across all media including print and social media. This has now been briefed into the development team who are currently working on the CMS with very clear guides given.
Website sub-pages
All home page images under the main banner feature a chevron in the top left hand corner, in a specific colour. This hints to the colour used on a sub page chevron and title, which uses the same style but has a much "thinner" image banner.
One pagers
The design on the far left is the existing design used by Control Risks. The design used the extended solid arrow which again meant any image used needed to work on the left-hand side. The design also featured two other elements of the brand; the diamond for icons and also the solid arrow for bullets. My chosen and approved design on the far right mirrored the chevon and coloured background on the main title, but also used the chevon as a bullet, helping to cement the ideology of it "pointing" to something.
Brochure/report covers
On the top left-hand side is the existing design for both brochures and reports produced by Control Risks. The chevron meant that image selection was very limited to ensure an image selected was effective in a very limited area. It also highlights that the chevron had no meaning or function. I decided to vary the design for each, going for the top right for brochures and the bottom left for reports. Both maintained the ideology of the chevron pointing to the main text and also mirrored the website design for consistency regardless of the media.
Social media
Control Risks used their logo for all profile images on their social media and posted just images (far left). I decided to replace the profile logo with the chevron in our primary colours. This, once in situ points to the text (second from left). You will also notice that the chevon is added to the image in the same location as an image on the website home page. which again when clicked on would take you to a page which the chevon and text using the same colour. The profile chevron is given a communication function too, changing colours to support causes that Control Risks supports e.g. International Woman's Day, Pride or Black Lives Matters.