Yume

Ellis Jones worked with Yume’s executive leadership team to capture and communicate their brand identity. Through research and workshops we mapped their key audiences, their values, preferences and needs, and defined a compelling value proposition to reach them. Our design studio articulated the brand strategy through a visual identity system that speaks to the maturity of the Yume model and platform, and ‘heros’ the brand purpose, while remaining ownable and differentiated from other players in the market.

Ellis Jones designed and facilitated an organisation wide co-design and creative branding process, culminating in the delivery of:

* A strategic brand identity
* Value proposition and key messaging
* Visual identity (inc. style guide)
* Launch collateral (inc. pitch decks, collateral, social channel badging and content treatments, packaging, identity livery, and website platform UI)
* Unique illustrations created by the agency’s talented artists and designers
* An activation plan outlining brand expression mapped to key customer group journeys.
* Armed with a renewed strategic direction, and a visual identity commensurate with experience and scale, Yüme relaunched to market in early 2021.

Strategic rigour provides the foundation for Yume's revised brand and visual identity. A clear understanding of the audience, competitive landscape and organisational goals informed every design decision. To entertain the idea of objectivity as it relates to "good design", investment in this investigation process is critical.

A co-design process with Yume's executive team provided audience insights and three principal persona groups were defined: buyers, suppliers, marketplace users. Understanding the pains/gains and aspirations of these archetypal groups allowed us to focus our design response and strategically influence user and stakeholder perceptions of the brand. Assessment of the competitive and collegial brand landscape identified tropes or trends in language, logotypes, symbols, colours and imagery. This was the vehicle to understand opportunities for difference, and agree upon legitimate visual cues used to navigate the space. The investigative phase culminated in a business and positioning review, outlining: external market forces; Yume's current context (what had changed, what was different); and an approach to brand architecture.

The insights gathered above informed the brand identity in which an "essence" of ingenuity was defined. Yüme possesses a ‘start up mentality’; the drive to keep learning and evolving, using what is at hand in order to adapt to context and need, and create success. This resourcefulness is communicated as a competitive advantage from other market players, and an alluring attribute to larger, slower moving institutional clients. The realities of bootstrapping and building a business from ‘the ground up’ are still present in the collective psyche of the business. As such, creativity, and resourcefulness are hallmarks of the businesses behaviour and output.

The revised logotype communicates Yume's brand essence with unconventionally condensed character widths and a custom umlaut. A rule above the logotype provides solidity, and brings focus to the personification of the "U". A strong 'skeleton' logotype, allows us to build and be playful where the context is right (think logo from berries, or hand painted), but also play to a more polished and professional tone when required.

The digital-first nature of the brand offers an opportunity to "push" the saturation of the YÜME red and establish a recognisable and own-able hue amongst the competitive landscape. A sophisticated palette of natural tones provide relief.

Passion and creativity — hallmarks of Yume's behavior and output — are expressed through a considered typographic palette. 'Display' copy and 'pull outs' make use of the unconventional logotype font and are supported by a robust working sans-serif.

Photography demonstrates an understanding of the integrity of food. The effort and energy that goes into food production means that it must fulfill its purpose - to be enjoyed! Yüme are food champions!

Yume’s brand identity defines the experience people can expect to have when they interact with its employees, digital presence, services, resources and collateral.
It is also a reference point for strategic decision making at executive and operational levels. The outcomes are to:

* Align identity and experience with achievement of organisational goals and strategies
* Define the organisation uniquely in the sectors, markets and communities that it is active
* Ensure the brand position is relevant, meaningful and believable, and resonates with all target audiences
* Accurately reflect the nature and capacity of Yume
* Instill pride among employees, and attract partners of aligned values and attitudes
* Influence user and stakeholder brand perceptions to build brand equity

Armed with a renewed strategic direction, and a visual identity commensurate with experience and scale, Yume relaunched to market in early 2021. The brand has been celebrated for its creativity and continues to shape and share the positive impacts of Yume's work, a snapshot of which is offered below:

* 2,884,255kg of food prevented from going to waste
* 10,500,425kg CO2 saved
* 608m ltr water saved
* $6.5 million returned to Australian farmers and manufacturers