The journey is never ending. There's always going to be growth, improvement, adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what's right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.
January 12, 2021Solaris Technologies does not only work with start-ups or companies that are just now setting the foundation for a new initiative. Solaris Technologies also works with clients who have half the work completed or they need to get upgrades made into an existing project. The company does not wish to discriminate between different clients on the basis of the size of the work, rather, the company believes that if their values align with those of the clients the work is always worth it. Solaris Technologies focuses on the quality that can be provided and clients who want to succeed by focusing on innovation and creativity.
Awbury was also one of those clients for Solaris Technologies that needed their project to be completed. The company had been around for many years when they contacted Solaris Technologies to help in designing the website. The company did not wish to get any features installed or change the working of the website, they simply wanted to redesign it in more specific colors that would be more consistent with the brand identity of Awbury. Solaris Technologies understood the need to have consistency in the brand image and decided to take up this project and treat it like their own.
THE CLIENT
Solaris Technologies likes to know their clients on a deeper level; what they do, how they think, their aspiration for the company. The company likes to ensure that they are on the same page as the client and they share the same vision for the progress of the company. Which is why Solaris Technologies takes their time in communication with the client and talking things through.
The first thing to understand is what Awbury does? Who are they and what services are they providing? Awbury Group is a specialty insurance group focused on unique and nontraditional risks, offering insurance and reinsurance protection from both Awbury Insurance Ltd. (AIL), a Bermuda domiciled multi-line insurance company, and Awbury Insurance Company (AICo), and a Delaware domiciled multi-line insurance company.
“Few things make me as happy as seeing my clients years later living out the dreams we once spoke of and designed strategies to fulfill.”
― Richie Norton
Awbury’s products are used by corporates, banks, insurance companies, asset managers and governmental entities to mitigate economic risks, reduce volatility, relieve capital and reduce RWAs, manage balance sheets, and cap catastrophic risks or exposures to legacy positions. Awbury aims to mitigate key business risks, enabling its clients to focus on executing their respective strategies.
Awbury came to Solaris Technologies as they were facing a lot of issues with their work. Being part of a very competitive industry, Awbury wanted to be on top of their game and be ahead of their competition. Operating in 3 different countries, they knew exactly what the work required, however; the company did lack in the digital presence that they had created to represent their work. A lot of potential clients would pinpoint this to the company and the website that they previously had was not delivering the image that the company wished to display. Solaris Technologies joined hands with the company to help them become better versions of themselves.
“Clients don’t pay you to try. Their least expectation is to at least get from you value for their money. However, your aim should be to wow them.”
― Allan Amanyire
The client was very cooperative and shared all their concerns very clearly with the company and they had a very clear image of what they wanted for their company as well as the route they wanted to opt for in the future. This helped the team members at Solaris Technologies do a more appropriate job and made it easier to complete the project with finesse and quality. Solaris Technologies always communicates the entire project with the client and ensures that all the dos and don’ts of the project are discussed thoroughly. This allows the company to have a clear mindset regarding the wishes of the client and keeps the work in line with the ideas that the client wants to accomplish.
THE WORK
“It’s like Forrest Gump said, ‘Life is like a box of chocolates.’ Your career is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get. But everything you get is going to teach you something along the way and make you the person you are today. That’s the exciting part – it’s an adventure in itself”.
-Nick Carter
The work created for Awbury was completed swiftly as per the requirements of the client. The design team assigned to the client worked day and night to come up with the most suitable solutions for the client. There were many things that needed to be done. The first task was to finalize the colors that were going to be used in the website. Awbury was not satisfied with the color theme that had been used in the website and they felt that it did not match the work that was being done. Secondly, the fonts were changed entirely as the fonts that were originally being utilized did not resound the image of the brand that the company wished for. This was creating a lot of inconsistency in the representation of the company and it used to confuse their clients who were not certain what the brand stands for. Some of the work completed by Solaris Technologies is as follows:
Typography
Typography plays an important role in communicating an overall tone and quality. Careful use of typography reinforces our personality and ensures clarity and harmony in all aligned communications. Solaris Technologies pays heed to the fonts and styles that are being used in the product of the client. The fonts act as the narration of the story that is being presented in the visuals; it completes the image that the company wants to display and it sets the tone of the viewer towards the products.
“The key to great ideas is not having them, it is executing them. And great ideas come from problems. As designers we call problems, briefs and we call reactions to problems, concepts.”
– Kate Moross
A font with bubble letters and script style curvature may seem beautiful on its own but it would not look appealing when being used in a formal or legal document, in contrast, it would appear childish and nonsensical. The font has an immense impact on how the people viewing the document perceive the work and the impact that is being developed in their minds regarding the content. As Awbury is an insurance company, the typography for the website had to be strictly professional. The team at Solaris Technologies decided to opt for a Serif font as it best matched the brand image and the outlay of the website. The primary font that was utilized in creating the website was Hoefler Text. This font sits well with the image of the brand and compliments the design that is being incorporated into the website. The text Hoefler gave the entire website a very corporate vintage look. The insurance company has been around for many years. In this field of work, public relations (PR) is built over trust and roots that run deep. The typography proved to be very beneficial to further ingrain this image of the brand. It helped to take all of the individual pieces of the design and merge them into a well-integrated website.
“I strive for two things in design: simplicity and clarity. Great design is born of those two things.”
– Lindon Leader
Colors
The colors play an integral part in developing the appropriate relation with their potential clients. It plays really deeply with human psychology and impacts how a person will view the product and what level of trust can be developed with the company. Imagine a company with bright orange and pastel pink colors as their working, primary colors; such a company may look fun and energetic but it wouldn’t look reliable and mature. These colors wouldn’t allow the company to come off as a mature and reliable brand to invest with. Especially if it is a finance or an investment company, the colors need to be sober and not too loud.
Keeping all of these different aspects in mind, the company decided to go with the following colors for the company:
Hex codes: #9B9664 #fcfaea #515355 #f3efe5 #9a9564 #000000 #ffffff
“The life of a designer is a life of fight. Fight against the ugliness. Just like a doctor fights against disease. For us, the visual disease is what we have around, and what we try to do is cure it somehow with design.”
– Massimo Vignelli
These colors consist of greyish green, mud green, black, white, and two shades of grey. These colors merge well with the design and the vibe of the work that is being done by the company and allows the website to have an overall serious aura that sits well with an insurance company. The colors are also important to consider as the text should not stand out away from the design and feel like different pieces are placed together that don’t merge well. It is also important to choose the right colors as they allow the text to be clear and easily readable. These elements may seem very minor to listen to, however; they create a huge impact on the final product and add to the finesse of the project that makes it stand out from others.
THE PROCESS
Working with a company like Awbury was a delightful experience, however; there were a lot of things that needed to be considered. Awbury was not a complete project for Solaris Technologies and the company wanted to keep the work that they have previously gotten developed. It is always a bumpier ride when there is work that you have to cater to and design the project accordingly. However; it is also more exhilarating and that drives the team of Solaris Technologies to push further and attain more.
“Genius is no more than childhood recaptured at will, childhood equipped now with man’s physical means to express itself, and with the analytical mind that enables it to bring order into the sum of experience, involuntarily amassed.”
― Charles Baudelaire
The tone was already set for the work but it needed to be revamped to fit the requirements of the company. The clients were very clear about how they wanted things to be done and what sort of image they wanted to portray. Solaris Technologies wanted to go a step further and create something that will wow the client and exceed their expectations.
The company uses a tree in their representation of work. This tree is not placed idly without any reason. This tree was placed on purpose and it portrays the story of the company. The tree is emblematic of the process that the company has been through to get where they are today.
“We’ve all heard of the surveys revealing that teenagers think cows lay eggs, and others where children can identify more brand logos than trees, by a staggering margin. My view is that children will form a significant part of the green fight back. They instinctively understand the value of the environment.”
-Zac Goldsmith
The tree of choice is a majestic oak tree that stands tall with a strong trunk to support the size of the tree. The trunk represents the core of the company and the foundation that allows the company to flourish and grow to heights that were once thought of as unattainable. The strength of the oak tree comes from the trunk and similarly the strength of the company comes from the strong foundations that have been set forward by the company which have allowed it to stand tall in the face of my hurdles that the company faced over the years.
The image shows the tree trunk dividing into many steady branches. These branches are covered with lush leaves that are full and heavy. This represents the many branches of the insurance company and their successful endeavor into the new markets. The company has been branching out into new countries and new areas over time and they plan on continuing this strategy until they reach their goal. The branches are of different sizes and strengths, which displays that the company does not branch out equally and not all endeavors are of the same standard size; the company may start a smaller set up in a new country and test the waters before they expand their business and invest more in that one area. This allows the company to make strategic growth plans and expand their company in a manner that suits them financially and also assists in the maintenance of the company image.
The picture does not show the colors of the tree, however, one can clearly depict that the leaves are full of life and lush with energy. Even without the addition of colors, there is no doubt in the minds of the viewers that the tree is healthy and growing. This is a depiction of the many clients that Awbury handles all over the world. It suggests that the company takes ample care of their clients and allows them to flourish and grow as well by providing them with enough energy to move forward. This goes to show the care that the company has towards their clients and the interlinked relationship between Awbury and their clients. The clients provide the company with capital, the same way that leaves provide the tree with the required nutrients to allow the tree to grow and survive. On the other hand, the clients are supported by the company just as the leaves cannot survive on their own without a tree to support them and help them grow. This relationship makes both the company, Awbury, and their clients depend on each other and with this unison, both of them grow to their full potential.
The last element of the logo is the roots of the tree. The roots of the tree represent the history of the company. It shows the lessons that the company has learned, the mistakes and the achievements. The roots run deep into the soil to hold the tree firmly and so does the history of the company. The values and the journey that the company has gone through, allows the company to stay steady and support the progress that the company is constantly striving towards.
The symbol of the company may seem like an ordinary tree, however, it is a well thought out symbol that represents the struggle, the growth and the forward momentum of the company. It is a constant reminder for the employees working in Awbury of the legacy that they are now a part of and gives them a sense of commitment towards the goals of the company. It also allows the clients of the company to understand that the company is not just any new startup that might not be able to handle work efficiently as load increases. It is a well-established company that is well aware of the work that they produce and the modes that are utilized to attain greatness for both; themselves and their clients. The members of the company stay united under the logo and each and every employee internalizes the mission of the company; with a core belief that the company will be able to achieve growth and success not just in one regional branch but overall, around the world.
“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
– Sam Walton
CONCLUSION
Solaris Technologies has always enjoyed the wide range of differences in their clients; from formal, corporate business clients to more chic and funky startups. This allows the team members of Solaris Technologies to polish their skills and create innovative designs in all the different fields, spreading their wings in the different industries; allowing them to portray their skills in many domains rather than doing redundant work in one.
Working with more corporate clients, such as Awbury, allows the company to work with more experienced people who have a more steady view in mind. This provides a narrow window for Solaris Technology team members and gives them the opportunity to step out of their comfort zones and provides them with the opportunity to work in a more challenging environment. This is the sort of work that drives and motivates the team members of Solaris Technologies to strive harder and achieve more. It is exactly work of this sort that allows the team members of Solaris Technologies to flourish and be the best at what they do over time, allowing them to grow and become better versions of themselves over time while staying up to date with the changing trends in the different industries that they interact with. Growth is at the center of the Solaris Technologies values and the team prefers nothing more than work that challenges the usual mode of getting work done.
It was an immense pleasure for Solaris Technologies to work with such a corporate client such as Awbury. Their level of professionalism was evident from the way that they dealt with the company. It was apparent that the company was run by professional individuals who understood how work was designed and the route that it takes. They were apprehensive of the timeline that was provided to them by Solaris Technologies and always valued the company’s input on the project that was being established. The work of a client is never a steady road, rather it is a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs. With the collaboration of the client with Solaris Technologies, no work is ever impossible. Instead, the roller coaster ride becomes a jovial ride that is both exciting and enjoyable.
