Thinking People

This incredible team works together to change consumer behaviour. They solve commercial problems with a level of human insight and academic acumen that is hard to describe. How to name such a thing?

We took them out of the fluorescent-lit world of corporate acronyms and portmanteaux, into the more human, lamp-lit world of colloquialisms. A thinking person is “someone who uses their mind to analyse, rather than blindly following others.” These are certainly Thinking People. 

A bonus: this name is a double entendre, meaning it can be understood another way—
“Thinking about People.”

That same balance of warmth and intellect was core to our visual strategy for Thinking People. We started with a brand pattern. Something bound by one, simple rule: it doubles with every line. This references neural networks and exponential growth, visualising Thinking People’s process and outcomes in a way that feels far more intuitive than the usual corporate icons.

The monospace typeface references the history of academia, calling to mind tactile books and typewriters. This fresher, warmer colour palette is unexpected for a corporate consultancy (no navy to be seen). Its variety gives the brand a sense of depth and reflects their younger, more novel approach to the category.

The brand icon reworks the pattern to find an abstract representation of a brain. Structured but organic, just like their approach to problem-solving.

Taken as a whole, it’s clear that Thinking People is approaching consultancy in a more human-centred way. The visual and verbal cues hold both gravitas and humility, carving out a clever space for these clever people.