Washington Maritime Blue

A blue economy non-profit incubator needed a brand refresh

SERVICES

Brand & Identity Design
Information Architecture
UI Design

Washington Maritime Blue is an organization that facilitates innovation in the maritime sector, or “blue economy.” They connect individuals from the maritime industry, research, capital, government, and the community to advance goals in technological innovation, sustainability, ecological health, and economic growth.

“We loved working with Mentor – from the collaborative approach to the attention to nautical and maritime details that ground our brand in our industry.”

Devon Emily Thorsell –Washington Maritime Blue

The Challenge

Maritime Blue had gone through a lot of growth in the last few years and were beginning to grow out of their existing brand. The original brand identity had been formulated when the maritime tech incubator was first setting up shop, and the goal was to get the first website and branded materials live and out in the world. Now Maritime Blue has grown in scope and sophistication and needed a more flexible and robust brand.

The Solution

Style and Direction

Starting with stakeholder interviews and competitive research we explored creative options for their new brand direction in a series of mood boards. This sparked an insightful conversation with the Maritime Blue team that lead to further exploration of a brand concept direction that would work well for their org.

Collateral

After identifying Maritime Blue’s values and ethos in the concepts phase we began to weave them into our brand design work. The mountain, island, wave motif represents the impact Maritime Blue’s work has both above and below the water. We also worked in a bright clean aesthetic that communicates tech innovation while also using subtle references to maritime history and culture.

The brand work included several digital templates for presentations and documents, as well as a comprehensive brand guideline. This helps the organization have a unified brand presence no matter what format they are communicating in.

Website

Before starting on the design work, we facilitated a content strategy and information architecture workshop with the client, helping them simplify, make connections, and bring more consistency to the content and structure of the website. We then added in our expert advice where needed and created documentation to empower the client to implement the plan internally. We also created design mocks of the homepage and an interior landing page to show what a newly branded website could look like.