Today, SciLifeLab is launching a new logo. It’s one of several steps in renewing our look, to reflect who we are and where we’re going. It will also give us a chance to communicate our brand in a more effective and cohesive way.
Since SciLifeLab launched in 2010, it’s been in constant growth. What started as a two separate research campuses in Stockholm and Uppsala, has grown into a government commissioned national infrastructure, with equal access for all Swedish academic researchers. We’ve gone from occupying just a few floors in two buildings, to having over 1 300 affiliated researchers and 40 infrastructure units across a number of universities in Sweden. In 2011, we generated 300 citations and by 2017, that number had increased to 19 256.
Over the last decade, the scope of SciLifeLab has widened and developed, and that’s something we want our look to convey. And what better timing than during 2020, our 10-year anniversary?
A logo to stay with us, as we grow and communication channels develop
As you’ve probably noticed, several updates to SciLifeLab’s look have already been carried out during 2020, such as the new profile colors and the new website. And today, we’re launching the new logo. Designed to showcase the dynamic and frontline organization that SciLifeLab is, and the fast pace at which we’re constantly moving forward. A logo to stay with us as we continue to grow and develop.
On today’s communications platforms, with various channels and formats and a steady stream of information, our logo needs to be distinctive and recognizable. It should be unique and difficult to replicate, easy to incorporate in different layouts and adjust to 1:1 requirements and other formats. It should also help us communicate a clear and cohesive brand experience across channels. And as these needs weren’t completely fulfilled by our previous logo, we’re thrilled to announce this update.
Designing a logo to serve its purpose more effectively
Apart from the new logo being easy to use on today’s communications platforms, this project started with only a few initial requirements: that the new logo should be clear from a distance, with few details and components, and that it shouldn’t be too literal (e.g. a DNA helix or a microscope). Rather, it should be quite abstract – able to represent the multiple fields that are part of SciLifeLab (i.e. both infrastructure and research, as well as environment and biomedicine).
Although many of us were fond of the previous logo, the new one will serve its purpose more effectively. For instance, while the previous logo’s wordmark ‘SciLifeLab’ could easily be replicated in any text editor, the new logo’s wordmark is a customized mix of different fonts edited by hand, making it difficult to imitate.
The previous wordmark was also tricky to incorporate in different layouts and combine with other texts, due to the long ‘f’ taking up almost an entire extra row. Having an even bottom line, the new wordmark will be much easier to incorporate in layouts and combine with other texts.
Symbolics in the new logo
The new logo’s symbol, creating a clearer brand that can be communicated throughout all our channels.
The main advantage of the new logo is its symbol. It can easily be used on digital platforms and in formats with 1:1 requirements (which was tricky with the previous logo that only came in a rectangular format) and more importantly, it creates a clearer brand. A symbol that is SciLifeLab and can be used throughout our channels, to increase our brand cohesiveness.
Having taken inspiration from a number of objects – for instance organelles, the growth of an ecosystem, cell division, foot prints, and the action of putting puzzle pieces together – the symbol is meant to lend itself to a number of associations and be interpreted in the eye of the beholder. What do you see?
The next steps – implementing the logo
We hope that you like this new look and agree that this feels like us. You’ll see the logo change immediately on our digital channels, and on our physical assets over the upcoming months. It’s a long process with many steps, so we’ll be taking a phased approach.
We appreciate your help with making this update as effective as possible – for instance, by replacing the previous logo on all your channels, and making sure to use the new logo and new templates the next time you’re giving a PPT presentation or ordering a profile product.
You can find the new logo, templates, graphic manual and a number of other tips and tricks in our Brand Toolbox. And if you have any questions or feedback, please give us a shout at news@scilifelab.se.