When Mitacs enlisted me for a rebrand, they needed a senior design consultant to update their brand to reflect both their tremendous growth and evolving mission. This was part of a larger two-year effort to recreate the organization’s outdated look and feel, working with an external agency. While that project went to an RFP, of which I was a critically involved party, the company asked me to develop an interim branding solution to refresh their image and maintain consistency across every stakeholder touchpoint. This case study outlines the process, challenges, and creative decisions behind this evolutionary rebrand, which set the stage for a more comprehensive brand transformation in the future.

During the process, I identified the challenges Mitacs’ current brand was facing: outdated design and colours, an inconsistent approach that married too many previous attempts, poor audience engagement, and unfocused and unclear about what the company stood for.

Research and Discovery

As a result, the first task I tackled was a market analysis of competitors, trends, and best practices. At the same time, we conducted a brand audit analysing existing brand assets, including logos, typography, colour schemes, and messaging, and identified what continued to resonate and what fell short. During the design stage, in which I worked closely with the Creative Director, the UX specialist, and the VP of Marketing and Communications, we also conducted web accessibility testing, to ensure the designs not only worked cohesively across various applications (web, print, social media, video etc.), but that it aligned with current accessibility standards.

Concept Development

Research & Understanding: I began by immersing myself in the core values, mission, and goals of Mitacs. As a research and innovation company, their emphasis on fostering collaboration between academic interns and businesses was key. 
Visual & Strategic Goals: I identified the need for a brand that exuded professionalism, innovation, and trustworthiness; the interim branding needed to reflect Mitacs’ role as a bridge between research and industry. Early concepts included ideas for modern typography, a dynamic color palette, and visuals and an icon system that represented innovation, collaboration, and growth.

Prototype and Testing

Visual Explorations: Several design mockups were created, showcasing potential deck, handout, and banner designs, colour schemes, and visual motifs. These prototypes strike a balance between modern aesthetics and accessibility and clarity. 
Interim Focus: Since this was interim branding, the designs avoided being overly elaborate, instead focusing on simplicity and adaptability, incorporating circle elements representing unity and continuity. 
Incorporation of Feedback: I worked iteratively, gathering insights from initial designs and refining them to align more closely with stakeholder expectations and brand objectives.
Internal Testing: The branding concepts were shared within the company, engaging staff and leadership to gather their perceptions. This phase ensured the designs resonated with both internal stakeholders and the company’s identity. 
Alignment with Mission: Feedback was used to ensure the designs reflected Mitacs’ mission of fostering innovation and collaboration, emphasizing their role as enablers of meaningful research-business partnerships. 
Iterative Refinements: Any misalignments or concerns raised during testing were addressed, fine-tuning the visuals to ensure consistency and impact.

Final Outcome

Upon delivery of final assets, including Brand Guidelines and a host of new assets (two versions of the PowerPoint deck, letterhead, one-pagers, Word docs, data charts, icon system, new cards and email signatures, and, critically, infographics), we not only did a series of presentations to the entire company, but I provided internal team training to encourage employee buy-in so that employees understood why this evolution occurred and, equally importantly, new how to utilize the new collateral.

The interim branding encapsulated Mitacs’ dedication to innovation, collaboration, and support for researchers and businesses. It served as a bridge between the company’s current image and its long-term rebranding aspirations, providing a professional and cohesive visual identity that aligned with the organization’s mission and values.

Impact: The new identity was implemented across all the brand assets and was intended to be extremely flexible so users could customize the content for their varied needs, while ensuring the brand look and feel remained consistent. The new branding made Mitacs more contemporary and relevant in keeping with its mandate of encouraging innovation. The rebrand was utilized for two years while our Marcom team embarked on a broader brand strategy with an agency.