Project Overview: ARC Brand Identity Development
Objective:
To create a distinctive and strategic brand identity for ARC, a B2B risk and compliance software provider specialising in credit insurance solutions.
Approach:
The brand identity was developed following an in-depth discovery process with key stakeholders, including a Brand Sprint to clarify ARC’s purpose, values, and market positioning. This insight-driven foundation ensured that the visual and verbal identity would authentically reflect the company’s expertise, innovative approach, and unique market position.
Key Considerations:
ARC identified innovation, integrity, and affordability as its core brand values. While affordability is a crucial part of ARC’s value proposition, it stems from a commercial advantage within its operating model: as a bolt-on product to the CORE Credit Insurance broking house, some costs are offset by the wider business. As such, affordability is expressed through pricing strategy and messaging rather than visual identity.
Visually, the brand identity prioritised communicating innovation, integrity, and authority — with authority emerging as a vital attribute for credibility in a highly regulated, risk-averse market. The design language needed to project confidence and leadership while reflecting ARC’s forward-thinking approach.
Brand Identity & Logo Rationale:
The final brand identity balances ARC’s values and market context through carefully considered design elements:
Innovation: The wordmark uses implied connectivity within the letterforms — gaps the brain instinctively completes — to symbolise problem-solving, forward-thinking, and futuristic design. Gradients convey adaptability and continuous evolution, while a bright, contrasting accent colour introduces vibrancy and energy across both the logo and brand applications.
Integrity: Bold, structured letterforms with dynamic, repeating angles convey unity and clarity. The palette of deep blue and teal reinforces transparency, trust, and reliability.
Authority: While not a formally stated core value, authority surfaced as a critical brand attribute through the strategy process. The decision to let the wordmark stand alone, without a supporting icon, underscores ARC’s confidence and leadership position. Clean, minimal execution and authoritative colour choices align the brand visually with trusted, established institutions, balancing its innovative positioning with essential gravitas.
Outcome:
A cohesive and contemporary brand identity that positions ARC as a trusted, future-focused partner in credit risk technology. The identity captures the company’s industry expertise, innovation-led ethos, and inherent authority, while affordability is strategically delivered through ARC’s pricing model and its integration within the wider CORE business, rather than visual design.
Please read the client’s testimonial below.
Client Testimonial
“As our primary software offering, ARC (previously Analysis of Risk and Compliance), has evolved over time, it has become widely recognised simply as “ARC” within our industry. With this shift in recognition, we saw an opportunity not only to shorten the name but to reimagine our brand identity in a way that reflects our core values: innovation, integrity, and affordability.
With Cathy’s expertise, the entire rebranding process was made straightforward and seamless. From the very beginning, her professional yet approachable demeanour put our team at ease. The Brand Sprint session was incredibly valuable, helping us home in on what mattered most and ensuring that the new logo would authentically reflect our mission and market position. Cathy carefully guided us through the creative process, presenting multiple logo concepts with varying colour palettes that each captured different facets of our company’s vision.
We were especially impressed by Cathy’s ability to distil our values of innovation and authority into a logo that is both modern and simple, yet visually impactful. The final result is a clean, confident design that feels perfectly aligned with our industry-leading software solutions.
We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome and the collaborative process. Cathy’s thoughtful approach and design expertise exceeded our expectations. I would absolutely recommend Cathy’s services to anyone looking to refresh or develop a brand identity. Thank you, Cathy, for bringing our vision to life!”