When we launched our portal, InterACT, earlier this year, we had one goal: to provide the very best online customer experience that you have come to expect from the people and services of ACTenviro. You have been among the first invited to use the portal and we hope you have found it useful and beneficial to your business. We have big ambitions for the portal so expect it continue to improve over time. That’s where you come in. As the first users your feedback has been and will continue to be invaluable. We want to make sure it is a tool that helps you in your business.
The initial name and logo, InterACT, was somewhat descriptive and was in line with the master brand. But it was too limiting. We needed to evolve it if we wanted to grow. We felt the portal as a customer facing platform and tool was deserving of its own identity as a sub-brand of ACTenviro.
Over the last few months, we embarked on a journey of self-discovery to understand InterACTs purpose, who it serves, and what the future could be.
What is a brand?
A brand is the representation of the essence of a company’s core beliefs. The master brand was redesigned in 2016 when ACT became known as ACTenviro. Its colors, shades blue and green, speak our core values and commitment to protecting the environment. A sub-brand under the master brand needs to reflect a similar ethos and pathos.
What is in a name?
Well, a lot actually. A name should have some meaning. It can be completely descriptive, or it can convey an emotion or concept. Without going into too much detail we thought you might like a little taste of how we did it and why Summit became the new identity.
What did it take?
We start with a list of what “it” does and its relationships. Then we brainstorm with various names, words, and acronyms.
It was important that the name was easy to pronounce and understand yet reflected the core attributes of the platform. The result was that we would name the portal Summit. The word itself is easy to say, spell, and understand by most. And, that checked a lot of boxes on our list of “must haves”.
The Summit Logo
The concept of a summit evokes a high vantage point, possibly mountainous terrain. The wordmark (font) is solid and strong. It is joined by a graphic element which reflects the image of a mountain range. The addition of what could be a water droplet is one thing that ties it back to the master logo for ACTenviro and our commitment to protecting the environment. The color palette is also carefully chosen to align with the master brand.
What’s next?
So, last month we launched our new name and look for the portal, a refined user interface, and dashboard. If you haven’t logged in yet you can check it out for yourself HERE. We hope you like it.
