Gemic
A record-breaking brand transformation
Role
Senior Designer
Team
Jun Lee (Partner)
Harper Hagedorn (Partner)
Benjamin Pape (Developer Lead)
Timeline
Mar - Dec 2025
Tools & Skills
Brand Strategy
Brand Identity Design
Motion Design
Role
Senior Designer
Team
Jun Lee (Partner)
Harper Hagedorn (Partner)
Benjamin Pape (Developer Lead)
Timeline
Mar - Dec 2025
Tools & Skills
Brand Strategy
Brand Identity Design
Motion Design
The Challenge
Where social science meets management consulting.
Gemic operates at the intersection of social science and management consulting, informing the growth strategies of leading companies. By blending social science with strategy, Gemic uncovers the cultural forces shaping markets.
However, while that perspective is distinct, the consulting landscape is not. There are nearly one million U.S. firms competing for attention—making clarity and differentiation essential. Gemic was also shifting towards a vertical based model which also caused unexpected brand fragmentation.
Gemic operates at the intersection of social science and management consulting, informing the growth strategies of leading companies. By blending social science with strategy, Gemic uncovers the cultural forces shaping markets.
However, while that perspective is distinct, the consulting landscape is not. There are nearly one million U.S. firms competing for attention—making clarity and differentiation essential. Gemic was also shifting towards a vertical based model which also caused unexpected brand fragmentation.
Gemic's brand pressures
Brand Drift
A shift to a vertical-based model led to fragmentation across teams, weakening cohesion, and diluting the brand.
Market Saturation
As the consulting landscape grew increasingly saturated, Gemic was forced to re-evaluate its positioning and clarify its distinct value.
Approach
We focused on creating a brand that embodied Gemic’s unique combination of social intelligence and commercial thinking.
Gemic’s strength lies in uniting social intelligence with commercial strategy to define what matters and execute against it. The brand identity was built around this dual capability.
Gemic’s strength lies in uniting social intelligence with commercial strategy to define what matters and execute against it. The brand identity was built around this dual capability.
The Gemic Brand Spectrum
We researched different ways each end of the spectrum can be communicated, and then built a suite of visual elements to tell the story of Gemic's duality.
Brand System
An ownable brand system built on visual tension.
We built a brand language around the core tension at the heart of Gemic’s work—the meeting of raw human insight and rigorous strategic analysis. That duality drives the identity— pairing texture and candid imagery, with geometric patterns and structured layouts.
We built a brand language around the core tension at the heart of Gemic’s work—the meeting of raw human insight and rigorous strategic analysis. That duality drives the identity— pairing texture and candid imagery, with geometric patterns and structured layouts.
A flexible collage system.
The "atomic collage" is our key graphic element that can adapt across content, mediums, and tones.
It combines key visual elements from both end of the spectrum– the geometric shapes and composition combined with the organic, authentic imagery.
Pragmatically, the duotone unifies all stock images that strategists use to create a proprietary look. Additionally, the ability to combine images gives strategists more freedom to easily tell complex stories, without a designer's skill level.
Authentic & creative imagery.
Photography is one of the most accessible forms of expression, and strategists at Gemic use it frequently. Instead of prescribing strict guidelines or a photo library, we offered basic qualities and styles to look out for—sharpening the team's decision-making without limiting it.
We also explored how generative AI should be used as a brand asset, outlining styles that reference human forms of creativity to keep the brand grounded and authentic.
Website
Fueling new communications.
The new brand identity helped catalyze Gemic's marketing and communication efforts, including a new website, social campaigns, and pitching tools.
The new brand identity helped catalyze Gemic's marketing and communication efforts, including a new website, social campaigns, and pitching tools.
Tools
A set of modular tools.
Nearly all of Gemic’s employees are strategists. While they are highly fluent in storytelling through slides, they are not trained designers. We built the brand system with usability at its core by developing intuitive tools, clear frameworks, and modular templates. These enable strategists to create everything from high-impact keynote decks to detailed project timelines with confidence and consistency.
Collage Generator
Internal tool that lets users upload photos and then easily create perfectly on-brand collage composition assets.
AI Slide-Maker
Developing our brand like a design system allowed us to experiment with building GenAI tools, like an AI slide-maker. Turning our brand into more of an operating system, and less like a glossy layer on top.
Results
Record-breaking success followed.
Gemic saw tangible results from this brand transformation–from our best ever sales year to increased collaboration across teams.
Gemic's best ever sales year.
Launched internal and external comms campaigns.
Increased collaboration across teams.
Tools
A set of modular tools.
Nearly all of Gemic’s employees are strategists. While they are highly fluent in storytelling through slides, they are not trained designers. We built the brand system with usability at its core—developing intuitive tools, clear frameworks, and modular templates that enable strategists to create everything from high-impact keynote decks to detailed project timelines with confidence and consistency.
Collage Generator: Internal tool that lets users upload photos and then easily create perfectly on-brand collage composition assets.
AI Slide-Maker: Developing our brand like a design system allowed us to experiment with building GenAI tools, like an AI slide-maker. Turning our brand into more of an operating system, and less like a glossy layer on top.
Results
Record-breaking success followed.
Gemic saw tangible results from this brand transformation–from our best ever sales year to increased collaboration across teams.
#1
Gemic's best ever sales year.
Launched internal and external comms campaigns.
Increased collaboration across teams.
Flexible memory marker
The "atomic collage" is a graphic element that serves as key memory marker for Gemic.
The contrast between geometric shapes and organic, authentic imagery creates intrigue for the audience.
Pragmatically, the duotone unifies all stock images that strategists use to create a proprietary look. Additionally, the ability to combine images gives strategists more freedom to easily tell complex stories, without the skill-level required of a designer.
Flexible memory marker
The "atomic collage" is our key graphic element that can adapt across content, mediums, and tones.
It combines key visual elements from both end of the spectrum– the geometric shapes and composition combined with the organic, authentic imagery.
Pragmatically, the duotone unifies all stock images that strategists use to create a proprietary look. Additionally, the ability to combine images gives strategists more freedom to easily tell complex stories, without a designer's skill level.
Authentic & creative imagery
Photography is one of the most accessible forms of expression, and strategists at Gemic use it frequently. Instead of prescribing strict guidelines or a photo library, we offered basic qualities and styles to look out for—sharpening the team's decision-making without limiting it.
We also explored how generative AI should be used as a brand asset, outlining styles that reference human forms of creativity to keep the brand grounded and authentic.
Authentic & creative imagery
Photography is one of the most accessible forms of expression, and strategists at Gemic use it frequently. Instead of prescribing strict guidelines or a photo library, we offered basic qualities and styles to look out for—sharpening the team's decision-making without limiting it.
We also explored how generative AI should be used as a brand asset, outlining styles that reference human forms of creativity to keep the brand grounded and authentic.