Gemic
Gemic
Unlocking differentiation in a saturated market
Unlocking differentiation in a saturated market
Role
Senior Designer
Team
Jun Lee (Partner)
Harper Hagedorn (Partner)
Benjamin Pape (Developer Lead)
Timeline
March-December 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 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
Internal Pressure
A shift to a vertical-based model led to fragmentation across teams, weakening cohesion, and diluting the brand.
Market Pressure
As the consulting landscape grew increasingly saturated, Gemic was forced to re-evaluate its positioning and clarify its distinct value.
Insight & strategy
The future of growth requires knowing what creates value and how to unlock it.
Clients are no longer satisfied with optimization alone. 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.
Brand strategy
Gemic’s brand needs to communicate its specialness in merging social intelligence and commercial thinking.
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.
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 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.
Physical craft references
We referenced print design details throughout the identity—like a palette inspired by physical color to typographic details like rules. These details keep the brand grounded and positions Gemic as the antithesis to consulting that is gimmicky and over-promises.
Authentic & creative imagery
Photography is one of the most accessible forms of expression, and it's used frequently by strategists at Gemic. Instead of prescribing strict guidelines or a photo library, we instead offered basic qualities and styles for strategists to look out for. This helped sharpened the team's decision-making skills without limiting them.
We also explored how Generative AI should be used as a brand asset. We outlined styles that reference human forms of creativity to keep the brand grounded and authentic.
Deliverables
Fueling new communications.
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—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.
Insight & strategy
The future of growth requires knowing both what creates value and how to unlock it.
Clients are no longer satisfied with optimization alone. 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.
Brand strategy
Gemic’s brand needs to communicate its specialness in merging social intelligence and commercial thinking.
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.
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.
Authentic & creative imagery
Photography is one of the most accessible forms of expression, and it's used frequently by strategists at Gemic. Instead of prescribing strict guidelines or a photo library, we instead offered basic qualities and styles for strategists to look out for. This helped sharpened the team's decision-making skills without limiting them.
We also explored how Generative AI should be used as a brand asset. We outlined styles that reference human forms of creativity to keep the brand grounded and authentic.
Physical craft references
We referenced print design details throughout the identity— like a palette inspired by physical color to typographic details like rules. These details keep the brand grounded and positions Gemic as the antithesis to consulting that is gimmicky and over-promises.
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 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
Internal Pressure
A shift to a vertical-based model led to fragmentation across teams, weakening cohesion, and diluting the brand.
Market Pressure
As the consulting landscape grew increasingly saturated, Gemic was forced to re-evaluate its positioning and clarify its distinct value.
Physical craft references
We referenced print design details throughout the identity— like a palette inspired by physical color to typographic details like rules. These details keep the brand grounded and positions Gemic as the antithesis to consulting that is gimmicky and over-promises.
Authentic & creative imagery
Photography is one of the most accessible forms of expression, and it's used frequently by strategists at Gemic. Instead of prescribing strict guidelines or a photo library, we instead offered basic qualities and styles for strategists to look out for. This helped sharpened the team's decision-making skills without limiting them.
We also explored how Generative AI should be used as a brand asset. We outlined styles that reference human forms of creativity to keep the brand grounded and authentic.
Deliverables
Fueling new communications.
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—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.