The Governance Framework had no visual identity. As a new consultancy entering a sector dominated by established institutions, they needed a brand that conveyed authority, structure, and trust — without feeling cold or bureaucratic. Everything had to be built from zero, and had to work across multiple formats from day one: digital, print, and a certification mark.
The Governance Framework
An external commission taken on while working at RSM. The Governance Framework is a consultancy offering a comprehensive governance assessment — combining self-assessment with expert independent facilitation — that results in a kitemark awarded to organisations that meet the standard.
Working directly with the client, I was responsible for the full brand build from scratch: visual identity, brand manual, brochure, kitemark, and landing page.
Challenge
Approach
The visual identity was built around four concepts: Structure, Connections, Flexibility, and Framework. The logo was constructed from circles — four rotations extracting shapes from the geometry — with each of the four parts representing one of these concepts. Its multicolour palette was chosen deliberately to represent the diversity of the organisations the consultancy supports.
The wordmark uses mild serifs to give it a structured, classic, sophisticated feel — reinforcing the authority the brand needed to project. Primary and secondary logo lockups were defined for different contexts: horizontal for most applications, stacked for vertical formats, and a dedicated kitemark version for certification use.
The brand system covered logo construction and clear space rules, colour specifications, typeface guidelines, and usage across print, digital, and presentation formats. I managed the project end to end, working directly with the client from initial concept to final production files.
Result
A complete brand system built from scratch — visual identity, brand manual, brochure, kitemark, and landing page — delivered directly to the client. A coherent identity that gives the consultancy the authority and clarity it needs to operate and certify others. The Governance Framework went on to work with over 100 organisations, 700+ individuals, and operate across more than 10 countries, with strategic partners including ICSA, The Governance Forum, and RSM.