American Sustainable Rubber Co. Identity

While at Typenex Medical, I was often asked to support design and marketing efforts for Chicago Venture Partners, Typenex Medical’s parent company, and its ongoing ventures. One such venture was American Sustainable Rubber Company (ASR), a new branch of an existing publicly traded entity, United American Healthcare Corp. American Sustainable Rubber was founded to explore the genetically modified dandelion roots grown in a hydroponic setting as an alternative to natural rubber. I was asked to serve as Vice President of Strategy and tasked with creating the brand from the ground up, building interest in the market through public relation tactics, and supporting general operations as needed. To oversee financial and business operations, a team member from Chicago Venture Partners joined me on this project.

Company Background

Natural rubber is used in over 50,000 products from medical devices to airplane tires. Currently, rubber is collected by tapping rubber trees and collecting the slow dripping latex in small cups. The growth and production of natural rubber is almost exclusive to Southeast Asia and China. Because the United States is so heavily dependent on foreign relations for this important material and losing natural rubber as a resource would be detrimental to the function of our everyday lives, the United States Department of Defense has named natural rubber a strategic material to our national security. ASR was awarded a grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the United States Department of Defense to pursue the viability of natural rubber production from alternative sources available in the United States.

Dr. Katrina Cornish, scientific advisor to ASR and professor at The Ohio State University, is the leading scholar on alternative natural rubber production. She is working to genetically modify a strain of dandelion plant to produce greater amounts of rubber within the roots. ASR purchased the exclusive rights to grow her genetically modified dandelions in a hydroponic setting. I spent time working with and learning from Dr. Katrina Cornish to better prepare myself to articulate the science behind ASR. Additionally, I spent time speaking with ASR President, Timothy Madden on how he planned to execute the growing and harvesting facilities for the dandelions. Because dandelions are weeds, they cannot withstand weed prevention treatments making them very difficult to maintain in a field grown setting. Additionally, when dandelions are grown in the ground, it makes it difficult to harvest the rubber from the root without killing the entire plant. These points are what lead ASR to develop a hydroponic grow system for the plants.

Iconography

The 3 tenets that were most important to the project were 1) the use of dandelions as an alternative natural rubber source 2) the successful genetic modification of the dandelions and 3) the hydroponic growing conditions. These tenets were my focus for the design of the logo. The main icon for the logo consisted of two dandelion flowers with long roots winding together at the end. The dandelion flowers provide reference to the type of plant producing the rubber at 1/3 of the full icon size to give prominence to the roots. The roots twist together like a DNA helix to symbolize the genetic modification. A small petal from the larger flower is being lifted up and away representing the innovation and forward progress ASR is making toward alternative natural rubber production and national security.

Color Selection

Dr. Cornish’s specific strain of dandelion was nicknamed Buckeye Gold in reference to the mascot of The Ohio State University and the State of Ohio state nut, the Buckeye. Using a soft golden yellow color that mimicked the flower plays homage to its history and appearance. To avoid the yellow appearing too cute or playful, I choose to pair it with strong, moody blues. In combination, the golden yellow pops against the neutral blues and creates a dynamic combo. The blues pay tribute to the third tenet of the project, hydroponic growth. I chose to include one bright blue as a secondary color to provide a second highlighting color. The other blues reference the different shades of water while providing shades that work well for text, texture, and contrast. Lastly, when dandelions pollenate, they release white seeds that are commonly associated with dandelions. I included a light, neutral grey to represent this piece and serve as a grounding color with the rest of the palette.

Typography

Like much of the identity, the typography was selected to help take a complicated concept and convey it in a streamlined way. For a clean, modern look I decided to select a sans serif font. Raleway was very easy to read without being too playful. The way the W was designed really complimented the twisting roots in the icon, which I felt was a subtle way to keep that concept moving throughout the brand.

Logo

To finalize the logo, I chose to tuck the company name under the flower and to the side. By keeping the text low, it alluded more to the growth of flowers out of a pot or system. I also chose to abbreviate the “Company” portion of the name. During our many meetings, most of the team never included “Company” when speaking about ASR. I wanted to keep the brand as cohesive as possible, so minimizing “Company” in the logo would support the way it was being spoken.

With such a long company name, I designed a smaller logo for tighter spaces to accompany or support the main logo. For example, presentation decks could place the smaller ASR logo in the corner of all slides while still being legible. For very specific cases, I created variations for a stand alone icon to be used when company information was located nearby. For example, the back of the business cards had only the dandelion logo, since the company name and information was accompanying it on the other side.

Imagery

I hired Pritt Entertainment Group from Akron, Ohio to create the videos and take stills during one of my visits to the Wooster, Ohio facility. I was able to art direct much of the filming and photography and was grateful to work with a talented, professional production crew. To illustrate the seriousness of the topic and also provide impressions of technological advancement, I used strong contrast and saturation in the imagery. I had colors from the brand standards pulled out and emphasized in much of the imagery. Some this was naturally achieved by the camera when shooting in the genetics laboratory and under the lights in greenhouses. Many of the early photos of the dandelions are shown in the ground, because at the launch of the company, the dandelions started their growth in soil and were later transferred to hydroponic settings. When working with the planted dandelions, I tried to use visuals where the dirt was out of focus to better highlight the flower and to avoid confusion.

I used video to spark interest and turn a complicated topic into an easy to comprehend story. I was inspired by the In The Know by AOL videos on social media because of the way they cover topics quickly without losing essential information. Below is a video I had pulled together to explain the concept of ASR. One challenge during filming was to coach Dr. Cornish into explaining her work in layman’s terms. As a scientist and scholar, technical language was more natural for her. I balanced asking her for retakes and modifications with making sure she still came across on camera as her genuine and intelligent self. Seeing a final piece that could quickly explain ASR to investors or reporters was very rewarding and helpful when later spreading the message.

Rubber Reinvented

I knew when I was introduced to ASR the tagline was going to be Rubber Reinvented. A good alliteration can go a long way. Rubber Reinvented embodies the way ASR is reinventing the way modern society produces natural rubber. It is bold, forward, and catchy. The most successful place I used the phrase was the homepage banner of the website. Like the video below, it rests over a slow motion video of Dr. Cornish breaking a dandelion root to showcase the rubber inside.

Summary

The challenge I faced while working for ASR was taking a complicated concept and delivering a story and identity that anyone could quickly understand. Not everyone knows what a genetically modified rubber producing dandelion might look like, but they do know what a garden dandelion looks like. Designing the logo with hints of the technology in the project (the helix) and strong visual references to a common dandelion, creates a logo that is clear to the mission of the company. The simplicity of the logo and typography overlaid on strong images and videos with bold and deep colors created a very striking tone. It says, “This company is innovative, rooted in science, and going someplace fast, so don’t get left behind.” I provided just enough information to understand what the company is doing without needing to explain exactly how. By leaving behind gene editing or the lumens of light required in a hydroponic grow rack, I was able to speak to a wider market. The paired down collection of information and modern, forward-looking tone is very appealing to the market I was working to attract: investors and the media. The work ASR does is really cool, but can get lost in the weeds. Overall, I felt like I took a 150 carat diamond in the rough and polished it to its fullest potential.