Another Idea is Canoe

Naming

We couldn't agree internally on a name. We tried, simply too many cooks in the kitchen. We ran our own internal workshops and late-evening brainstorming sessions. Prioritised principles for names but could never agree. The names we came up with just didn't resonate. We threw in the towel and proceeded with a holding name… "Another Idea". We decided to go with a local agency after inviting three branding studios. Oker won out because their portfolio is awesome, they are local, and we connected.

Why Canoe?

We worked on our Brand Platform to land our Mission, Vision, and Values. We agreed on a strapline, "Navigate and Create". We agreed on our brand's persona through several workshops and mood boards. Then it was back to the painful naming process… Canoe evolved from a "short" list of several hundred.

"Boat" was an early promising suggestion conceptually, symbolising a journey, discovery, and adventure. However, it lacked specificity and connection to our brand's identity. Canoe was more descriptive, connected with Scandinavia, craftsmanship, working hard, it was humble. Paddling together to get to your destination. They are beautiful vessels, historical. The name, Canoe, has an aesthetic appeal and phonetically resonates. For us, the Canoe represents the design process. Manoeuvring and doubling back, leading to the discovery of your destination. Navigation and Creation is our essence. It's a process, it's collaboration, it's fun, it's hard, and you earn your result through discovery, navigating the unknown and mapping your findings.

There is satisfaction in earning your outcome.

"Be like Water"

We were left a little speechless when Marcelo at Oker presented the logo. It surprised us. Normcore it wasn't. What sold it was the beautiful storytelling and the logo's playfulness, the connection to the canoe's form, water, and mapping. It has a handcrafted aesthetic and uniqueness. It represents us as a company, with fun and guts as equal values. It could never be a simple and safe solution. It encapsulated our ethos of courage and innovation.

Our cheeky friend

We’re super proud of our little cheeky motif. Simple and fun, not a smiley but a couple in a boat working together on their journey. It can’t not but make you smile.

Illustrations

We commissioned the amazing Waldemar Stepien to help us bring the brand to life, help with storytelling, humour and depth. We wanted clean and simple flowing lines to mirror water. We wanted to build a library of commissions to use online, in workshops, presentations and to decorate our space. Wal’s fluid lines are peaceful, timeless, artistic and really helps to pull the story together.

Typography

Caslon Doric is an arc to the playfulness of the logo type. Creating a full circle. Steeped in history and craft, first created back in the Industrial Revolution. It's full of quirky details, modulated strokes, and curves, which resemble the craftsmanship from early canoe building. It's also a serious and timeless font and pairs very nicely with the nature of our work.

We hope to inspire and connect with our work, just as a Canoe connects with the water, providing a vessel for exploration and discovery. This is only the start, we hope you like it.

#LetsPaddle