Responses by James Trump, cofounder and creative director, A LINE.
Background: Traditionally, cybersecurity solutions have mainly targeted the enterprise. However, with millions of attacks hitting small businesses each year and almost 90 percent of owners feeling vulnerable, Rotate—formerly known as Armoz—recognized a chance to help businesses of all sizes stay safe online. We partnered with Armoz to rebrand it as Rotate and help it capture this opportunity in the market.
Design thinking: Collaborative work sessions with the founding team and strategy partner Side St led to the idea of “an all-around better way to secure your business.” The branding aims to bring this distinct idea to life, envisioning 360-degree business protection as purposefully orbiting rounded shapes. This is designed to communicate safeguarding against threats from all angles.
Challenges: Renaming the business was a little challenging—the first few names we put in for trademarking checks were unavailable. We all felt like we had a strong idea for the strategy unique in the sector and a rich area for creativity, so we were able to go back to this for another round of name-creation. The name Rotate felt like it was hidden but in plain sight. Sometimes, names feel too obvious to see them straightaway or might be discarded as they feel too simple.
Favorite details: We spent the most time experimenting with motion for the project. We felt like the idea of safeguarding from every angle could be expressed best with motion. We wanted to strike the right balance of the identity feeling active and safe, and we tried many tests to get the right lighting, speed, color, shape and angles.
New lessons: I’ve known for a long time that great ideas are the main part of any creative project, but it’s your conviction in what you think is the best idea that often makes the difference between good and great. It’s key to spend time explaining in detail why it’s the best idea.
Visual influences: Surprisingly, we didn’t have any visual influences for this project. We dove straight into creating what we thought best expressed the idea and how this could work as a system. Using the excitement of an idea and trying to capture how you imagine it coming to life is, in my opinion, such a great way of designing. Letting the idea lead the style creates way more original and powerful branding.
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