We created OAO’s core brand platform in a lean process, following the founders as they built the platform, the technology and the content. The initial stage required us to shape a simple idea from something highly sophisticated. Together with the founders of OAO, we coined the term “Train & Gain Transformation”: the simple idea behind what is radical in executive development and data-driven leadership.
We designed the core identity for a playground of expression and adaptation, iterations and emergent themes as the platform scales.
The founders’ story of how they came together to formulate the strategy for OAO inspired us. They locked themselves away in a cabin high in the mountains of Western Norway. They equipped themselves with only what they needed: high-tech and lightweight. This directed our approach to OAO’s brand: fresh, focused, with poetic simplicity.
OAO looks up to the tools used in moments of outstanding human achievement. Subtle, in the background, stripped of unnecessary details, lightweight, robust, reliable and highly considered. In trained hands: shockingly effective.
The concept explores and interprets ideas of data and transformation through a dynamic identity inspired by tech and control-panel interfaces. Setting out three core qualities:
Simplicity: No added fuss. Led primarily by typography and considered use of graphics and colour.
Playful professionalism: Subtle hints of playfulness that break away from corporate norms.
Core + Playground: A concise visual concept and toolbox at the core, expanded upon at scale.
OAO is only at the beginning, and much more will follow. Working with this innovation inspired us greatly, and the value it will bring to its users is something we wanted to share early.
