SNRB2301–2302

Objective

Build a timeless brand identity that embodies the history, trustworthiness, and commitment to serving the community's banking needs.




Project Information

Client — Sunrise Bank
Scope — Brand Identity / Visual Design System
Date Completed — In Production


Project Description
Sunrise Bank sought to modernize its appearance to align with new service improvements, ushering in a new era of excellence. Originally serving Florida's Space Coast, the bank expanded into new markets and relocated headquarters to Orlando, undergoing a significant core processor overhaul to enhance services and operations.

Our approach included extensive discovery, site visits, and close collaboration with the bank's teams to understand key priorities and core values. This approach resulted in a comprehensive Brand Identity & Visual System that emphasizes personalized, community-focused banking with a modern, refined style. The resulting logo depicts a new day in banking, blending contemporary elements with timeless simplicity, while thoughtfully selected fonts ensure clarity. The visual design system encompasses various materials, including collateral items, signage, way finding, fleet branding, and branch interiors — all meticulously detailed in our usage guidelines.


01 – Overview








02 – Concept Development


02.01

Everything Under the Sun
From the outset, we recognized the need for our visual identity to illustrate sunrise, in line with the brand name. Our main challenge was to find fresh and  novel ways of depicting daybreak.
We explored one hundred unique sketches then created roughly fifty high-quality vector drawings. Each drawing portrays suns, sun rays, the sky, water, and other various elements of sunrise.







02.02

Selected Mark
The final logo mark, shown below, was meticulously refined, scaled precisely, and positioned to create a signature lockup. Like all exceptional logos, this icon carries rich meaning.
(A)  The mark comprises two key elements: a five-beam sunrise, symbolizing the bank's community and clients, above a solid horizon line representing a strong foundation of trust and experience. 
(B)   In the negative space between these forms, a cresting wave emerges, signifying energy, motion, positivity, and maximum potential. This wave also reflects the bank's proximity to the ocean.







03 – Brand Identity 


03.01

Logo and Supporting Elements
Sunrise Bank's Brand Identity integrates key elements to ensure consistency and adaptability, including a range of logo color options suited for both print and digital applications, a thoughtfully curated color palette, a highly legible corporate typeface, a set of custom icons that complement the brand, and a versatile pattern library for use in envelopes and security tints.










04 – Governance


04.01

Brand Guidelines
Brand Guidelines serve as a comprehensive resource, offering the bank and its vendors clear guidance on how to present the brand effectively, encompassing both verbal and visual aspects. The 'Brand Persona' section outlines the verbal tone of voice, as well as detailed instructions on logo usage, proper application of brand colors, corporate typeface guidelines, and establishing a clear hierarchy in copy.







05 – Visual Design System


05.01

Print Collateral / Branded Items
The brand was fully realized through a comprehensive visual system, encompassing corporate collateral sets, deposit slips, envelopes, security tint designs, mailers, agreements, disclosures, and more. Additionally, we extended the brand's visual identity to include exterior and interior signage, vehicle fleet design, and guidelines for branded items like apparel.








Credits

Brand Strategy / Project Management — Mike Edwards
Creative Direction — Michael Steven Forrest
Design — Mirna Pierre
Photography — Greg Perkins





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