Sasol

I fell in love with the Sasol logo the moment I first saw it, which if I remember correctly was in an animated format online. It's almost hypnotic, I can stare at it for ages, and I have to say that it's one of my top favourites of this series.

The international award-winning Sasol rebrand was launched in 2001 (I bet you don't remember their previous logo).

Sasol (originally Afrikaans for Suid-Afrikaanse Steenkool en Olie - South African Coal and Oil) is an innovative and competitive global energy company, engaged in the commercial production and marketing of chemicals and liquid fuels; with a growing interest in oil and gas exploration. Established in 1950 by the South African government, Sasol employs more than 32 000 people worldwide and remains one of South Africa’s largest investors in capital projects, skills development and technological research and development.

Via Sasol's Corporate Identity page:

Sasol's identity owes its inspiration to what is at the core of what Sasol does - chemicals. It suggests the essence of the products, and businesses working in harmony in order to create something new and dynamic. The central sphere denotes stability, while the six rotating 'business units' suggest a force greater than the sum of its parts - strength through synergy.

Well that's the short of it. Clifford Boobyer, Creative Director at Firedog (then creative lead at Trademark Design), was responsible for the Sasol global rebranding project and identity design. I exchanged a few e-mails with Clifford, who was very accommodating to share some insight into his creative processes:

It was a mammoth project, with a very simple easily sold creative burst right up front.

At this stage of my career, I had just moved on from fiddling around with an application that shipped with early Macromedia called Extreme3D onto the more serious 3D Studio Max. I thought I might try build an identity around a 3D application - this was still before the trend of 3D marks we see so readily today, and it felt kind of cool to do something different.

So I got to grips with the Sasol business and soon worked out that all their business related back to organic compounds one way or another. Whether it be oils, gas, or any other compound - they all seemed to be built from the same building blocks: Hydrocarbons. And when you start looking at modelling around hydrocarbons - you can really get to understand where the brand mark started to develop. So I guess it was the geek in me (before Wikipedia, mind you) which became fascinated behind the science of the brand.

Chemistry in Motion

I asked Cliff about the animated logo that applies to digital environments:

Coupled with the new application I was learning, this journey of discovery inspired me to create a very progressive and animated mark. So I recreated the model in 3D Studio Max, based on a very basic layout sketch that I did. I think because what I wanted to do was so singular in it's idea - I didn't spend long sketching.

I dropped in a large Silver carbon atom and created a series of coloured hydrogen atoms that rotated on paths closely around the core. I remember the mark being multiple colours, red, green, blue, yellow etc. - we changed them all to shades of blue later on client consultation. It was then just a case of bringing the hydrogen atoms to life and making them move around the core, without bumping.

Because it was early days in 3D - there was no Flash output. I laboured one of the junior designers of the time with the process of recreating all the frames of the end animation in vector Flash. It turned out nicely at least!

So, I think it was one of those rare occurences of a brand identity that started with an animation. And moved on from there. The client bought the idea and the pitch in one go.

I think it was in the studio for 18 months and the brand guidelines generated in the end topped 750 pages.

More reading: Sasol re-brand at Firedog, and Sasol's Electronic Brand Book (2.3mb SWF)

Wimpy

Up until I started this series, I'd always assumed that Wimpy is a uniquely South African brand. As it turns out, Wimpy was founded in London in 1954 while the brand (originally called Wimpy Bars) was originally created as early as the 1930s. By the early 1970s the business had expanded to over a thousand restaurants in 23 countries.

Wimpy UK, which comprises 194 outlets across England, Scotland and Wales, and operates a further 20 restaurants under a master licence arrangement in Ireland, is the largest independently owned franchised restaurant chain in the United Kingdom. The business owns the Wimpy trademark in 15 European countries.

Wimpy opened in South Africa in Durban in 1967. Today, Wimpy is one of the leading restaurant franchise groups in South Africa with more than 400 restaurants.

Famous Brands, owner of the Wimpy franchise in South Africa, acquired Wimpy UK in February 2007. Having acquired the brand, Famous Brands rebranded Wimpy in the UK to bring it in line with Wimpy South Africa.

The bun logo in use today is apparently one used by Wimpy UK from the 1960s until the 1980s. After a bit of digging on Google and Yahoo's image searches, I came across the following Wimpy logos, although I have no idea when and where they were in use.

My understanding is that the logo currently in use evolved from previous revisions and has since found its way back to the UK. So not strictly a South African logo, but a South African-owned brand and a real icon which I feel deserves some recognition. I love how the logo captures the essence of the brand with such simplicity.

Neotel

The much anticipated Second National Operator (SNO) for fixed line telecommunication services in South Africa, Neotel is licensed as South Africa's first alternative infrastructure-based telecoms provider, capable of delivering a broad range of wireline and wireless data telecoms services on a national and international level. It launched in August 2006.

The Brand Union, a global brand agency with 21 offices worldwide, were tasked with a full brand creation which began in November 2005. I hope they don't mind that I've borrowed some images from their photo journal to illustrate how the logo mark was conceptualised:

You can view a comprehensive case study on their website. What follows is a short extract:

The primary identity is composed of two points connected by the energy of communication. These "points" could represent people, places, ideas, even business opportunities. But overall, the symbol stands for Connectivity. Communication. Possibility.

This uniquely South African symbol draws from a warm, rich palette and resonates with the exuberance of a South African sunrise. The dawn of something new. Ultimately optimistic, the symbol is reflective of a future of hope. The activated orange creates a dynamic plane of colour in which the identity lives and advances. This creates the impression of the symbol living on, and beyond the page, advancing towards the customer. This upward, dynamic movement suggests aspiring to new heights.

Etc, etc, etc. See the logo in action on the Neotel website and in their first television ad:

Continued: Part 3