Something looks different — introducing the new Posse brand
A long time ago (2013) in a galaxy far far away (the UWS), we started a new agency, called Posse. The goal was to create the un-agency. An agency focused on creating, doing, and delivering — not just about thinking and talking. We had an exclusive focus on mobile, not only because we thought mobile was the most important digital medium, but also because we loved it and we wanted to focus on doing the work we love.
Fast forward 4.5 years and a lot has changed. But, much has stayed the same. We’ve been fortunate enough to work with a wide range of fantastic companies — from Sixpoint to Hamilton. While our bread-and-butter is still mobile apps, we have expanded our design capabilities and are now developing applications for any digital platform, whether it’s Android, web, slack, or a piece of hardware.
As we look ahead, we have a rich ambitions and a we-can-do-anything-we-put-our-minds-to outlook on the future. So, we felt it was time to dust off the brand we created, polish it up, and position it for our next half-decade of growth.
Our updated Posse word mark
The first major change is a modification to our primary Posse word mark. With our new brand refresh we wanted to keep our bold look and feel, but move forward with brighter contrasting colors to give it a more modern look.
The original mark was based on the League Gothic font. We liked it’s condensed lettering and bold stance. But as we look ahead, we want to be more flexible, more contemporary, and more open. We changed to Trade Gothic as a foundation, a wider letter spacing, and a less condensed style. It feels very much like Posse, it’s bold but less fraternity. It keeps us feeling strong without being unnecessarily aggressive.
We’ve also dropped the red box. By removing the holding shape, it allows us more freedom within the brand to move forward across various mediums (as you’ll see below).
A whole new color palette
We never had complete set of colors for Posse beyond our Posse “red”. Our red color served us well, and we were one of the first to embrace the “red box”. But as time went by we noticed more and more digital agencies had symbols in a red box similar to ours.
Rather than move away from red, we opted to change our formulation — our new red “Posse Fire” is a bright, sometimes bordering on pinkish, red that really pops out. We think it’s fresh and bright. In fact, when you put it next to our old red, the old one seems rusty or muddy.
We also fleshed out a more robust palette that gives more complementary options that we can use in different situations. One of our goals was to establish some systems and guidelines, so we can be more consistent.
Introducing our icon: the Infinite Loop
Until now, we only had word mark. In most situations this was fine, but we always felt we needed an icon. Something that we could use as a stamp that says, “This is Posse” without overtly spelling out the word.
The new Posse symbol is made to show an infinite continuous movement that represents our constant drive and open attitude toward the future. It states that our work is never-ending, once we start we just have to keep going. The new icon can stand alone, in a color field, or inside a circle — and gives us the ability to to communicate in new ways.
Changing the way we type
Typography is important to our old and new brand. Our old brand was essentially League Gothic and easy reading san serif fonts.
Looking out how we work today and expect to work in the future, we realize the variety of digital elements we are working with is expanding — and they all need to be cohesive. Typography and color are crucial to driving our brand across all these different mediums.
We’ve established standards, using Trade Gothic for our headlines that set an anchor for the brand, paired with Playfair Display and Work Sans. We also identified back-ups for tools like Google Docs where our choices are limited.
What the future holds
Yes, we still make a ton of mobile apps. But Posse’s future is going to be oh so much more. Any digital touchpoint is our domain. And beyond that, we plan to help ourselves and our clients extend into any medium that will help their products and their brands be successful.
To illustrate that point, we’re going to really start upping our swap game. To help showcase the extensibility of our new brand style, we’ll be rolling out a whole new set of apparel, bags, and accessories.
We’re proud of our company. We’re proud of people. And, we’re proud of our brand.
We hope you like it too.
About Posse
Posse is a NYC-based mobile design and development studio that works with great companies to create amazing apps. Contact us about your digital project.
Interested in learning more about our apps? Check out some of our case studies.
