Meraki

INTRODUCTION

Year
2020
Industry
Resource Management, Logistics
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Crafting a Unified Vision: Rebranding KDL Group as Meraki Resources for a Sustainable Future

It’s a rare gift to discover a company that is genuinely invested in creating a sustainable and equitable future. That’s what excited us about the KDL Group, a British Columbia-based resource management organization. It was clear these guys were passionate about what they did and what they believed in from the get-go. They just needed a better way of showcasing it.

Like many companies we have worked with over the years, the KDL Group had grown organically through strategic acquisitions and partnerships. Once growth crosses a certain threshold, though, you reach a crossroads. How do you build a unified brand and vision without compromising your subsidiaries’ established identities and brand equity? Like Simon Sinek says, you have to start with why.

We worked with the KDL team in a series of workshops designed to break down and solidify their brand and organizational “Why.” From there, we could put all the pieces back together with a new name, a modern logo, an inspirational video, and a sweet new website. It was the fresh perspective that KDL needed as it moved into the next phase of its operations. Introducing Meraki Resources.

Defining Purpose: Building Meraki Resources Around a Community-Centered Mission

There’s no denying that brands built around a clear organizational purpose are the ones that are primed for success. To help clarify and articulate KDL’s “Why,” we conducted workshops with its leadership team, giving shape to how the new brand’s ethos would live internally and externally.

After our workshops, one point became clear: KDL, and by extension, its new brand, needed to maintain the strong community focus they’d built over years in the field. KDL’s business revolved around building, supporting, and growing relationships with local and Indigenous communities. They knew that their path to sustainable growth and continued transformation was made possible by the strong partnerships they’d built along the way. The company was on a mission to transform the resource management sector, and they were determined to do so in collaboration with these community partners.

Discovering “Meraki” as the Heart of KDL’s New Identity

Although their existing name spoke to the leadership team’s strong family roots and legacy, the KDL Group was ready for a change. The name was muddying relationships with subsidiary brands and didn’t reflect the organization’s core values. They needed something aspirational—something that the entire organization could rally behind.

With these goals in mind, Massive led KDL through naming workshops designed to find a new, more appropriate name. We identified the brand’s distinguishing features within its market context. From there, we noted major themes and went to work.

Part of our creative brainstorming process explores words in other languages. This is because oftentimes there are terms in other languages that you just can’t express as concisely in English. (It also makes trademarking much easier.) In KDL’s case, we found a Greek word that seemed just right: “Meraki.”

Meraki’ is a modern Greek word used to describe what happens when you leave a piece of yourself, your soul, your creativity, or love into your work. It’s a word that authentically reflected everything we had learned about KDL to-date.
René Thomas, Chief Creative Officer @ Takt

Crafting Meraki’s Visual Identity with Legacy and Transparency

From messaging to visual identity, our branding work with Meraki revolved around this core idea of community.

The new Meraki logo incorporates a core triangular element from the original KDL Group logo as a visual nod to the company’s storied legacy. The layers used in the updated design add a sense of balance and transparency, reflecting the company’s new corporate structure and the inherent honesty and trust that underpin its unique relationships. The green chosen as the brand’s new color offers a vibrant, contemporary sense of nature that invigorates the overall look and feel.

A Bold Website for Meraki’s Industry Leadership

In a hands-on industry like resource management, your digital presence can sometimes take a back seat. As industry leaders, Meraki had an opportunity to set the standard, starting with the first impression delivered by their new website.

Intentional design decisions, like a darker theme for the website, blueprint-reminiscent gridlines, and mosaic grid layouts, help make Meraki’s new site stand out from the competition. Throughout the website, value-driven messaging speaks to the company’s community commitments, while bright, resource-focused imagery and slick animations reinforces Meraki’s story.