Aquinox Pharmaceuticals Brand Development and Activation

the client challenge

Aquinox Pharmaceuticals had recently articulated a revised corporate narrative as it prepared to enter a new therapeutic area, and needed to ensure that its brand reflected what it stood for as a company. Although their name would not change, new brand attributes, role, and visual identity needed to be developed.

the approach

Discover

-Orangefiery, in partnership with our branding partner, led a half-day working session to understand Aquinox brand objectives, perceptions, aspirations, assets, and other inputs into the brand development process.

-Following the initial workshop, we conducted a series of research interviews with Aquinox employees, patients living with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS), health care providers, and investors. The interviews focused on securing insights into their experiences with the condition and what they believed a company dedicated to IC/BPS should deliver. The analysis of all interviews – internal to Aquinox and external stakeholders – provided rich information to inform the development of initial brand concepts.

Develop

-Utilizing the information we learned in the discovery phase, we developed a three-chapter brand story and brand differentiators, along with proposed brand attributes and a brand role to be workshopped with the Aquinox team.

-Once the brand attributes and brand role were finalized, our branding design partner created a series of logo options. Each option placed emphasis on a different set of brand attributes and was presented with a color pallet and typeface.

Deploy

-After the Aquinox team selected a logo, we created a brand style guide summarizing how the brand should be implemented throughout future designed content and imagery.

-We brought the new brand identity to life in a completely new Aquinox website and a suite of branded materials, including a PPT template and letterhead.

the result

The new Aquinox visual brand identity was ready to launch at the flip of a switch with the announcement of positive Phase 3 data in IC/BPS. Unfortunately, the trial did not meet its endpoints.