October wanted a brand that communicates their experience, personal approach and deep industry insight in a direct, honest way and to a number of audiences from digital industry clients, to candidates looking for a new role.

The first thing that struck us was that October had a unique asset that they were under using: their name. It is important that a company feels allied to a name, even though in this case the name had originally been chosen for personal reasons. With this in mind, we sought to make ‘October’ ownable, memorable and also to instill it with meaning. Taking their name as a starting point, we created a series of brand statements that work individually, or come together to form a manifesto. Each statement reiterates a way that October is different and gives both staff and clients clear reasons as to what it is that makes this recruiter special.

The conscious choice not to use imagery meant developing a visual look that is singular and direct in its approach – in keeping with the statements. Typography and colour are unashamedly bold; block caps in a very simple palette that uses a yellow highlight and white copy on a bright red background.

Although October is immersed in all things digital, we were keen that the brand didn’t stray into the cliché of overtly referencing the online world through its graphic approach–the underlined headlines are the one subtle nod to digital media. The final brand is honest, intelligent and straight talking, using the manifesto consistently across business cards, postcards, the website and all other visual assets.