Future ready: evolving the Aware Super Brand

First State Super wanted to refresh its brand and adopt the new name Aware Super as it moved beyond its traditional NSW public sector base. But in doing so, the fund didn’t want to diminish its existing strong brand equity.

Scope of work

  • Create the design system

  • Specify brand architecture

  • Develop brand guidelines

  • Develop digital guidelines

  • Create an image library

  • Develop an illustration style and suite

  • Create assets for the new branded environment

Evolution not revolution

Six Black Pens’ job was to bring the refreshed brand to life, through a new design system reflecting the evolved strategy and the delivery of a more relevant, sophisticated and eye-catching identity that resonated with consumers. But this was to be an evolution, not a revolution. As Six Black Pens Head of Creative Joe Mayock notes: “That was an essential part of our brief: to bring the best of the past forward, but refreshed for the future.”

Understanding the who

In repositioning, Aware Super wanted to capture its essential character as a spirited changemaker. It was Six Black Pens’ job to envisage what this looked like. In two intense weeks of ideation, we delved into different brand expressions and ultimately mapped out a creative territory that reflected the super fund’s essence.

Building the creative blocks

From here we designed the individual components of the new brand identity, ensuring every element justified its role within a wider conceptual framework. The resulting library of assets combined to form a true system versus a collection of individual elements, delivering an outward brand expression that clearly distinguished Aware Super from the competition.

“The Six Black Pens team were essential in evolving our brand, working tirelessly to pull everything together to meet the relaunch deadline. Six Black Pens’ commitment and willingness to collaborate meant we were able to capture what makes us distinct and recognisable, but in a way that was refreshed for an exciting future.”

Leyla Rogers, Senior Manager, Brand Strategy, Aware Super

Sprinting to the finish

“A big part of the story was the window in which we had to operate,” Mayock says. “We literally did nine months of work in three, most of the time working remotely.” On top of that, Aware Super required finished assets throughout. “We achieved that by working in rapid sprints,” Mayock explains. “We had to constantly give our client a component – a piece of the puzzle as it were – without us having the whole picture. A huge challenge, but hugely rewarding to see it all come together.”