Our Philosophy

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Most people see the brand as a process of creation. As a result, they add layers in order to establish themselves as a developed brand. However, as they add layers, they drift further away from the unique value. We believe that branding is ultimately a stripping away of what is less relevant so that the core of their brand’s identity can shine through.

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Finding the heart of a brand is a process of removal, not invention. We looked at what was already there. 

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For CU Travel, the heart of the brand was our clients themselves and the unique audience they attract. As we stripped the layers, the brand pretty much revealed itself.

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Let’s take a look at how that approach played out with CU Travel.

They would go to industry events, set up a tiki hut, and wear tropical shirts instead of suits and ties. The team, two of whom are brothers, was fun and family-oriented. Our solution wasn’t a process of creative invention, but taking what was already present in the culture of CU Travel and playing it out more intensely. 

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At its heart, the brand identity of CU Travel is accessible, community-focused, and playful. CU Travel asked the question: What is travel to the average person? It’s not just “getting away.” It’s a wife texting her husband, “we should take the kids to Puerto Rico. I just saw this deal!” or a best friend pulling a group trip together with his college buddies. They haven’t been able to align their schedules to see each other in 6 years. What better way to make more memories together than travel? After all, a trip is never wasted when it’s shared, because it’s ultimately an investment in memory, and in relationships.

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This attracted a younger audience that typical competing brands do not attract. As a result, we avoided the stuffy “elite” brands and generic “adventure” brands of competitors. 

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Our strategic theory was to make a brand for younger audiences in order to attract them to credit unions, rather than existing older members. Our rationale? Younger members are the key growth lever for CU Travel’s credit union partners. So we decided to position CU Travel as accessible, yes, but with a very playful twist. This filled a market gap and aligned with the client’s fun, authentic team culture.

The Logo
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At first glance, CU Travel’s custom drawn logos represent how they do travel differently. For example, rather than looking like every other flamingo design out there, our flamingo proudly leaves the flock and does things differently; just like we do! 

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Featuring a balance of professionalism and flair, the logotype was inspired by the curvatures and bends that flamingos make with their necks. It was customized to promote adventure while also maintaining composure to continue providing customers with a sense of trustworthiness.

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Fonts

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Typography is a key asset to the CU Travel brand. It was selected to provide proper contrast, clarity, and character in the overall visual appearance. The Headline typeface is GT Era Display Black. It is clear, bold, and provides a straightforward, attention-grabbing effect. Our Pre-headings, Subheadings, and Body Copy are the JetBrains Mono Family. This was specifically chosen to pay homage to the type found on classic, printed plane tickets..

Colors

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The color palette for CU Travel was constructed to invoke feelings of travel, excitement, and adventure in a way that is destination-neutral. The colors effectively promoted a tropical destination and an arctic destination; an urban destination and a rural destination.

Photography

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Photography selection was absolutely crucial to how CU Travel was promoted. To build on CU Travel’s existing equity through association with the Credit Union, we used photos that look like User Generated Content—effectively, photos taken by clients themselves, not during a professional photoshoot. Selfies or action shots taken on trips were perfect.

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We prize authenticity in our photography. So photos had to be indistinguishable from an authentic social media post with a low following. 

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Less polished and slightly raw. 

Icons and badges

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We created a custom designed icon pack to visually communicate clearly and effectively while promoting the adventure, joy, and fun that CU Travel promotes. Each of these were used by themselves as stamp elements on marketing materials, or as part of a larger system of badges featuring approved tag-lines.

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We also created badge features. They included a pre-approved tagline or saying in order to guarantee brand language consistency. 

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Takeaway

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Professionalism and distinctiveness don’t have to be opposed. We pushed CU Travel to embrace its unique culture, avoiding the generic branding of both credit unions and travel competitors.

The result? A highly distinctive brand that stands out, is more emotionally appealing, and serves as a stronger top-of-funnel asset.

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