Anson Evaluate — distilling a brand message

The start of a brand journey

The story of Anson Evaluate – a leading compliance and training firm – for me, began while working with the law firm Digital Law. Dr Heather Anson, the founder of Anson Evaluate had set up the company while also helping set up the law firm Digital Law for Solicitor Peter Wright. At the time, her company’s positioning was in association with Digital Law — and didn’t have it’s own name or brand. Heather had contributed during many of our initial consultations with Digital Law, and had been integral to the design process. She wanted to apply the experience to her own company, and really solidify its identity from a strategic branding perspective.

I agreed with her, and was happy to help. The loose association between Digital Law and Heather’s business wasn’t going to work moving forward. It had become clear to me while working with Heather and Peter that her company should really be a distinct entity which needed its own messaging, feel and style; something that would ensure there was no confusion between them.

A new name

As with all my clients, the design process always begins by taking the time to listen to their story. How did they get to where they’re at now? What is their vision for the company, and how does their offering work? We had already discussed some of this with Heather while in conversation about Digital Law. But it was during a meeting at our studios bouncing a few ideas off each other that we came up with her company’s name.

I really believed that integrating Heather’s last name into her business would give it that mark of credibility. I’ve done the same with Herron; it’s all about putting your personal guarantee on the work that you do, and encouraging people to trust in that. Heather had previously run a US law firm for ten years called Anson Law, so it felt right to bring that professional heritage into this business. She came up with the ‘evaluation’ part — she wasn’t a fan of consultancy, as a term, and felt ‘evaluation’ reflected what the company did for its clients. I agreed; the name reflected the company’s unique offering and paid homage to her own journey.

Putting the pieces together

We knew from the start that the Anson Evaluate website and brand had to reflect Heather’s vision and attract a different audience from that of Digital Law. Heather wanted to draw in very corporate clients — which meant the whole look and feel needed to impart a sense of reliability and safety. They are, after all, a compliance and training firm — security is one area of expertise, and they work so hard to protect their clients’ businesses and reputations.

We did several different treatments on the logo, but all agreed on the final version in black and white. Heather was keen on having every aspect of the branding feel both professional and approachable; key terms she knew would appeal to a larger, corporate audience. All of these elements — from the name and logo, to the company’s vision and ideal audience — come together as part of distilling a brand’s message; it’s something we love getting right for our clients, and a foundational aspect of a company’s digital strategy.