Brand and design consultancy StormBrands has partnered with London Business School to create a visual identity, tone of voice and suite of marketing materials for the school’s Black in Business club.

London Business School is consistently ranked as one of the best business schools in the world and has more than 45,000 alumni based in 155 countries globally. Black in Business’s primary purpose is to cultivate an environment that promotes the representation, wellbeing and advancement of Black students, allies and alumni of London Business School. With only 0.9% of Black executives at FTSE 100 companies (down from 1.3% in 2014) in a UK population that is 3.6% Black*, Black in Business aims to act as a centre of community for all Black students and allies at London Business School, amplify Black voices on the London Business School campus and access better job opportunities for Black students across all programmes.

Born in 1994, StormBrands is an independent creative agency with offices in London and Leeds. The agency’s expertise spans brand strategy, communications, digital, moving image and packaging design with global clients across retail, corporate and FMCG sectors.

Having worked on the Women in Business conference visual identity, ‘equall’ for London Business School, StormBrands was approached by Black in Business founders Tabria Lenard and Cole Agbede to create a global brand platform for the association with the ambition to create a major impact in the business world. With more CEOs named Steve than there are Black CEOs on the FTSE 100 and 8 companies accounting for 25% of all the FTSE 100s directors of colour*, Black in Business needed to represent much more than just a student club and a business school, it needed to feel like a force for positive change and a clear statement of intent to inspire a better future.

StormBrands has created a vibrant, bold and distinctive visual identity that is a powerful expression of Black In Business.

Dynamic typography is paired with a disruptive colour palette and married with simple, clear, cut-through copywriting. Colour plays an important role – dynamic blue adds bold and vibrant tone whilst also expressing confidence and reliability. Black adds depth and texture as well as delivering on professionalism and attitude, while neutral grey brings balance and harmony to applications, providing the perfect platform for brand elements to stand out.

The brand’s tone of voice is professionally empowering, unapologetically confident, naturally welcoming and positively sharp. A connective keyline graphic device helps connect content, guide and disrupt layouts and bring focus to stories.

The logo, typography and use of colour packs just the right amount of attitude and the brand’s tone of voice and language put it at the centre of the conversation.

The whole identity has been designed with the end application in mind – it’s a design language that doesn’t need a designer to implement it!

Richard de Hoxar, StormBrands Creative Director commented:

“We were both humbled and excited by the challenge to collaborate on a brand, a new identity with the Black in Business team that not only helps the organisation connect with more people but also educates those with whom they connect about real issues facing Black students today.

Our immersive approach, born from a process of educating, collaborating and understanding led to our creative idea; ‘IN the conversation’. A simple, powerful, and effective solution to help empower their team to create positive momentum towards a brighter business future for all.”

Tabria Lenard, Black In Business added:

“From StormBrands’ initial outreach to our final approval of assets, the team has shown a true eagerness, passion, and commitment to accurately capturing and enhancing the messages that we wanted to send. We are beyond pleased with the outcome and know that StormBrands was a crucial part of laying the foundation of who we are and how we present Black in Business to the world. The work they’ve played a role in developing aims to solve real problems in our society. Everyone who worked on our account definitely understood the assignment and delivered.”

*Fortune.com, US Census Bureau, Green Park Leadership 10,000 Report, Bloomberg