yello
Formerly Recsolu, this successful Chicago startup in the human resources tech space wanted a refresh of their name and branding that would appeal to new customers and investors as they grew. Think Seed partnered with Recsolu to understand their business better before embarking on branding exercises to identify where they were best suited in the competitive landscape. We identified the trajectory of their existing business through to their future vision and ensured that this new brand would give them the flexibility to grow with them.
Naming
A major pain point for Recsolu, short for recruitment solutions, was often needing to clarify and explain the pronunciation. It also sounded a little too cold and technical particularly for an industry that deals with personal interactions.Through various exercises including mind mapping and charting, Think Seed explored name spaces that addressed its value and impact, what it communicated literally and figuratively and how the name sounded. Objectives included keeping it as short as possible (two syllables), easy to recall and spell, and a meaning that worked for both audiences: corporations and job seekers. Further explorations included structural linguistics, morphemes, phonetics, spellings, mind mapping, tone and voice, and evocations,
Introducing Yello
After a thorough ideation process, the name that rose to the surface worked seamlessly with all of the criteria identified through the discovery process. Coincidentally, one of the owners, Jason Weingarten used to answer the phone that way, “Yello.” This further reinforced the concept of “From hello to hire.” The new name has an approachable, almost informal, friendliness, was easy to say while still giving the business flexibility to explore new markets and offerings as opportunities arose.
Extending the Brand
Concurrently, Think Seed had been molding the brand voice, tone, and messaging which created a solid foundation to further explore a logo design and corporate identity.