Calyx Brand Identity

Sensing even the slightest trace of chemical compounds is delicate business in a rigid and technical industry. But for Calyx, a Silicon Valley-based IoT startup, this is exactly what they engineered—multi-gas detection technology inspired by biology. As a recent newcomer, the company needed to build its credibility and properly communicate its essence with the correct name, visual system, and website. Further, to fuel their growth, Calyx’s new brand image and materials would need to support pitches for additional funding rounds and launching their first products in the market.

Our approach

Communicating Calyx’s vision and technology required a delicate balance—we sought a suitable name and visual identify for a complex technology that didn’t exist in the market previously. Our team chose the name “calyx” because of its biological connotation (the part of a plant’s anatomy that holds the flower) and its visualization of grasping a small and precious element. The logo, copy, and visuals needed to be clear and recognizable because of two barriers: on one hand, Calyx’s highly technical business meant the materials we produced needed to be understandable for a non-technical audience; on the other hand, Calyx’s sensors are extremely small and the logo would need to be simple and elegant enough to be legible on a small device. Much in-line with Calyx’s rigorous startup nature, our team executed the project from strategy development to naming, visual design, and website launch in a six-month time frame.

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