Using this guide.
If you're reading this, you're an important part of how comundo presents itself to the world.
This is a brand book, but that doesn't mean it only applies to marketing, advertising and design. The comundo brand extends to everyone and should be used by everyone because it is rooted in our culture and reflects everyone who works here.
And that's why you won't find a lot of rambling about ethos or seemingly endless metaphors about brand as an entity. The brand is simply us, and we are the brand: a collective voice and a full picture.
In this book are useful ways to talk about our product, words to convey what we value as a company, and the knowledge to clearly communicate our past achievements and future goals.
You'll find all the correct ways to use logos, colours and graphics, as well as guidelines for photos and videos so that we're always on the same page.
This brand book has two core purposes:
→ 01
A place for guidelines
Tell me all I need to know about the comundo brand
→ 02
A place for resources
Give me some of that good comundo brand stuff I can use
Who is this guide for?
→ comundo’s own brand and creative team
→ Freelancers and extensions to that team
→ Employees looking to learn about our look, feel and purpose
→ Journalists looking for the comundo press kit
→ Partners looking to showcase our logos in their respective channels
→ Passersby looking to explore good brand work
Contents.
01.
The company.
The story (in brief).
comundo was founded in 2022 with two clear goals: to create the world's best workplace and to be the world’s biggest contributor to a net-zero planet. Everything we do is measured against these goals.
To do this, we ask ourselves:
- Will this impact our team’s well-being?
- Will this bring value to our customers and their net-zero strategy?
We’re immensely proud of our approach to business – and we know it works.
We have a seasoned team who have the autonomy and surroundings they need to thrive, and a product that gives companies access to real-time energy prices and accurate emissions data from their buildings based on actual energy consumption. Not estimates.
And that’s pretty darn cool.
What is it we actually do?
In a nutshell? We’re a carbon accounting platform for building owners that keeps things simple, accurate and affordable.
The less-nutshell version is: comundo is the only plug-and-play carbon accounting and energy management solution that provides property owners with energy data based on actual consumption – not estimates. This enables them to monitor and optimise their energy consumption, reduce carbon emissions and meet and exceed legal requirements and stakeholder expectations.
Not bad, right? But that’s not all we do. We also play by different rules.
How do we do that? Our brand.
02.
Brand core.
We know that the product, stripped of all the fluff, the pizazz, the je ne sais quoi is what people use. It’s the functional part of comundo, and what makes us so different from competitors (and, you know, without it, we wouldn’t exist).
But that's not the only thing that makes us stand out
There’s also how we talk. How we look. How we sound. You know, all that fluffy stuff we stripped away to get to the core product.
The product is unparalleled, so let’s reflect that in everything we do.
Instead of falling into the bland template category of just another carbon accounting company, let’s break the rules and get noticed.
This whole industry is fairly complex (and can be pretty boring) and we want to make it easy to navigate, and yeah, bring a little fun while we’re at it.
Our product is a second-to-none platform that solves our customers’ needs effectively and easily, and our brand is a no-nonsense original that cuts through the noise and dares to be different.
Vision.
Our reason for being and what we aim to achieve.
Mission.
What we do and how we aim to achieve our vision.
Values.
How we operate and what everything is built on.
comundo was founded with people at its heart. Sure, we knew we were on to something with the product, but to build the team – the group of people who would ultimately be responsible for the success of the company – that was something else
Community.
We see comundo as a community. A place where we support each other, celebrate our wins and never judge. We believe that you should know where the company is going, how you fit into that narrative and how you help propel it forward, but most of all, we want you to live the life you want to live
Mastery.
We believe in smarter, not harder. It’s knowing yourself, being in charge of your time and understanding what’s needed in order to bring value to the company, our customers – and you. We want everyone to be proud of what they do and where they work, so they can be the best – and so can we
Doing good.
It all starts with people. By working together with respect, integrity and kindness, we believe we can not only create the world’s best workplace but we can also create a better experience for our customers – and a better world
Brand manifest.
The climate crisis.
As individuals and organisations, we know that action is urgently needed.
But the sustainability space is awash with misinformation, greenwashing, and false promises. The need for accurate information, effective legislation, and collective action has never been greater.
This is where comundo comes in.
We’re not going to promise that we’ll fix the climate crisis. But we can promise that we’ll do everything we can to do the right thing – and do things right.
But we can’t do this alone.
Our role is that of an enabler.
Our data infrastructure will serve as the foundation upon which companies worldwide measure, manage, and optimise their energy use and carbon emissions. Every customer that joins comundo contributes towards mitigating the climate crisis – and helps us achieve our vision of being the world’s biggest contributor to a net-zero planet.
As a company, we pledge to:
- Put planet and people first
- Simplify wherever possible
- Challenge norms and conventions in everything we do
- Keep it honest and transparent –even when it hurts
- Stay positive
- Share knowledge, help others, and champion community
With this, we aim to change the course of climate change, upend the entire sustainability space, and pave the way to a sustainable future for all.
03.
Persona and language.
So who is comundo? How are we different from the rest and how do we communicate that to everyone – including you?
We’re reliable but progressive.
It’s pretty simple really. We’re a business, and people need to be able to rely on us and the service we provide. Without that trust, we’d be kaput before you could say ‘accurate data’.
But being reliable doesn’t mean being boring. Not here, anyway. We don’t see why we can’t be reliable and trustworthy and progressive and a little boundary-pushy (see? We did it with grammar boundaries right there! Crazy, we know).
Our customers want to be associated with a plucky yet trustworthy startup that’s changing the face of carbon accounting. We want to stand out from the rest of the yawn-when-you-see-them crowd. Come on, it writes itself; it was meant to be.
We’re professional but energetic.
We know our carbon accounting. We know our data. And we know our customers (hey, Sophie!). We understand the complexity of our industry and recognise the pressure building owners are under to act on their emissions – and we’re here to alleviate that pressure. You know; professionally.
Professionally – and with a bucketload of gusto. We’re not your average carbon accounting company. Heck, we’re not your average startup (four-day working week? What?). What we are is a bunch of people who know their stuff and are here for a reason, not just a job.
comundo's voice and tone.
A human wrote this sentence, and a human will read it. What does that mean? It means we know we’re talking to you – a living, breathing human. We know you’re not a company or a nameless cog in the machine. You’re you, and you’re exactly who we want to talk to.
How do we do that? By avoiding jargon, using language everyone will understand, and, well, by being human.
As for our tone, well, that depends on the situation; a social media post will be written differently than your emissions report, but the voice is still 100% comundo.
The 100% comundo voice.
What does that even mean? It means …
We’re professional but energetic
We don’t beat about the bush. We get to the point and treat our field of expertise with the professionalism it demands – but we’re excited about what we doing, and that enthusiasm shines through.
We’re progressive but reliable
We’re optimistic about the future. We’re helping companies take their next (or first) step towards becoming net zero – but it’s a complex space, and we need to be seen as a trusted and dependable partner.
Take a look at what we mean ...
04.
Logo.
Through our visual assets, we aim to convey a sense of calm, convenience and reliability together with a good dose of playfulness. We have two core logos, a traditional logo and a wordmark, and there are different rules of use for each.
Our logo.
Our logo is a play on the letter ‘o’ in our name. As a letter, it reflects so much of who we are and what we do; it can symbolise a planet, a wind turbine, completeness – and eternity.
To bring our playfulness into it, and to create an organic feel, we drew visual inspiration from the elements and energy sources we measure with our platform. This creates a strong link between our work and our brand assets, embodying the fluid and organic visual language we want to communicate to our audience.
Logo variations
Our wordmark.
Our wordmark is simple, and executed precisely, featuring clean lines and balanced letterforms. The typography communicates a sense of professionalism and modernity while ensuring legibility and clarity.
The straightforward presentation reflects our brand's commitment to simplicity and our focus on delivering user-friendly solutions.
Overall, our simple wordmark embodies the essence of the brand's ethos, serving as a visual representation of transparency, accuracy, and ease of use.
05.
Colour.
Primary colours.
Primary green.
Primary yellow.
Primary blue.
Primary grey.
Secondary colours.
Secondary green.
Secondary blue.
Secondary olive.
Secondary light grey.
Secondary dark grey.
Neutral and semantic colours.
Neutral black.
Neutral white.
Semantic red.
Semantic green.
06.
Typography.
PP Right Serif
Primary headings
-1% kerning
90% line height
PP Right Serif
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvxyzæøå123456789!”#%&=>?$฿¥€£
Aeonik Medium
Sub headlines
103% line height
Aeonik Medium
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvxyzæøå123456789!”#%&=>?$฿¥€£
Aeonik Regular
Body copy
103% line height
Aeonik Regular
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvxyzæøå123456789!”#%&=>?$฿¥€£
07.
Scribbles.
Scribbles.
We use scribbles to underline and highlight important words and messages.
As a red thread throughout our identity, these scribbles become an expression of accuracy and simplicity.
Furthermore, these scribbles add to the contrast-story, breaking with the professionalism and reliability of our typography and adding energy and progressiveness to our look and feel.
The scribbles are used on top of single words. The color of the scribble must be different from the color of the text.
Make sure that the text is legible - the contrast between text and background should be the focus, and the contrast to the scribble is less important.
08.
Icons.
Icons.
Our icons are an extensions of our scribble elements.
We use icons that have a hand drawn and organic feel in order to highlight the positive and playful energy of our brand.
Furthermore, as a contrast to the professional and strict feel of our typography and grid system, the rough and hand drawn look of our icons emphasise the contrast-story between being professional and reliable, while being progressive and energetic – a core part of our brand persona.
Use The Noun Project' library for icons and add "hand drawn" in your search query when browsing the collection.
09.
Photography.
Level 1: People.
Photos should be:
- Clean
- Blurred background
- Person in centre
- Telling a story
Level 2: Buildings.
Photos should be:
- Of the outside of buildings
- Close-up and cropped
- With an architectural feel
- Showing striking materials, e.g. wood vs steel, concrete
Level 3: Nature and energy sources
comundo focus areas:
- Nature
- Windmills
- Emission neutrality
- Forces of nature (non-violent)
- Fields
- Skylines
Photos should be:
- Close-up and cropped
- Textured
