Case Study: Senserva

The company that would become Senserva was founded in 2018 by networking security expert Mark Shavlik. Our initial meetings led to the project requiring not only a visual logo, but the name itself.

What follows is a summary of the visuals presented to the client to craft and fine-tune the brand.

Brand Strategy

I decided early on to dissuade him from using the brand name “Speed of Logic”. I didn’t feel it read well, and didn’t really express what I feel his company was all about. His company was all about embracing this new serverless wave, and I wanted to make a statement around that. I convinced the client to let me pick a word, and I did several brainstorming and experimentation sessions with and without his input. I tried honoring his native country of the Czech Republic, his new country/state of Minnesota, his name, Latin, even Norse syllables. 

The Solution

In the end, I decided to go with a slight modification to the Esperanto word for “without server”, which is “senservo”. I thought the creator of Esperanto and Mark both had similar visions for the world, and how their contributions would be seen as universal and unifying. “Senserva” was also conveniently available in every domain extension since it was totally new.
Initial naming research
More names presented to client
Branding keywords weighted by client from 1 to 3

Logo Design

The logo was designed to express the “serverless” aspect of the company, and also be a strong visual mark. I designed an S shape that would sort of ‘fold’ in 3D around an invisible cube – representing the non-server. The client loved the idea, and I refined it to the current shape. A lot of paper was sacrificed in the making of this logo, but I can assure you it really would wrap around a cube! The “line” down the middle was my attempt to make the shape “impossible” and add some interest.
Initial sketches going for some kind of "double S thing"
Still trying to make this S shape work... Adding math sometimes helps...
Sketches showing me coming up with initial idea for "invisible server" concept
Exploring the "Three-dimensional S around an invisible server" concept

Final approved logo design

Branding Collateral

The deliverables included my standard Logo Kit (many file types, sizes, colours, and configurations), a Brand Standards Guide (multi-page PDF), a WordPress Website which included customized illustrations, Business Cards and a Powerpoint Template.

Front of Business Cards
Back of Business Cards