Boomtown revamps National Space Agency’s visual brand identity

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) turned to Boomtown to invigorate its visual identity in a way that raises the space agency’s profile within South Africa yet retains its global recognition amongst their peers.

While SANSA plays a vital role in providing the infrastructure and personnel to make sure systems like telecommunication networks, GPS navigation and weather reports are constantly available to the South African public, not many people know they exist or understand their impact on their daily lives.

The Boomtown team of specialists put to work for SANSA included Design Director Jesse Sharkie, and designers Nick de Beer, Danelle Claassen and Michelle Conway-Cleaves

In a nutshell, the challenge was to reinvigorate its design language to thrust the brand into a contemporary design space more befitting of an African space agency without abandoning the ‘old’ identity entirely and risking losing its global presence.

“Boomtown’s strategy team of Stuart Innell and Lara-Anne Derbyshire first developed a new brand strategy centred around creating a ‘legacy of impact’. This idea spoke of a lasting and committed contribution to South Africa and was used as the North Star in guiding SANSA’s refreshed brand identity,” said Sharkie.

“From there, the brand design team began the work to roll out its identity and design solution. This focused on a design language system that showcased directly where impact was being made and highlighted the connection back to SANSA using an authentically South African space aesthetic.

“To ensure this authenticity speaks to the very hearts of South Africans, we turned to South African culture for inspiration and combine our visual aesthetic with that of the visual cues of space. This resulted in African beadwork, pattern work and assegais being combined with the infinite and impactful nature of space to create ‘impact radials’.

“These radials not only bring focus on where impact is being made, they emphasise that impact is not only on the individual, it radiates outwards to all communities in South Africa. It’s an effect that is felt in the lives of those across the country, where SANSA’s impact enables lasting memories and true moments of connection between friends and families,” he concluded.