Exempla Management & Consulting

The challenge: look serious, and stand out in every pitch

Exempla Management & Consulting helps content- and community-driven international associations advance their missions — strategy, management and the events that bring their members together. Their existing presence didn't reflect that level of expertise, and their services were hard to read for the different audiences they serve: association staff, volunteer leaders and wider communities.

The brief had a built-in tension: the new identity had to feel credible within the codes of their sector, yet stand clearly apart from look-alike consultancies. Fit in — without blending in.

Our approach: identity first, then applied everywhere

We ran the project in two phases: first defining an impactful identity, then applying it across the touchpoints that carry Exempla's image. One continuous thread, from the brand key through to the page and the proposal.

Phase 1 — Defining an impactful identity

We started from who Exempla actually is. A kick-off session to surface their DNA, core values and the visual codes of their sector. A competitor scan to map the minimum standards needed to stay credible — and, more importantly, the white space where Exempla could differentiate. From there we built the brand key (differentiation, rational value, emotional value) and a moodboard that modernised the brand without forcing a full rebrand.

The creative rationale

Every choice traces back to what Exempla does: bring people together.

• The circle as the core symbol. A disk is a simple, bold, recognisable shape — and a powerful metaphor. Like an association, it gathers people around a common goal. Where circles overlap, they signal cooperation, co-creation and shared values: the part each member contributes to the whole. That overlap became the heart of the visual language, mixed with photography to keep it human.

• A serif typeface for intelligence and leadership. Serifs carry history — they read as reliable, credible and trustworthy, and are associated with established institutions and intellectual depth. For a consultancy whose value sits in knowledge and strategic thinking, a serif (Roselindale Display, with Queens and Grifo) was both impactful and fitting.

• A colour system that flexes without losing identity. An Exempla Orange signature anchored by a dark slate and a light warm background, with a warm and a cold palette giving range across contexts — distinctive, but never loud.

Phase 2 — Applying the identity where it matters most

An identity only works if it shows up where the brand is judged. For Exempla, that's two things above all: the website, and the proposals they send to win event mandates. So we applied the system to both.

On the website, we restructured how services are presented — making it clear how they combine to serve different types of association clients — and delivered clear, detailed wireframes the webmaster could implement directly, with minimal interpretation. For their proposals and RFPs, we built a PowerPoint template carrying the same circles, type and colour system, so every pitch to a prospective client looks unmistakably Exempla. The two biggest reflections of their image now pull in the same direction.

What we delivered: from brand key to design system

• Brand key — differentiation, rational and emotional value
• Moodboard and visual guidelines — typography, colours, imagery
• Graphical language — the circle system and its use with photography
• Wireframes for homepage, articles and case studies
• Design system in Figma — consistency across every touchpoint
• PowerPoint template for proposals and RFPs, on-brand with the site
• Video and motion briefing for content integration
• 10 key guidelines to keep the brand on track

The outcome: credible on screen, distinctive in every pitch

An identity that reads as native to their sector while standing clearly apart from it — built on a symbol that says exactly what Exempla does. From the brand key to the website and the proposals that win the work, every element pulls in the same direction, giving Exempla a presence their team can own and extend.