Vivo Apartments
Branding a modern apartment community for Cambridge’s innovation district
We partnered with Aimco to create the full brand identity for ViVO Apartments—a modern, energetic community designed for young professionals working in Cambridge’s expanding biotech and tech sectors. From naming and logo design to graphic elements and brand voice, we developed a visual system that reflects the vibrancy, creativity, and movement of the neighborhood.
Client
Aimco
Industry
Multifamily Residential
Scope of Work
Brand Strategy, Naming, Brand Identity, Tagline, Illustration, Signage, Print Collateral
Our naming strategy focused on bridging the biotech context with Millennial sensibilities. Vivo, meaning ‘life’ and echoing lab vernacular, proved both authentic and memorable.
The Challenge
We had to make this boutique building of just 91 units, stand out in a Kendall Square neighborhood with a LOT of amenity-rich competitive buildings, both existing and soon to come.
Our target audience was young, hip, and savvy, comprising many young professionals of different nationalities working at both established and start-up tech companies.
We positioned Vivo as a community, where people could come together to enjoy the Kendall Square lifestyle… cinema, Charles River, access to Boston, Central Square, Harvard Square, indie clubs, international restaurants and other diverse leisure opportunities.
The Solution
The name means “with life and vigor.” The mark was inspired by the geometric glass shapes and test tubes in biotech, recognizing that some residents will be working in the biotech companies near the project.
“We worked with illustrator Jody Hewgill to develop a painting that captured the energy and lifestyle of the building as well as the international nature of the target audience.
The tagline we developed (O the possibilities!) is punctuated throughout the branding graphics by using the O in the woman’s hair, in the patterns of the clothing, the ear phones and elsewhere.
We used color, illustration, and lively wording to create a distinct and memorable personality that could override the ho-hum marketing of other properties and present Vivo as a great place to live that suited the lifestyle of the target audience.
The logo uses the shapes of medical flasks and beakers as an inspiration for the logo.
Futura’s clean, geometric forms echo the bold shapes of the Vivo logo, reinforcing its modern, playful, and architectural character.
The color palette uses bold orange-red, vibrant chartreuse, crisp white, and deep navy to create a bright, fresh, attention-getting identity.
With bold patterns and adaptable logo positioning, the brand was able to evolve and extend across a wide range of applications.
Award-winning illustrator Jody Hewgill developed a painting that captured the energy and lifestyle of the building as well as the international nature of the target audience.
The tagline’s O becomes a defining element, repeated through the illustration patterns to anchor the brand’s visual language with clarity and intention.
Collateral and signage concepts extend the brand with a cohesive, contemporary visual language.
