Accelerate Off-grid Touring

brand design: messaging | logo design | brand identity

Building on the success and reputation of Accelerate Auto Electrics, the decision was made to create a new parallel business under the Accelerate umbrella to target a more specific market of custom off-grid touring vehicles and caravans.

The target market was very different to the existing ‘electrical problems’ customer pool, shifting to a more aspirational customer who is looking for a premium, custom touring solution. From a brand design point-of-view this meant creating all new messaging, logo and descriptor, plus overall look and feel. From a business point-of-view this meant creating separate product ranges and pricing to reflect the new market, without affecting the existing auto electrics business.

Co-owners Andrew and Briohny also wanted to build a new business around a topic and lifestyle they enjoy, making it very natural and authentic for them to share their knowledge and passion with customers.

The design process began with the OUTLINE discovery and strategy phase to set a foundation for the project, followed by the WRITE messaging and taglines phase. Through the messaging process the 'Off-grid Touring' part of the name was born, and then the design ideation phase began to create a new logo.

After a vast range of sketches and colours options were considered, we crafted a new logomark, created a custom stencil-style logotype, and a descriptor line which all work together to create the logo.

The Accelerate logo is made up of a logomark, logotype, and descriptor. In the logomark there is symbolism that represents adventure, freedom, exploration, and endless possibilities. The shape depicts a road or track that heads towards the horizon with no end point. The curve of the horizon represents the large, wide-open space of the outback. To avoid specific accessories—or literally picturing a 4X4—the design features an off-road tyre shape that can also be seen as a gear or cog, plus the sun rising or setting over the horizon. As such the themes are:

• Mechanical: gear cog and movement
• Off-grid: off-road MT tyre
• Lifestyle: tyre tracks heading towards the horizon (sunrise or sunset)

The tyre tracks heading towards the horizon also shows a sense or direction like the arrow on a compass or modern navigation system; plus it’s a stylised ‘A’ for Accelerate. ‘Accelerate’ is a custom created logotype built from scratch to form a stencil-style slab serif. The breaks are strategically placed to provide legibility, while rounded corners on parts of the lettering use the same radius as the rounded corners on the logomark. The ‘C’s and ‘R’ were also made using a perfect circle to better match the circle in the logomark’s tyre element.

‘Off-grid Touring’ is a descriptor for the business’ off-grid electrical focus, and the logo can appear with or without this descriptor depending on the application and requirements.

The rest of the brand design was then created and a brand design guide produced to keep everything ordered and consistent. The guide includes logo versions and usage, descriptors and taglines, colours and typography, plus the collection of written copy generated during the WRITE phase. Photography styles were also included, namely use of sunset and outback colours whenever possible to help tell the story of going off-grid in Australia.

A number of graphic design examples were also created to bring the brand design to life. It also helps to inform any additional design items that may get produced in the future. These included business card designs, a brochure layout, a website mock-up, a new design for the front of the workshop in Maroochydore, plus some concepts around vehicle decals.

As a true testament to the value of a brand design guide, Andrew and Briohny have been able to take the brand assets and guide we created and progressively roll out the brand design across their entire business. This has included an almost literal translation of the exterior workshop design, production of stickers and etched decals for the various products they install, plus a range of shirts and signage to place the brand design throughout the office and workshop. Even the 'Accelerator' 79 Series got a decal treatment to help promote the brand while on and off the road.

We were then engaged to create a custom wrap design for the new Accelerate Isuzu NPS300 Crew Cab 4x4 truck, which the family has already started touring parts of Australia in.

Accelerate also produced the video below making great use of the new brand design—with logomarks and logos featured throughout on shirts, signage, supers and title screens.

The end result from the brand design process was a distinctly separate brand to the existing auto electrics business, allowing both businesses to operate side-by-side while speaking to two different target markets. Ultimately the new brand has worked to capture additional market share to grow the business while improving profit margins via premium positioning.

You can follow Accelerate Off-grid Touring on Facebook and subscribe to their popular YouTube channel.

You can visit Accelerate's website and online store here: accelerateoffgrid.com.au

Images of the Accelerator 79 Series by Black Knight Off-road: Facebook and Instagram.
Images of the Accelerator Isuzu NPS300 by All Terrain Warriors: Instagram.