Kisko Labs is Helsinki-based software company established in 2007. Our mission is to help you build your business in a digital world. We are your trusted advisor whether you need software development, service design, UX or UI design.
Our mission at Kisko is to be able to provide the best software building experience for our clients. Because, let’s face it, buying software and juggling with software projects can be very demanding. It’s a known fact in the field. We can change that and create the best experience, through our customer-oriented approach.
To learn more about our projects, you can check our latest work.
Brand identities are usually updated at certain intervals by a design professional or an agency. We think identity as a constantly evolving process and believe in experimenting. We think design is not just for designers.
Hence brand identity should help everyone accomplish daily tasks with less time. So here you have it, our constantly evolving brand guideline. Enjoy!
Whether you've just started working with us or are a long time veteran we recommend to take 15 minutes to read this guide through.
Our Environment
Identity is shaped by environment. To know us you need to understand where we operate. Here's how we see the world today...
No one knows what to do
Those who claim they do, are lying. We understand that finding the right way is about doing quick small steps: experimenting, testing and prototyping.
The speed of change is accelerating and revolutions are bigger
Of the Fortune 500 companies in 1955 only 12% were left on 2015. The rate of change is exponential and it's becoming almost impossible to foresee changes. You can easily understand 30 linear steps, but 30 exponential steps are impossible to understand.
Digital is the new normal
Digital is no longer just a competitive advantage or a separate thing, but a necessary part of everyday life. Consumers have already chosen digital.
Digital is about choosing modern
The choice is not between digital and analog, but between modern and old-fashioned. There are very few industries where a company can benefit of being old-fashioned.
Digital is not a cost, but an opportunity
Instead of thinking digital as a cost, it should be seen as an opportunity to be strong, blazingly fast and iterative. Services should be developed in cycles of weeks, not quarters.
What we do
We have been building tools on the web with Ruby on Rails since 2007 – we are the most experienced Rails company in Finland. We help clients in different fields to find and create new business models for the digital world.
We help you find the right way
Autamme löytämään oikean tien
Here's what we aim to be...
Kisko is our development partner who makes working on profitable solutions fun and easy. Working with Kisko makes me happy.
Client
Kisko is a good and a safe place to work with an open atmosphere. Kisko is a good career incubator and learning environment for me.
Employee
Kisko is advising us on buying software the right way.
Prospect
Kisko is a good profitable company with a tight-knit and affluent community I enjoy being a part of and where people grow professionally.
Owner
Kisko way
The six most important traits, or values, based on words our employees use to describe us and our way of doing.
Proactive
We don't wait for our clients to get things moving alone. We take responsibility that projects get delivered.
We are as open as possible to clients and each other. If we face issues our solution is not tighter contracts or closing down, but to increase openness.
(agility, adaptability, open mindedness, openness, flexibility)
Learning
Only thing that stays the same is change and we are ready to learn new things. We encourage each other to learn.
None of the above values would be possible without boldness
—they start from being brave.
Logo
Kisko logo consists of an emblem and logotype. Choose the right logo version (black or white) according the medium.
Vertical logo Use this style whenever possible.
Horizontal logo Use when there’s limited amount of space.
Embleme in the same context e.g. presentation slides. Can also be used in promotional materials like shirts.
How to use the logo
Logo usage You can use the horizontal logo or embleme on top of an image. In case you need to use the emblem and full logo in the same material, keep the proportions equal (no scaling).
Logo with a white background Use the black logo if using a light background. Use the emblem only with a image background, Kisko Black or Kisko Blue.
How to ruin the logo
Forbidden logo use Never use the white logo with too light background image. Don't apply any color overlays to the background image.
Forbidden logo use Never change the logo dimensions or spacing. Do not place the logo on top of critical details (such as someone's face) if using a image background. Don't use any other color than white or Kisko Black with the logo. Don't apply drop shadows or any other effects to the logo.
Each logo style has its own rules for clear space. Horizontal logo requires relatively the least amount of space around it, while the emblem requires the most.
Vertical logo clear space
Emblem clear space
Horizontal logo clear space
Colors
Primary colors
These are the main brand colors. Black and blue are the main background colors with orange providing contrast.
Freight Macro Medium is the supporting brand typeface number two
H2 use Freight Macro Medium 2rem
This is heading number three
H3 Use Work Sans 1.25rem, font-weight: 500;
This is heading number four
H4 Use Work Sans 1rem, font-weight: 500; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.1rem;
This is how an ingress text looks like. Use Work Sans Medium 1.5rem. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean sodales in turpis nec egestas. Nulla leo nibh, sollicitudin eget nisl at, dapibus semper nulla. Aliquam facilisis a arcu et fermentum. Aenean laoreet.
Bodytext Example
This is how bodytext looks. Use Work Sans Light. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean sodales in turpis nec egestas. Nulla leo nibh, sollicitudin eget nisl at, dapibus semper nulla. Vivamus dictum, tortor nec placerat laoreet, mauris velit semper odio, eget ornare nunc sem a lorem. Aliquam facilisis a arcu et fermentum. Aenean laoreet tristique eros a dignissim. Aenean malesuada nisi metus, vitae finibus magna molestie non. Pellentesque semper at purus et lacinia. Nulla eu pretium sem.
Typographic Exceptions
In case you need to emphasize the content even more, Freight Display can be used for additional headline alternative. Use it only in headlines.
Special cases Use Freight Display Pro Regular Black for alternative headline styling.
Deckset fonts
Use Lato for a substituting font for Work Sans.
Photography
When choosing the right image, choose photos with vivid and natural, film-type colors. Avoid bland and boring imagery.
We have three categories for all brand photos: People, Office life & Technology.
People Prefer realistic situations and avoid incorporating too much "stock image" look. If possible, use photos with natural light.
Office life In all scenarios try to go more in-depth thus showing the subject or situation with a greater detail.
Technology Always show technology in exciting way. If possible, use bokeh as a creative effect.
Presentations
Here's examples of presentation slides.
Presentation cover. Use grid blocks with a photo overlay.
Presentation 2nd level cover. Use grid blocks with a photo overlay.
Presentation end slide. Align the Kisko logo to the center.
