Focus on Main: Product IT Company Brainstack Updated its Brand Identity

Ukrainian product-based IT company Brainstack, which develops cross-platform applications and services, has updated its identity. The logo with a brain image has been replaced by a tetrapod, and the new slogan now stands for FOCUS ON MAIN. The company believes that this better reflects the changes that have taken place in recent years. The creative agency I AM IDEA developed the brand’s rebranding and HR strategy.

For 11 years, Brainstack has been creating applications and services in the Parental Control, Wellness, AI, and R&D niches. During this time, the team has grown to 350+ employees who create products for users from 100+ countries. The team’s rapid growth, the creation of new products in top niches, and the appointment of Volodymyr Sytnikov, the company’s new CEO in 2020, led to a change in values, team, and culture, influencing market recognition.

For Brainstack, rebranding is primarily an opportunity to convey the core brand identity more accurately and to unite with talents who share common values.

“For three years, I have been developing the Brainstack employer brand. During this time, we assembled an Employer Brand team and significantly increased brand awareness among IT professionals in the Ukrainian labour market. The company has changed not only as an employer brand that broadcasts clear communication messages but also transformed internally. Analysing these changes, I realised it was time to update the brand identity and find the meanings that would show Brainstack as it is now. So, in January 2024, I started updating the identity. For me, it’s not just a project; it’s a change that I can personally incorporate into the brand’s DNA”, says Valeria Korolenko, Employer Brand Lead at Brainstack.

“For many years, we have been engaged in “internal” work: building the company, hiring specialists who created departments or organised work in existing ones. Now we have “matured” to the stage where we can show ourselves outside and convey the meanings that are inside the company”, says Kateryna Yurchuk, HRD at Brainstack.

Updating the HR brand identity and strategy lasted for three months. It involved strategic, brand, and design sessions, during which the creative agency team and a focus group of Brainstack’s top management conducted brainstorming sessions.

“Together, we have examined the Brainstack HR brand from the inside out and created new senses. Thanks to a full team match and active cooperation, we created a concept that 100% reflects the Brainstack philosophy. After that, together with I AM IDEA, we created the brand’s visual style and packed it into a brand book,” says Valeria Korolenko.

“While other companies focus on “family culture”, pizza parties, and “perks”, Brainstack allows its team to stay focused on the main thing –– their goals and ambitions, directing their efforts to what brings them real pleasure. This is how the key idea of FOCUS ON MAIN came about. After all, Brainstack realises that for success, it is important to hire talented people and not distract them from what they love to do”, said Aram Simonyan, co-founder and strategy director of the creative agency I AM IDEA.

The slogan FOCUS ON MAIN best describes the company’s approach to work. It is based on focusing only on the critical things, noise cancelling, removing unnecessary and inefficient activities. In this way, Brainstack demonstrates its desire to engage people who can focus on their work and development, eliminating what is not essential and does not bring results.

The new logo, a tetrapod, complements the concept visually. It is a solid and stable design with elements always pointing to the centre. The brand colours, fonts, additional graphic elements, and tone of voice have also changed. The colour palette was chosen to be simple: black, white, and purple accents to avoid overloading the brand and ensure clear communication.

“Brainstack’s rebranding systematised the values and meanings we have built over the years. Our management team and I AM IDEA did a great job of packaging it into a single positioning. Through the updated visual style and messages, we strive to attract “our people” to the company –– ambitious professionals who desire to impact the development of IT products. In turn, we give them room for growth, the opportunity to create new IT businesses and improve existing ones”, said Volodymyr Sytnikov, CEO of Brainstack.

On August 30, the company presented its new identity to its employees. The Brainstack team met offline in Kyiv to be the first to see the brand changes and share their impressions. The concept was presented by the creative agency I AM IDEA.