COBU

Cobu is a Boston-based tech start-up with the mission of bringing people together in their own apartment complexes. They’ve built an application that both activates the community within the building, and unifies them through activities indicative of their neighborhoods. Aside from the tenants, Cobu targets the property managers as well by leveraging the ability to maintain longer tenant stay, and providing more value to the property through enhancing the quality of tenant lifestyle.

Around the time they engaged with us, they had a starting logo that wasn’t really suiting their intended direction anymore. At that point, they were also grappling with the name, looking for something simpler yet meaningful. While they ultimately came up with the name Cobu (literally “Community” and “Building” in one word), they engaged with Santoro Design to help build a brand that would scale and would last. What resulted was a brand that not only would serve to do both, but would also rally and unify the team like never before.

Among all things, a strong brand is made from the inside out. A short but rigorous Discovery Phase, consisting of a survey and workshop exercises, revealed that the mission came from the backstory, featuring the CEO’s mother and her moving to a new place, only to feel isolated in her new home. Multi-family property managers install the Cobu application within their complex, tenants download it, and then they’re able to take part in community-building activities. Cobu strives to create an environment of inclusion and, ultimately, a new definition of “home” in the way they build the app, and how they manage the communities. This and many other insights came through in commentary amongst the entire team, in numerous spirited conversations.

Tackling the identity system after the Discovery phase and brand strategy was a challenge, but a welcome one. We knew we needed something that would feel welcoming and fun for tenants, but also established enough for the multi-family property managers who would leverage the platform. The chosen logomark, featuring a playful handshake within the “o,” was iterated on until deemed perfect by the team. With clean typography and high contrast colors, the identity system grew more flexibly with a new icon system for the application.

Shortly after the branding scope, we proposed a new website design that would best showcase the new brand, its mission and the value of the Cobu application. With a simplistic user experience and minimal but inherently colorful design, we aimed to create a sense of welcoming for users visiting the site.

Whether it’s moving to a new city on your own, or branding your company with a new name, big changes can be scary. With the right people around, it’s a challenge worth facing head-on. Since the end of the branding, Cobu has seen extensive growth and positive change, with an expanded team and new partnerships with complexes across Boston. We’re extremely proud of them as they continue to grow in their journey towards success, but most of all, as a beacon of hope for any person looking to start a new chapter in their lives.