The Brief
SBC, a behavioural science communications agency, were launching BEHAVES Academy — a new learning platform designed to make behavioural science practical, accessible and applicable to real-world change and communications challenges.
The creative challenge was to develop a visual identity that could bring this complex subject to life, making behavioural science feel engaging and approachable rather than overly academic or theoretical. The identity also needed to work seamlessly across the academy's learning materials, creating a consistent visual language that could support understanding and make the content easy to navigate.
The Visual Identity
The BEHAVES logo was designed to bring energy and personality to a subject that can often feel complex or academic. Rather than treating the wordmark as a rigid typographic lock-up, the individual letters are arranged playfully around a central space, creating a sense of movement, curiosity and interaction.
The unconventional positioning reflects the human element at the heart of behavioural science — people are unpredictable, influenced by their surroundings and constantly interacting with the world around them. The circular composition also creates a sense of connection and flow, while the bold, confident letterforms give the identity a contemporary and approachable feel.
The result is a distinctive wordmark that feels energetic and human, helping to position BEHAVES as an engaging, practical approach to behavioural science rather than a traditional academic discipline.
Making behavioural science visual
As well as developing the core identity, the project required a flexible graphic and illustration system, including distinctive icons for each behavioural science concept. The illustration system needed to make abstract ideas more visual and memorable, while creating a cohesive and engaging experience across the learning platform.
Alongside the icons and illustrations, a flexible visual system was developed to represent behavioural science itself. The system comprised a series of shapes, utilising the full brand colour palette, which could be stacked together to create fluid compositions.
These elements could interact with the illustrations, from characters to objects, creating dynamic and engaging compositions while adding a distinctive visual language to the learning materials.
BEHAVES Behavioural Science Insight Icons, the backbone of the learning and used throughout the curriculum
BEHAVES Behavioural Shapes, stacked and used alongside the insight icons to create dynamic and engaging compositions while adding a distinctive visual language to the learning materials.
A BEHAVES composition incorporating the Feelings and Incentives insight icons
A selection of illustrations I created, from the BEHAVES asset bank, used across learning materials, social media, animation, web and print.
