IRD- 40 Year History

Refreshing the brand to reflect its future

Client

Donna Bergan, VP or Marketing for Quarterhill Rish Mahota, CEO of International Road Dynamics

Purpose

Understanding the importance of brand and how it builds trust with clients and distinguishing an organization from its competitors

Audience

International Road Dynamics is a Global Brand with key offices in Saskatoon and Germany

The Challenge

Hand-drawn IRD logo on a grey background
White IRD logo on a black background

Research and Observations

With over 40 years of industry leadership, International Road Dynamics (IRD) seized the opportunity to reevaluate its brand. By honoring its history and embracing a more visionary and innovative identity, IRD aimed to align with evolving audience connections and better represent its role in shaping the Intelligent Transportation System industry.

IRD realized that there are increasing numbers of competitors and that branding can help differentiation from the competition.

Developing the brand

An immersive brand workshop empowered the company to shape the intangible elements of their brand.

The collaborative process involved IRD throughout, resulting in a new Purpose Vision, Mission, and Values embraced by employees. These foundational statements drove the evolution of the logo and the establishment of a captivating visual identity, encompassing fonts, colours, design elements, and imagery direction.

Grid pattern featuring multiple pages from IRD's brand guideline documentation

Rediscovering what was always there

The workshop unveiled the brand's core elements, reigniting employees' appreciation for IRD's distinctiveness and reaffirming its appeal to clients.

A letterhead, the back and front of a business card, and a file envelope that displays the IRD logo

Bringing it to life

Given the scale of the brand work and the organization's size, implementing brand elements will occur gradually for manageability and cost-effectiveness. Engaging and exciting the staff about IRD's evolution has been a top priority.

Three squares with the IRD logo, one with a background of a road curving through mountains, one of a moving subway, and one of a beach at sunset
Two event badges featuring the IRD logo and branding but with different designs
The IRD logo stitched into fabric

The Results

The brand refresh strategically debuted at the 2022 ITS World Congress Convention in Los Angeles, California. The highly successful launch garnered significant media coverage, including key industry publications. Amplification through LinkedIn and other company social channels further bolstered the impact.

IRD's new personality aligns the company with both their customers and their own team members better than ever before while focusing on what matters most: results and making a difference.