Ascendant Access

MA / MSc Multidisciplinary Design Innovation Students

The Client

Ascendant Access design and manufacture high quality, vehicle mounted, power access platforms for sale or hire.  They have an excellent reputation within the industry which is due, in large part, to their equipment which is simply designed, smooth to operate and easy to maintain.

The Brief

Since Ascendant Access products are often mounted on their customers’ vehicles, their own branding and identity is often subsumed by the carrier’s own badge and branding.  The challenge they set our students was to explore branding and growth.  In particular they asked them to investigate;

- How you create and sustain brand visibility without overpowering your customer’s brand?
- How to best communicate brand values at key touch points during the user experience?
- What and where are the main opportunities for growth within their business and sector?

What we did:

The entire cohort split into two teams to tackle the key questions of brand and growth. Team one carried out a visual product audit to identify how Ascendant Access’s brand values are currently communicated. The students then examined the user touch points to identify the most relevant and appropriate times and places to optimise branding and promote key brand values.

Team two analysed their business model and explored opportunities for growth and consolidation over the next 2-3 years.

This led to the development of a number of ideas from the design of a new logo and different ways to emboss it onto their products, to suggesting extending the brand to incorporate complementary product lines such as high visibility jackets or waste bins.

The Result:

Two illustrated documents were produced for the client. The first report comprised of a justified set of recommendations and designs for their products. The second report detailed the areas identified for growth and a proposal for this strategic development.

The students presented their recommendations to Steve Dean, the Managing Director of Ascendant Access.

“Very Good, very impressive food for thought. Branding ideas were very impressive and we can develop them. Very relevant, it won’t stop here”.  Steve Dean, Managing Director, Ascendant Access