In mid-2009 we decided the timing was right to spin our company out from the University of Cape Town. Aside from securing appropriate premises, we needed to find a name for our new venture. Our journey on the road to building our brand had begun. We believed that a company name should have these five attributes: linked to the business we are in; enigmatic (i.e. there should be a story behind the name); easy to remember; easy to spell over the telephone (especially to get e-mail addresses correct); and the .com domain name should be available.
While we had no difficulty coming up with names that met the first four attributes, the last one – availability of the .com domain – proved elusive. It would appear that every word in the English language had been taken, the Internet landscape being dotted with cybersquatters. After testing a few hundred names, we eventually came up with one that met all the criteria: CapeRay.
The next step in the journey was to establish our brand essence and so we contacted the professionals at The Jupiter Drawing Room, who organised a series of workshops with us in early 2010. Through the medium of mood boards, we explored ideas such as: scientific high ground; the interplay between man and machine; seeing clearly, imagining something new; the expert’s tool; and empathy for both radiologists and patients. We then established our tone: contemporary, friendly, professional, empathetic, credible, elegant and simplification. These values now frame everything we do.
How did we then adapt these words into the visible symbols that would embody our brand? First, we chose Gotham as our company typeface, the font that apparently played a significant role in Barack Obama’s successful campaign in 2008. Then, for our corporate colour we chose silver, to be consistent with our adoption of Apple computers. Finally, our logo was designed around a circle, a universal symbol of unity and female power, with our dual-modality concept of X-rays and ultrasound represented by the overlapping arcs and inward facing waves, respectively.
Our journey is not yet over, however. In the months and years ahead, we will continue to build and extend the CapeRay brand.