GlobalSpec

OBJECTIVE

IEEE GlobalSpec had grown into a multi-brand portfolio through years of mergers and acquisitions, yet its visual and messaging identity had never caught up with that evolution. The objective of this engagement was to unify the GlobalSpec portfolio — including sub-brands Catalyst, Electronics 360, Datasheets 360, and Engineering 360 — under a single, cohesive branded house, and to reposition IEEE GlobalSpec as a credible, authoritative, and modern leader in the engineering and industrial media landscape. Competing against established players required a brand that could hold its own visually and communicatively across every touchpoint.

PROBLEM

• Years of mergers and acquisitions had left the GlobalSpec brand as a visual and strategic amalgam of its predecessor companies. There was no unifying identity — each sub-brand operated with its own visual language, creating fragmentation across the portfolio and confusion in the market.
• The existing logo was a mashup of competing styles, colors, and typefaces that lacked balance and visual coherence. A sharp, angular logomark created significant limitations for modern digital platforms and environmental applications, making consistent brand expression nearly impossible across channels.
• Without a clearly defined brand hierarchy, sales and marketing teams lacked a consistent framework for communicating with distinct audiences — engineering professionals, procurement decision-makers, and media buyers — each of whom required targeted, relevant messaging.

SOLUTION

As Design Director, I developed a comprehensive brand identity system grounded in a new logo and branded house hierarchy. The new logo drew symbolically from the IEEE Kite — a shape representing knowledge, expertise, and understanding — while integrating directional arrows that communicate the core strengths GlobalSpec delivers to its customers: innovation, possibilities, answers, and solutions. The result was a mark that was balanced, scalable, and free of the angular constraints that had limited the previous identity.

The visual system was supported by a fully documented design system encompassing color, typography, minimum sizing, logo application rules, iconography, and environmental graphics — giving both internal teams and external partners a clear rulebook for brand execution. Complementing the visual work, I helped define a reaffirmed brand voice built on three core messaging principles: Be Confident. Be Authoritative. Be Inspiring. This verbal framework ensured that each sub-brand could speak with a voice that was relevant, accurate, factual, and memorable while remaining consistent with the GlobalSpec parent brand.

PROCESS

• Discovery & Audit: Conducted a thorough audit of all existing brand assets across the GlobalSpec portfolio and sub-brands, mapping inconsistencies in visual language, hierarchy, and messaging. Competitive benchmarking against “the other guys” established a clear picture of the market landscape and identified the visual and strategic whitespace for GlobalSpec to own.
• Identity Development & System Design: Developed the new logo using the IEEE Kite as a foundational design language, creating a mark that honored the IEEE legacy while modernizing it for digital-first application. Built out the full branded house hierarchy, defining the relationship between GlobalSpec and its sub-brands (Catalyst, Electronics 360, Datasheets 360, and Engineering 360). Next I wrote and designed the comprehensive brand standards documentation, codifying rules for color, typography, iconography, logo usage, minimum sizing, and environmental graphics applications.
• Collateral & Rollout: Designed production-ready templates for media kits, one-pagers, sell sheets, and white papers — enabling sales and marketing teams to produce on-brand materials at scale without sacrificing consistency. Environmental graphics guidelines were developed to extend the brand into physical spaces, ensuring a unified experience from digital screens to conference floors.