ABS | ITSI | ECS - Group - Brand Rationale

One system, three brands

The thinking behind the v1 direction for ABS, ITSI and ECS. Pair this with the interactive playground to test colours, fonts and layouts live.

Open the Playground Back to overview

01The idea

ABS, ITSI and ECS are three businesses but one family. Rather than three unrelated identities, the direction treats them as siblings: a shared palette, a shared type system and a shared geometry - the rounded square - expressed differently per brand.

This does two jobs. It lets each brand stand on its own to its own market, and it signals - to anyone who deals with more than one - that they belong to the same capable group.

The rounded square is the through-line. ABS arranges it as ascending bars (growth, output), ITSI as an interlocked grid (integration, connection), ECS as overlapping tiles (layered commerce). Same DNA, three stories.

02The three brands

ABS
Automated Business Systems

Automation and back-office systems. The mark reads as ascending bars - output, momentum, things running on their own.

ITSI
IT System Integrators

Integration and infrastructure. The interlocked grid with a locked centre reads as separate systems made one.

ECS
E-Commerce Strategies

Commerce strategy and build. Overlapping tiles with a slate accent read as layered storefronts and moving parts.

03Colour

The official ABS palette, from the brand guidelines. Forest greens reflect sustainable growth; slate tones draw on the strength and reliability of British industry; linen adds warmth and clarity; bronze and burgundy give understated, craftsmanship-led accents.

Primary

Forest Green#5F9448
Deep Forest#3E6A2F

Secondary

Slate Grey#3D3D3D
Slate Blue#5C7E93

Neutrals

Linen#F9F1E8
Silver Mist#D3D3D3
Graphite#9FA5A8
Night#2A2A2A

Accents

Bronze#B58A52
Burgundy#7B4C4C

Status

Success#5F9448
Info#5C7E93
Warning#C8A24B
Error#B85C5C
Sage #8FBF77 is the one addition - a light tint of Forest Green used only inside the logo marks (the small mid-square), where a lighter step reads better. It is not part of the core brand set; say the word and I will drop it and use Forest Green instead.

04Typography

Primary - Plus Jakarta Sans

Plus Jakarta Sans for all titles and headings. A more premium, refined geometric sans that carries the brand identity and should be used across all communications. Weights 600-800 for headlines, 500-600 for sub-heads.

Secondary - Inter

Inter for body text: clean, friendly and built for readability on screen. Weights 400 for body, 500-600 for emphasis and labels.

Both are free Google Fonts, so they carry straight through to the websites, decks and documents with no licensing to manage. The playground defaults to this pairing; alternatives remain switchable for comparison only.

05Voice

Plain, confident, technical without the jargon. The group sells competence, not buzzwords. We describe outcomes in human terms and leave the hype to competitors.

Do

“We automated the parts of the job nobody enjoyed. The team got their afternoons back.”

Don't

“Leverage our synergistic AI-driven paradigm to disrupt your vertical.”

06What changed from the drafts