In a country with deplorable climate targets, in the midst of a global environmental crisis, Future Super believes that Australians share a collective superpower - our superannuation. This rebrand shines a spotlight on the ways Australians can harness the power of our super to make a meaningful difference in the world
At the core of Future Super’s identity is responsibly and sustainably investing for impact, bringing transparency to a notoriously opaque industry, activism, and the promise to customers that they can avoid investments in fossil fuels, gambling, tobacco, weapons manufacturing and other harmful industries without sacrificing on returns.
People. Power. Change.
The pillars of the Future Super movement are also the key ingredients for the brand's success. Future Super shows people that they have the power to create change and enables them to do so. The challenge, was to create a brand that could push beyond expectations of what a super fund should look and sound like, and reframe superannuation from some savings for the future, to a way that people can actually save their future.
Spotlight
Future Super strives to create transparency in a murky industry. Using the idea of shining a spotlight on the deliberate lack of clarity most funds provide and the power our super can have, we began with a logo.
Designed for motion and interaction, the mark is responsive — there’s no limit to its number of iterations. It adapts and flexes, shifting size and shape to suit where it sits and do what it needs to, from small format digital applications to expansive billboards to the 3D space. At any touchpoint, it anchors the design system and serves as an infinitely flexible tool to push away unnecessary noise frame important information front and centre.
A system made to scale
The design system as a whole takes flexibility and responsiveness beyond just the logo, to create even more visual impact. Building on the idea of bringing light to key communications, we created a set of layout and motion principles that would guide the brand.
It can push, uncover, frame and give perspective to the content and works seamlessly across every pillar of brand communications. As a direct response to the stock-image-saturated world of super, images are only ever used to support messages — never as filler.
Creating clarity
As a brand with a lot to say, Future Super's design system is almost entirely type-based. While competitors have their customers wading through information that’s almost impossible for the every-person to decipher, Future Super champions clear communication and focuses on landing a key message.
Crucial to this was a clear tone of voice. We established a verbal identity that cuts through the industry jargon to help customers actually understand how super works and what their money does. It’s a voice that's unapologetically honest, emotive, empowering and unafraid to state the facts on the climate impact of super
Art imitates climate inaction
Though intentionally minimally used throughout the brand system, photography and illustration are still an essential tool. While 3D illustrations give the brand additional flexibility, every photo is real — mostly editorial, with no retouching or adjustments. This direction is particularly important as it allows Future Super to keep communications and campaigns timely and culturally relevant, responding quickly to current affairs and harnessing them to effectively further their fight against the climate crisis.
Framing typography
DIA brings its bold and confident character to the logo and, though used sparingly across the rest of the system, also lends additional expression to the brand, extending across headings within type frames and pullout text.
The matter-of-fact and Swiss-like nature of Monument Grotesk as our core typeface makes for an effective and striking contrast with its DIA counterpart. It’s highly robust, comes in multiple styles and weights (useful for a brand with so many copy-driven touchpoints) and includes tabulated figures, fractions and a full set of mathematical operators, which makes sense for a company that deals in numbers.
Designed to be digital
As an online business, building the brand to thrive in digital was essential. With Universal Favourite, we crafted a digital toolkit that translates the brand system to be functional, clear and easy-to-navigate for the user, while still driving a deeper emotional connection.
Guidance around the use of icons, illustration and art direction help to establish the balance between the power of these tools and the messages the help to land.
A human focus in a sterile industry
Future Super wants to build a community that takes superannuation from a movement of people to a movement of money. This happens not just through complete transparency across investments, screening processes and impact reports, but the brand opens up its owned spaces to be a platform for their customers. This allows everyday people to amplify their voice on concerns about climate change and show that individuals, working together, can really make a difference.
The result
Future Super believes in the power of people and the collaborative creative process. This brand project was testament to that. Copy and design support one another to shake the system and shine a light on an industry that could be so much more than the sum of its parts.
We built a bold and robust brand that not only stands out, but helps people to stand up and make a genuinely positive impact on their future.
