Established in 2020 by Ryan Lecchi, Type Strong gives people with diabetes the opportunity to reach their full potential using simple yet innovative equipment. Designed, tested and packaged by the founder himself, Type Strong wants to showcase the strong and admirable characteristics of the diabetic community which is personally relatable to Ryan. Over multiple ZOOM meetings, endless Slack messages and iteration after iteration until perfection, TYPE STRONG’s visual identity was born.

THE BRAND STORY

TYPE STRONG was conceptualised due to Ryan’s late diagnosis of TYPE- 1 diabetes. Diagnosed in 2019 at the age of 21, Ryan’s life turned upside down as he found his day to day life was completely changed without any warning. His active busy schedule was now dictated by pricks and prods of needles and maintaining ‘healthy’ levels. Though after coming to the realisation that perhaps his story can be reflected and perceived by millions of other people out there, the idea behind Type Strong was formed. His vision; “to create a community where everyone helps each other to not just live with this disease – but to thrive and do amazing things. We believe that diabetes shouldn't stop anyone from doing the things they love – our mission is to make this happen!”

MB DESIGN CO’S ROLE

A strong story, deserves a strong brand! MB DESIGN CO’s role was to reflect this admirable story of dedication and perseverance into the identity of the brand. A brand in which captures the uniqueness and core values behind the idea. Personally never had experienced diabetes before, I had to firstly undertake research tasks in order to familiarise myself and relate to the cause before any visual design could be carried out. From there, Ryan and I worked closely hand in hand in order to design, refine and finalise the logo, campaign material and packaging.

LOGO DEVELOPMENT

Initially starting the design process for the logo development, we were working under a different company name, The Diabetic Sports Co, though due to empathetic reasons amongst the diabetic community, the name was changed to TYPE STRONG.

This small hiccup within the process enabled us to completely start from fresh and build on the core values of strength and determination. TYPE STRONG’s logo consists of sharp, distinct edges, working in unison to create the ‘T & S’. The ‘T’ carries characteristics from the STAATLICHES font which is used throughout the branding as the display font. The hand rendered logo takes on an industrial texture which further emphasises the brands core values of strength and stability. In order to get the finished look, I had to undertake a lengthy design process using mixed software including ProCreate, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

The last stage of the process was applying the texture in which I designed using the NIKKO RULL brush. This design feature kept uniqueness and authenticity within the logo which the client loved. The texture is used as a key design feature throughout the brand within collateral and packaging.

ICONOGRAPHY

TYPE STRONG sells CGM Patches which give individuals heart rate monitors coverage from the outside world. For a pricey and delicate piece of equipment, Ryan has developed comfortable wearing patches which ensures your device is kept safe and sound for a duration over 10+ days. As a way of engaging his audience, one of the deliverables for the brief was to design 4 icons symbolising TYPE STRONG’s unique product, setting the company apart from his competitors.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR TYPE STRONG X MB DESIGN CO?

Though the core design principles of the brand are established, TYPE STRONG & MB DESIGN CO are continuing to work closely together in order to create new design elements which will further enhance the growth of the business. This looks like developing high impact stickers for customers, clothing merchandise and a possible ad campaign. Ryan is currently developing the website and will be up for launch in the coming months.