A BRAND APART,
CRAFTING A UNIQUE BUSINESS IDENTITY
How we helped Body Alchemy stand apart from competitors while reflecting the vision of the founder.
SUMMARY
WHAT WE DID
Body Alchemy specializes in 5-Element Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine that dates back over 2000 years. As it originates in China and is typically utilized by the Chinese, Westerners aren’t often seen practicing this art. However, as a Westerner herself, the owner was interested in attracting a more diverse and atypical clientele.
Here’s how we developed a powerful and unique brand that played against type to attract a clientele that wouldn’t typically respond to Eastern marketing tropes.
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Identity -
Website -
Collateral
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Brand Standards -
Brand Strategy
CHALLENGE
Five-element acupuncture has been practiced in China for over 2000 years. Given this tradition, practitioners and clientele are typically Chinese. Not surprisingly, the practice’s marketing ethos almost exclusively utilizes Chinese symbology. The owner of Body Alchemy, however, isn’t Chinese. She became educated in the techniques of this ancient art and wished to share them with Westerners and Asian clientele. She also possessed a distinctively gothic personal style… (We liked that!)
Choosing the name Body Alchemy was a start, but how could we bridge the aesthetic chasm between a 22,000-year-old Chinese medical practice and an ancient European science?
INSIGHTS
The components of Five-Element Acupuncture are based on elements in nature: fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. It is believed that these elements represent our controlling and creative energies, which should be in balance. Stimulation of different parts of the body through acupuncture works to heal and bring balance. These elements are visually dynamic and are normally utilized by practitioners in their advertising.
Interestingly, the practice of alchemy ALSO focuses on the elements and contains an entire symbological codex for them. It also has a wonderfully dark and creative broader visual language tied to the practice. We thought this could be a good tie-in.
SOLUTION
THE SYMBOLIC BODY,
5 ELEMENTS INCORORATED
We began the development process by studying historical artwork depicting alchemy. We uncovered an entire library of alchemic symbols, which were often used in formulas for specific processes, such as recipes. Using the Chinese five elements—earth, fire, metal, water, and wood—as a reference, we explored the symbology of alchemic representations for each symbol.
We knew we wanted a nontraditional aesthetic for this identity that reflected the practice of alchemy and the spirit of the owner. This sensibility should also inform the logotype, so we researched many ancient European type styles, including black lettering, uncial, and calligraphy.
Each of the five elements in this form of acupuncture has an alchemic symbol. We explored these symbols individually and discovered that they could be combined into a single form that looked like a new alchemic symbol and, fortuitously, represented humans abstractly. This turned out to be perfect for the logo. In fact, our simulated person appears already to be lying on a treatment table!
We applied hand-drawn and organic styling to the artwork of the logo to heighten its ancient appearance, and an uncial typeface was chosen to tie it all together.
ESTABLISHING THE BRAND
RESULTS
The new branding made an immediate impact. The client was able to effectively target her desired clientele with collateral that offered significant differentiation from her competitors, while still communicating sophistication and professionalism.
The new identity reflected the culture and sensibilities of the client so much, in fact, that a new tatoo was acquired!
“Adduci Studios took my idea and made it come to life. I wanted a look that stood out from the traditional Asian practices, and I couldn’t be happier!”
– Leigh Alexander, Founder
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