Predix Branding Background

GE’s Predix Platform is the platform for the Industrial Internet–connecting machines, data and people to power the digital industrial companies of the future. We needed to develop a brand identity that connected with our community of builders, including developers, field operators, and executives.

In partnership with Liquid Agency, we built a visual design system that is fresh, connects with the technology community, and is “ownable” for GE. Through the use of color, typography, photography, pattern, and shape, we built a system flexible enough to be expressed from a small inbound ad up to large environmental experiences.

Solution: Branding, Creative Direction

Deadlines approach. Time to whip out the pencils.

We developed a new Predix logo mid-2016, but still needed to define a broader visual design system. During the process of building this system, we hit a road block where we struggled to build a system that was unique and ‘ownable’ by GE.

With deadlines approaching, I pulled in a few designers for a fast-paced brainstorm session. Our collaborative creative sessions usually start with defining a long list of words that reflect the characteristics, impressions, and goals of the project. We then move into a time of quick white board sketching where anything goes. There are no bad ideas. We then split up for some individual sketch time (15-20 min). After coming back together, we share ideas with the team and identify the strengths among the ideas.

X marks the spot

As we looked at the Predix logo, we realized that the X was a uniquely defining element of the logo mark. We started to lean on the X as the foundational element of design for the broader system. After deconstructing the X and looking at some of it’s core design elements, we built a system around the ’Predix diagonal’ which mirrors the same angle of the X. This became the foundation of a design system that is both ownable and flexible enough to activate across a wide variety of mediums.