Hello Foster and Forge
I am over the moon, the cat is finally out of the bag, and I can talk freely about UCPS eLearning becoming Foster and Forge. We have been working on this in the background for some time now, and I am so excited to not only be sharing with you the rebrand but the reasons behind the change.
Why
When the business was first incorporated back in 2014 I wasn’t entirely sure the brand and name embodied me or my vision for the future. UCPS didn’t have a meaning for me – and I often panicked, hoping people wouldn’t ask me what it stood for! When I became the sole owner some years later I wanted to rebrand but for various reasons the time was never quite right.
We had a large customer base that I didn’t want to confuse, I didn’t know what I wanted the business to be called and, to be honest, I didn’t have the foggiest idea on where to begin!
Fast forward to when the pandemic hit, I decided the time was right to have a change of identity. With everybody stuck at home, eLearning was a new big thing for many. Business was booming for us, and I wanted to seize the opportunity to create a brand I was proud of – but more importantly, that meant something.
Where to begin?
As I mentioned above, I didn’t know where to begin with a complete rebrand. My team and I are great at designing, but creating a whole new brand identity – that was something we knew we would struggle with.
It made sense to take my own advice and I enlisted the help of professionals to support me and the team through the process. The branding company held workshops with the whole UCPS team to discover everyones’ thoughts and opinions on the rebrand and how we all saw the company in the coming 12 to 18 months (and beyond).
I can’t pretend it was easy! There were many disagreements and heated debates on how we envisioned the future, but the process was fun, enlightening, and a great team building experience!
The first step in the process was developing our brand statement and vision. How could we succinctly define our offering for others? Such a deceptively short statement but playing with the words and considering different interpretations was challenging. Eventually we all agreed and we had a statement on which to pin our entire new brand:
“To provide bespoke e-learning content development & consultancy to high-level, frazzled, overwhelmed & time poor clients in a efficient, collaborative and innovative environment with a straight-forward, engaging and fresh vibe, helping them feel supported, confident & inspired to train, develop & engage their staff to lead the growth of the business.”
With a clear understanding of our new brand and vision, we were able to start on the really fun but – the nitty gritty of the design, look and feel of the company. Something we, as a team, are all very good at.
If you know me you’ll know I am a straight talker, bold and very creative. The branding had to reflect that – without compromise. It also needed to reflect the whole team and our values. The colours and logo had to be fun, bold and exciting, whilst also being creative and well designed.
As a team we all agreed on a retro, Britannia theme (but not red, white and blue!) and that’s where our colour palette (which I am in love with!) comes from. The rest, as they say, was history. Or at least in terms of design, look and feel anyway…..
Foster and Forge
The next hurdle was what to call ourselves. As a creative bunch, we had many different variations of names that we all liked (some of which were already taken, so we had to go back to the drawing board a few times.) Finally we agreed on Foster & Forge.
The name resonates with us all and sums up what we as a company offer. We foster and encourage the development of learning, and we forge and create something desirable.
And so Foster & Forge was born!
The journey
I would be lying if I said this process was a walk in the park; there have been many sleepless nights and even some tears along the way. Worries if what I am doing is the right thing, does it really portray everything I want it to?
In the end, however, I am so incredibly happy with the outcome and extremely proud of the team and all their hard work. This has really been a team effort and I am delighted we have been on this journey together; we have learnt a lot about each other and are even closer as a team. We can all see our impact on the rebrand and have loved seeing it take shape.
Finally, I have a fun challenge for you. Take a look through the new website – can you spot a gin glass? As a team outing, we went to Bombay Sapphire Distillery recently where we created a Foster and Forge gin cocktail. If you find the cocktail glass on our site and click it, you can enter a competition to win a chocolate or gin hamper!
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on our new look, please do share your thoughts with me.
Donna
