February 2021 – June 2021
During my curricular internship, I worked within Mint Insight, a start‑up company created in the Project Management Laboratory course at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto. As the company’s Head Designer, my role mainly involved developing the corporate identity.
Communication Design Bachelor Degree, Faculty of Fine Arts University of Porto
Mint represents in the brand name what Mint Insight aims to be: innovative and fresh. Therefore, this plant was immediately an important element in the construction of the company's identity.
The brand image of Mint Insight centers around an iconic representation of the mint plant, capturing the distinct form of its leaves. The final design aimed to balance the organic shapes with geometric precision, in order to reflect both the plant's natural essence and the technical core of the company.
The primary color of Mint Insight derives from the vibrant green of the mint leaves, reinforcing the importance of this plant in the company's identity. It was important to select a shade that maintained legibility against both white and black backgrounds, enabling the brand image to seamlessly integrate various chromatic environments.
Mint Insight communicates through the sans‑serif font family Raleway. This elegant typography features a rounded design, ensuring a harmonious integration with the brand’s icon.
In an attempt to explore the company's identity beyond its logo, the mint plant emerged as the fifth element of Mint Insight through its various sensory dimensions.
The presence of the mint plant during the presentation of the company at the LGP Challenge was essential. The plant had to be seen not only by its leaves, but as a whole.
Considering that this event would take place online, the physical presence of the mint plant would not be possible, thus it needed to be present in a digital form.
The plant was made tangible to the audience through an animated 3D render. In the produced animations the four projects proposed to Mint Insight, are symbolized through seeds. These are planted allowing a mint plant to sprout. Therefore, the development of the projects is associated with the plant's natural growth.
Mint Insight's connection to the mint plant is not just aesthetic and visual, therefore its identity needs to address other senses as well. When you think of mint, its fresh flavor is directly invoked through synesthesia.
It was this sense that initially originated the name of the company. Thus, it must integrate its identity in a tangible way. The mint flavor could be present in sweets at the reception of the company’s building, or even in an ice cream served at its events.
The freshness of mint comes not only from its flavor, but also from its scent and, therefore, this sense must be explored in Mint Insight's identity. The smell of mint could be diffused in the auditorium of the LGP Challenge, embedding itself in the audience's memory, or even become the aroma of the company building.
