KLINK is a social enterprise project of GenesisXD
The KLINK coffee project was started with a vision – a vision conceived by St. Leonard’s Society of Toronto to create a coffee business that helps former prisoners find employment and reintegrate into society. St. Leonard’s Society of Toronto asked GenesisXD to create a brand to launch the new business.
Along with our brand strategist Harry Cornelius, our Chief Experience Designer, Philip Yan, quickly saw that St. Leonard's needed more than a brand. In addition to creating a unique coffee brand, we developed a business model for KLINK and designed a total experience ranging from website to a variety of marketing communications, including the application of social media.
From day one we determined to make the design of KLINK Coffee stand out.
Branding for organizations with a social conscience can be both exciting and challenging. It’s exciting because the draw for the brand is obviously for social good and it touches lives. It’s challenging because the market of organizations pleading for support is growing increasingly crowded.
The brand name
The name ‘KLINK’ came about after brainstorming on various catchy names that would give character to the brand. ‘KLINK’ is a reference to The Clink, a notorious prison in Southwark, England. It is also an onomatopoeic slang word for ‘jail’.
The brand expression
We wanted to show a spirit of toughness and also the good nature behind the appearance. We chose a bulldog with a halo as the overarching logo and thematic image for the product’s packaging, defining the charity’s target group as tough looking with a soft side, resembling a bulldog.
This project was a fun process of coming up with a brand expression that shows transformation of a bad situation into a good one. Through the business of ‘KLINK’ coffee, there would be opportunities for building employable skills and eventually rebuilding lives, thus a halo above the bulldog
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GenesisXD, an Experience Design firm, helps our clients stay ahead of the curve with interactive mobile apps for marketing communications. GenesisXD.com
KLINK Social Enterprise story as told by the Correction Service Canada
