Case study · Brand identity
A ride service the whole city recognizes.
The City of San Leandro's shuttle for seniors and riders with disabilities was growing into an on-demand service too. It needed one name and one identity people would trust, remember and actually ride.
- City of San Leandro
- Public / transit
- Branding, naming
- 2020 to 2021
- Name, mark, color and type system
The ask
“There is confusion about the difference between the LINKS Shuttle and the FLEX Shuttle, which suggests more branding and outreach is needed.”
What we did
We kept the word riders already knew, FLEX, and grew it into FLEX RIDES so the shuttle and the new on-demand service share one name. The mark puts a friendly bus, a car and a route pin together, with a tagline in English, Spanish and Chinese, the languages the city's own applications come in. The color and type system is built to read on a vehicle, at a bus stop and on a phone.
The showcase
From shuttle to system.
Identity system
Built to flex.
In the wild
On the streets of San Leandro.
Behind the scenes
How we got there.
- 01
Listen
The city's 2020 expansion study, driver feedback and an audit of the old Flex Shuttle brand.
- 02
Create
Name and mark explorations: from FLEX Shuttle to FLEX RIDES.
- 03
Refine
One direction, tested at bus-stop size and on a phone.
- 04
Launch
Guidelines and files for vehicles, signage, print and the web.
The result
What changed.
- One name for the shuttle and the on-demand service
- A mark that reads at bus-stop size and on a phone
- A tagline in English, Spanish and Chinese, matching the city's applications
“I had a vision of what I wanted. The 440 team were masters at filling in the blanks for me.”
Sound like you?
Your service deserves a name people remember.
Cities, agencies and new programs: we take you from rough idea to a brand people trust on day one.