IVY Charging Network Branding

Jacknife was brought on board to help create a brand for Ontario’s largest, most connected electric vehicle fast-charger network. Backed by clean energy leaders Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, the network will offer 160 chargers at 70+ locations across the province when complete.

With the ultimate objective of providing province-wide coverage (in Urban and Rural areas) under a consistent brand, we had our work cut out. While a growing industry, many barriers to purchasing electric vehicles remain to overcome. We would have to differentiate from gas and EV charging network competitors. This meant the platform we created would lay the foundation for the charging infrastructure and establish a direct relationship with EV drivers.

Our mission became to make charging on the go easy and convenient—getting every EV driver wherever they want to go with the confidence they need to take on any drive. With this foundation in place, we worked closely with all the stakeholders to develop names and create a range of research materials to validate possible expressions of the brand. Then, listening closely to Ontarians to help guide our decisions, we landed on an optimistic and friendly name for the new charging network: Ivy.

Evocative of interconnected electric grids, winding roadmaps and sprawling English ivy plants, Ivy captures the growth and strength of the network and grounds it in a connection to natural landscapes where the stations will reside. These notions are brought to life through custom line work and simple iconography in the visual identity system we created. A vibrant and contrasting colour palette elicits electricity, positivity and cleanliness without feeling too “green”—visually representing a beacon and differentiating from our competition.

Jacknife developed a comprehensive brand guideline with direction on design standards, visual tone, onscreen usage, animation, photography, and various sample applications (e.g. charging stations and signage). The criteria we set informed the communication strategy and were essential in bringing the new brand to market, creating a seamless and consistent experience across all touchpoints.