BIO5 Institute

Even though the institute was still young, insiders at the Institute for Biomedical Science and Biotechnology had grown weary of their 18-syllable moniker and collapsed the name to the nearly anonymous acronym, IBSB. Freshly appointed director, Dr. Vicki Chandler, set a priority to rename and rebrand the institute to support her aggressive and far-reaching vision.

In less than six weeks, Godat Design came onboard; researched the diverse stakeholders, collaborators and audiences; developed multiple naming options; and generated the selected name – BIO5. This, much shorter name, provided a key asset supporting an immediate round of recruiting and development. As the institute straddled the worlds of academia and the biotech industry, the name BIO5 resonated immediately with all audiences.

The promise of a research "portal" served as a visual metaphor that Godat Design’s team pursued while developing the new BIO5 wordmark. The transformational typography of the letter "O" evoked that virtual portal and the potential for change embodied in the organization’s mission. This morphing central letterform also helped guide pronunciation – a very real challenge for any newly constructed name.

BIO5's initial tasks were to rally scientists of diverse disciplines to collectively tackle critical global issues like disease, hunger and sustainability, and to impress on elected officials the importance of funding this urgent research. Godat Design launched a website for BIO5 in record time and developed core communications tools and a statewide awareness advertising campaign.

Today, the BIO5 Institute at The University of Arizona is at the leading edge of life sciences research, bringing together faculty and other researchers from multiple disciplines to tackle complex biology-based problems affecting humanity.