Skape Bio, a Copenhagen-based biotech startup, approached me for help with their branding. The company is on the forefront of designing and creating new types of therapeutic proteins to treat difficult diseases like cancer and neurological conditions. They’re doing pioneering work, and needed a consistent, polished way to represent themselves.
While I don’t pretend to understand all the science, I help founders articulate the ideas and qualities their brand identity should convey. This helps us design a look and feel they can use on materials for conferences, announcements, and presentations to partners and investors as they seek funding.
For Skape Bio, the ideas of “precision” and “possibility” emerged as guiding ideas.
To imply precision, we used hard-edged geometric shapes, clean lines, and lots of black and white. For possibility, we used glass windows and bursts of colorful gradients to suggest creativity. Scroll on to see how it came together.
Above are Round 1 logo options. These have the order and structure we’re after, with a tiny hint of warmth in some of the type.
Many are different ways of showing signal cascades, plus a vaguely helix-related S and an interesting wordmark.
But wait—what’s a “signal cascade,” you ask? It’s a biological process that’s key to Skape Bio’s work. After founder Chris Norn explained it to me in our kickoff Zoom call, I grabbed a notebook, scribbled, and held it up to my camera. “Are you saying… something like this?”
Yes.
He followed up with screenshot of other diagrams showing the process, for more references.
I liked the idea of making a geometric, simple logo that had inside meaning to scientists, but just looked techy and polished to everybody else.
This logo was the final choice. The mark is an abstract representation of a ligand binding to a receptor on a cell membrane, triggering a signal cascade.
But the lines could also be interpreted as light rays, a symbol of creativity and possibility.
To start fleshing out the identity, we used images that look like ribbed glass windows to inspire curiosity. As if something important and creative is going on in there. This treatment can be added to any photo to make them more interesting and unique. The fluted effect can also apply to colorful gradients that feel creative and exciting—like the thrill of pushing the boundaries of knowledge.
For typography, the Funnel family of fonts was perfect. The pixel-like squares echo the K in the Skape Bio logo, and it feels data-driven yet accessible. Most importantly, it’s free to use through Google Fonts. It works in Google Slides and Docs, a practical request from the team.
Mockups show how the brand elements come together to create a distinctive look for this biotech startup.
Kind words from the Skape Bio team:
“Working with Jessica was an absolute joy! She brought care, clarity, and creative depth to every step of the process. Her thoughtful approach not only gave us a brand identity we are proud of but also helped us better understand how we want to show up in the world.”
