Identity as a signal: OMI’s visual transformation

OMI Case study insight

Visual identity sets expectations faster than messaging. OMI had evolved beyond commodity parts manufacturing, but its brand had not kept up. This video walks through how a new brand strategy and visual identity system—logo, type, and color—helped reposition OMI as a modern engineering and manufacturing company.

Outline

00:00 – 00:59

Brand judgment before understanding

Chris at Parliament discusses how people judge brands visually before understanding their products. He emphasizes that visuals are the first form of communication and that this instinct, while not always accurate, is real. He illustrates this with the example of OMI, a company that had advanced beyond basic manufacturing but whose branding still suggested a basic identity.

00:30 – 01:29

OMI’s need for modern identity

The video discusses the challenge OMI faced in shedding its image as a commoditized manufacturer. To redefine its identity, OMI needed a brand that conveyed modern engineering and mechatronic innovation. Parliament developed a brand system centered around a hex-inspired logo that embodies authority and mechanical precision, reflecting evolved engineering.

01:00 – 01:54

Designing OMI’s innovative brand

The segment explains how typography conveys a sense of strength, energy, and trustworthiness, particularly highlighting a red-orange color that signals momentum. It emphasizes the power of visual language in quickly setting expectations and repositioning a company’s image. OMI’s new brand identity is described as communicating innovation, strength, and precision effectively.

01:27 – 01:57

Visual brand sets perception

Chris emphasizes the importance of your visual brand and appearance as they set the tone and convey your story to others, especially when you are not present. He encourages making sure your visual identity communicates the right message.

Transcript

Hey friends, it’s Chris at Parliament.

Most people judge a brand before they understand it. Sad, but true. There might be a lesson somewhere in there, but that’s not what we’re talking about today. Before anyone reads a word, before they understand your products, people are going to judge you. Visuals speak first.

Is that right? Probably not. Is it real? Yep. What can I say? People are visual creatures.

OMI had evolved way beyond basic parts manufacturing. But their brand still signaled basic. It still signaled commodity. It told people, right or wrong, that OMI was just commoditized manufacturing.

OMI needed an identity that communicated modern engineering and mechatronic innovation. Mechatronic innovation. Say that six times real fast. Say that 1,000 times real fast. Say that one billion times real fast. Say that once, real fast. I’ve tried. It’s hard. Trust me. Lots of takes.

So Parliament designed OMI a brand system that communicates evolved engineering. At its core is a hex-inspired logo—authoritative and mechanical. Typography feels both industrial and modern. It’s strong, energetic, trustworthy, and that red-orange primary color cuts through the noise and signals momentum. It all works together to communicate capability at a glance.

Visuals set expectations faster than anything else. If you want to reposition your company, shift perception, or claim a new niche—or niche, if you’re a troglodyte—visual language has to do the heavy lifting.

OMI’s new identity instantly communicates innovation, strength, and precision. In almost every scenario, your visual brand—the way you look—that will be what sets the tone for people. It will be what they first understand about you, especially when you’re not in the room, which is almost all the time.

Make sure it’s telling the right story.

All right, that’s it for me. Be brave. Stand apart.