EMES Network

Context

EMES is an international social economy research network with a presence across Europe.

It is not a simple organisation. It brings together multiple areas of activity, European Union-funded projects, international events and a distributed community of researchers. Each initiative had its own logic. Yet all of them needed to be recognised as part of the same whole.

The problem was not a lack of identity.

It was the lack of a structure capable of supporting growth.

The Challenge

A growing network without a system eventually fragments.

EMES needed to solve a clear tension: giving each project and area of activity its own identity without losing coherence across the network or diluting the parent brand.

This was not about redesigning a brand.

It was about defining how the entire ecosystem should be organised.

Defining a Brand System

We designed a structure built around a master brand and four clearly differentiated sub-brands, all connected through a shared visual logic.

The goal was not to homogenise everything.

It was to ensure that each part could retain its own identity while remaining recognisable as part of the same system.

This approach made it possible to grow consistently, integrating new initiatives without having to redefine the structure every time.

This phase helped us:

• Establish a solid foundation for the evolution of the brand system.
• Define criteria that ensure consistency, flexibility and long-term scalability.

Translating the System into a Platform

Alongside the brand system, we developed a website capable of reflecting that structure.

The challenge was not only visual. It was about shaping complex information for different audiences: researchers, members and partners.

Two structural decisions defined the project:

• Introducing a private area for members, aligned with the network’s community strategy.
• Integrating donations as part of access to selected publications.

The platform became an active part of the system rather than simply a communication channel.

This phase helped us:

• Create a clear information architecture adapted to different user profiles.
• Deliver a consistent and functional interface across devices.
• Build a production-ready platform that could be managed independently by the editorial team.

Scaling the Brand Across the Ecosystem

A strong brand foundation allows related initiatives to develop their own voice without breaking the system.

This framework was extended to several European projects connected to EMES:

• Wilco Project: innovation in local welfare and the reduction of social inequalities.
• Empower-SE: supporting social economy researchers in emerging contexts.
• Third Sector Impact: measuring the impact of the third sector across Europe.

Each project had its own identity, platform and audience, but all followed the same underlying principles.

This phase helped us:

• Adapt structure and content to different academic contexts.
• Maintain visual consistency without limiting the identity of individual projects.
• Launch independent digital platforms aligned under a shared framework.

What Changed

EMES moved from having an identity to operating a system.

A system that allowed the organisation to:

• Launch new initiatives without starting from scratch.
• Integrate new projects while maintaining coherence.
• Communicate with different audiences without becoming fragmented.

Design was not a visual layer.

It was the structure that enabled growth.