SECOND LIFE MAC
Second Life Mac helps organizations find efficiencies in their tech budgets by refurbishing, recycling, and re-selling their old Apple devices.
-
They’d experienced significant growth and achieved great success over the years, but despite a proven process and deep expertise, Second Life Mac’s story wasn’t standing out in a space full of shady players and transactional language.
To help the Second Life Mac team accomplish their goals of modernizing their identity and becoming the foremost leader in their field, we refreshed their brand with a smarter, more strategic story and identity that repositioned them as the education world’s most trusted refresh partner.
(87)BrandFusion
Brand Focus
Brand Strategy
Verbal Identity
Visual Identity
(01) Brand Focus
Clarify what puts Second Life Mac, first.
-
Zeroing in on what you do best is often the best route forward. During our two-day BrandFocus workshop, we worked with their team to get to the heart of what that was.
While they technically served a range of industries, education was where they truly excelled. Most competitors took a one-size-fits-all approach — overly sales-y, highly technical, and not built for the needs of educators. But Second Life Mac already understood the pressured educators faced and had a track record of making their budgets go further.
That insight became the foundation of the rebrand. We repositioned them as a proactive, down-to-earth tech partner that specialized in helping schools optimize their budgets and keep the best Apple devices in the hands of students, teachers, and communities. Not one of many in a crowded buyback market. One of one — the only tech refresh partner explicitly dedicated to education.
BrandFocus Workshop
Brand Core & Audit
Vision, Mission, & Values
Audience & Personality
87BrandSpark
Brand Action Items
(02) Brand Design → Voice
Dialing up a personal, plainspoken, pro-school personality.
-
When it came time to help Second Life Mac find its voice, we wanted it to be as helpful as it was human. No pushy pitches. No overly-techno lingo. Just clear, candid, straight-shooting messaging rooted in proactive partnership that would appeal to stressed and under-resourced tech department heads and administrators.
To stand out in a dry, technical, sales-driven landscape, the voice was designed to be refreshingly direct, upbeat, approachable, and above all, helpful. And while the tone was adjusted depending on the medium, the message was always consistent.
Whether they were educating IT directors on device refresh cycles, or showing support for teachers in social posts, Second Life Mac’s messaging made it clear that it was here to help educators turn their old Apple devices into new opportunities for their schools.
Brand Voice Guidelines
Tonality Pillars
Headline & Messaging Constructs
Brand Definitions & Lexicon
Brand Language Toolkit
Brand Story
(02) Brand Design → Visuals
A fresh, flexible, optimistic new look.
-
Second Life Mac has always been more than a buyback vendor; it’s a refresh partner. We knew the new brand presentation needed to be as refreshing as their new story and positioning.
We audited the existing brand assets to identify key areas of refinement, big and small. We created a consistent sense of motion and progress, from animations to updating their logo to mirror the standard “refresh” icons found in browsers, to convey forward progress.
The system features a bright and optimistic palette anchored by Catalina Blue, thoughtful use of gradient and accent colors, and a typography system that combines clarity with just the right amount of personality. From custom iconography to full-frame photography of real classrooms and tech directors, every element reinforces trust, ease, and optimism.
Brand Storyboards
Visual Identity
Art Direction
Motion
Graphic Elements & Iconography
Typography
Photography Style
Brand Guidelines
(03) Brand Activation
Handing off the tools to reboot.
-
With the core theme of Second Life Mac being “Refresh,” it’s fitting that their business need was a brand refresh. For businesses with a solid foundation of who they are and what they stand for, a refresh allows the leadership teams to strengthen their core brand message.
Across every brand touchpoint, we streamlined and simplified their messaging and presentation to focus on their core business and key differentiation. From trade shows and business essentials to sales presentations and web design.
Brand Guidelines
Packaging & Swag
Marketing & Collateral
Presentation Design
Leadership Guidance
Ongoing Brand Support
