GRAIL

Grail is a growing biotech company that is developing a multi-cancer early detection test that looks for a signal shared by 50+ types of cancer with a single blood test. It had undergone a branding process many years prior, but its rapid growth had led to a disconnect between the actual identity and aging visual identity. This discordance was evident in poorly executed materials, prompting a need for an update. Internally there wasn’t support among stakeholders for a full rebrand so the challenge was to align with the existing brand guide’s core elements—fonts, colors, and imagery—while injecting a contemporary twist that better connects with the company as it exists today. Collaborating with a designer, we conceptualized a sleek and scientific look and feel, specially tailored for their social media presence.

Given the nature of Grail’s social content—mostly comprising stats, research findings, quotes, and corporate announcements—our focus was on creating visual assets that felt both scientific and cutting-edge, adopting an editorial and bold aesthetic. To ensure variety, we developed a range of cohesive yet distinct templates for their social media grid. A significant component of Grail’s content strategy involves audio clips from a podcast they also produce. Our challenge was to craft visually engaging assets that catered to both audio and non-audio viewers while effectively directing traffic to the podcast. This extended to the creation of a logo for the podcast as part of the overall brand refresh.

We explored iconography treatments aimed at conveying a more serious and scientific tone. In the realm of photography, we adhered to the brand’s original guidance on styling and tone while introducing a novel category—biological textures. This addition allowed for the integration of photos into backgrounds as patterns, fostering more captivating layering and composition techniques. Additionally, we incorporated signature purple splashes strategically within selected photos, ensuring that the GRAIL brand remained visually impactful even without explicit branding elements—a subtle yet powerful reinforcement of their identity.