One Design Company

Today is a special milestone in an exciting early build that I’ve had the privilege of being a part of at Flagship Pioneering: we are launching Lila Sciences which was featured in an exclusive by The New York Times with Steve Lohr: https://lnkd.in/e_qA8c6r At Lila, our mission is to build Scientific Superintelligence to solve humanity’s greatest challenges. A few years ago, this mission might have sounded crazy, but today, we believe it is the most important thing we can be working on as scientists. We still have a lot of work to do, we aren’t there yet, but we believe there is a path, and we are bringing innovations together in AI, software, hardware, and science to hopefully make it possible. Today, I want to celebrate the journey, the build, and the people. After building companies for a decade now, I can confidently say – it’s the people that make it all possible. And I want to say a huge THANK YOU to those who have impacted where are today as well as where we are going. This journey started over 2 years ago, with a couple of novel insights. First, that Generative AI has the potential to transform the physical sciences in an equally impactful way to what we’ve seen in biology. If we could do this, we could generate novel technologies to help us solve important environmental and sustainability challenges and work to protect the planet’s health for future generations (with two littles at home, the importance of this goal hits harder than ever for me). This technology was pioneered by Alexandra Sneider, John Gregoire, and Rafael Gómez Bombarelli and joined by Jonathan Hennek and Scott Robertson to help translate these technologies to the market. At the same time, we imagined a future where we could use AI to “close the loop” between experiments and machine learning. If we could do this, we could accelerate and create novel discoveries in life sciences that wouldn’t have been possible previously. This technology was pioneered by Jacob Feala, Ben Kompa, Maya Jay, Andrew Beam, David Bellamy, and many others. Alongside the vision of Geoffrey von Maltzahn and Noubar Afeyan, we imagined something even greater by pulling these two innovations together: an ability for AI to run the entire wheel of science across biology, chemistry, and materials science and pull discoveries that could otherwise be decades away into the present. By learning across diverse domains of science, we improve our understanding of each individual domain. With each turn of the wheel of science, scientific intelligence increases. And Lila Sciences was born. We’ve been lucky to be joined by some remarkable people along the way to help us expand scientific creativity in new ways (George Church, Kenneth Stanley) as well as across the rest of the org – all here to create a new kind of intelligence in the world, for good. I couldn’t be more proud to be working with this brilliant group of people (and many others)!

You may notice things are looking a little different around here.?We’ve got a fresh new look but we’re still the same great team and IX tech you know. Check out our new video to hear from our team about our lithium extraction technology for any brine, anywhere. Onward and upward! https://lnkd.in/eYKNvzYD

The One Design Company team recently had the honor of contributing to the Matriarchal Design Futures: Bookstand 2125 initiative, which was showcased at #typeforce 13, an international exhibition of typographic work in Chicago. The initiative is a collaborative design fiction project that invites artists and designers to imagine and create books from the year 2125. In this speculative future, knowledge and creativity flourish within systems centered on care, nurturing, and collective well being, rather than competition and scarcity. Contributors are encouraged to “explore bold, even preposterous ideas that challenge current paradigms and light the way toward preferred futures.” Members of the One Design team – Will Moran, Stacey Donaldson, Melinda Benoit, Aimee Lehto Schewe (she/her), Becky Luther, and Nora Dyer (she/her) – collaborated to create concepts for two series of publications, which were brought to life through a series of covers featured in the show. Read more about the work via the link:?https://lnkd.in/gYS-XGBB Many thanks to?Heather Snyder Quinn?and?Ayako Takase?for inviting us to be a part of the project. And to Nermin Moufti, Will Miller, and the entire Typeforce team for curating such a wonderful exhibition! #designfuture #speculativedesign #bookdesign #transformation #illustration #MatriarchalDesignFutures / Rhode Island School of Design / DePaul University

I Know What You Grid Last Summer ? New Logo and Identity for Merus (the next era of Al. Neyer) by One Design Company — ???? ABOUT THE CLIENT For over 130 years, Al. Neyer built more than just structures — it built a reputation. Founded in 1894 as a family-owned design-build firm, the company evolved over the decades into a multidisciplinary powerhouse, with expertise spanning real estate development, architecture, and construction. In 2014, it transitioned to an employee-owned model, reinforcing a culture of shared success and long-term investment. Today, with a growing national presence and an expanding portfolio, the company has embarked on its most significant transformation yet: a new name, a new identity, and a bold new vision. ? ?? FROM ONE DESIGN “Over its 130 years in commercial real estate, Al. Neyer had evolved from a local, family-owned construction business into a national, employee-owned, vertically-integrated development company. But their name, brand, and website were stuck in the past. They needed a new identity and messaging that matched the progressive, multifaceted major player they had become in order to continue to attract the best talent, clients, and partners … all while honoring their 130 years of experience and brand equity. As an employee-owned company that works in multi-disciplinary teams, everything Al. Neyer does is defined by collaboration and partnership. Their new name, Merus, (created by Lexicon) is a combination of “merit” and “us” that intuitively communicates the company’s heart, soul, and work ethic.” ? ???? BRAND NEW’S REACTION by Jon Stapp This isn’t just branding for the sake of branding; it’s branding that builds something. And while so many corporate redesigns meander through vague themes and arbitrary design rationales, Merus makes its intentions crystal clear. The brand’s gridlines, typography, and structured framework all lead to a sharp, singular conclusion — everything comes together, everything converges, everything comes to a point. And that’s exactly the point. — #reviewed #branding #identity #2024 #brandnewbyucllc #beforeandafter #corporate #architecture #building #construction #designbuild #geometric #M #modernist #realestate #red #sansserif Link: https://lnkd.in/gkwC96Am

We are elated to unveil our new name and brand! ? S2G Ventures is now S2G Investments, as of today. Along with the new name, we have introduced a refreshed logo and visual identity that better reflects our multi-stage investment focus and evolving role in the market. ? As part of this rebrand, our new tagline is “Invested at the Seams of Sector Transition.” This tagline underscores the firm’s distinct investment approach, which focuses on identifying and addressing the critical overlaps between interconnected sectors, asset classes, and ecosystems. ? In addition, we have launched our refreshed website: s2ginvestments(dot)com, which you can check out here: https://lnkd.in/gvVBCYzA While our name has evolved, our firm’s focus remains the same: partnering with passionate companies and leadership teams across the food and agriculture, oceans and energy sectors who we believe are reshaping industries through innovative technologies and business models. Finally, we thank everyone within S2G and our external partners who have helped make this extraordinary effort possible!? See more in our comments below! #S2Ginvestments #brand #rebrand #logo #visualidentity #investing #food #agriculture #oceans #energy

When it comes to design, creating systems that help teams work smarter, scale faster, and pivot more elegantly is critical. The One Design Company team has been building dynamic interactive design systems for two decades. Cohesive toolkits that enable teams to move fast while upholding design integrity across every channel and every device, no matter how the landscape in front of you changes. Check out our point-of-view on crafting modern design systems for the digital space: https://lnkd.in/gVFD46yK This article—featuring perspectives from Will Moran, Melinda Benoit, Hannah Cormier, and Abigail Jackson (she/they)—digs into how we’ve helped clients like ActiveCampaign, Dscout, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Navigate, and DVLP Medicines create scalable systems that sharpen focus, cut costs, streamline workflows, and grow brand trust. The design process must be agile and adaptable. The design systems we create serve as frameworks, providing a strong foundation for teams to build upon and thrive. No matter how each of these organizations has evolved over time, our approach ensured adaptability and long-term success. Much love to the clients and collaborators featured in this article—including Valerie Craig, Kelly Knaga, Jarred Kolar, Jason Paragas, Cortney Heimerl, MA, and their amazing colleagues—for working with us! #interactivedesign #designsystems #digital #interactive #branding #designefficiency #designframeworks #designteams

Design smarter. Scale faster. Build trust. That’s the power of a strong digital design system. At One Design Company, we’ve partnered with companies like ActiveCampaign, Dscout, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Navigate, and DVLP Medicines to create scalable systems that cut costs, streamline workflows, and keep brands sharp. Melinda Benoit, Hannah Cormier, Abigail Jackson (she/they), and I unpack how in our latest article.

At the beginning of this rebrand, our client said “We are disrupting traditional approaches to this business. And when it comes to branding, that gives us full permission to act as a disruptor within the industry.” —Now that’s how you want to start a project.— It’s been a long, fun ride digging into what makes this company so special and bringing its new brand to life—from brand positioning, identity, and website, to change management, launch strategy, and campaign. Meet Merus (the next era of Al. Neyer). Great job to the whole One Design Company team— Becky Luther, Kristen Romaniszak, Ryan Paule, Mike McMillan, David Sieren, Molly Wells, Kyle Meyer, Abigail Jackson (she/they), Karly Hoffman, David Gutiérrez, Bianca Smith and Brad Nowak—and to our wonderful client partners as well. A rebrand is a big deal, and everyone stayed bold and brave the whole way through. Check it out here.

Collaboration, opportunity, ambition, and impact. Those are just a few of the themes that the One Design Company team focused on as we reimagined the S2G Investments brand over the past year. What resulted is a smart, robust, and flexible system inspired by a vibrant team at the forefront of climate tech, innovation, and global economic evolution. A team commited to partnering with companies reshaping industries and tranforming economies. A team invested at the seams of sector transition. The new brand “…represents [S2G’s] origins as ‘Seed to Growth,’ [their] ambition to invest in and help scale innovative technology and business models, and [their] focus on three highly interconnected sectors—food?&?agriculture, oceans, and energy—which represent ~90% of emissions reduction potential.” (from the S2G press release) “S2G’s rebrand is not just a visual refresh; it’s a distillation of who we are and what we stand for,” says Tonya Bakritzes, S2G Investments CMO. “Our vision for our brand was made possible through our close collaboration with the team at One Design. The One Design team got to know our culture and business, pushed us to think boldly and delivered with excellence throughout the process.” Stay tuned for a case study to come. Meanwhile, check out S2G’s press release to learn more. And while you’re there, dive deep into their brand new website: https://lnkd.in/g5xig_JS Thank you to Tonya Bakritzes, Kevin O'Shaughnessy, Ally Dunne, Jessica Murphy, Lauren Collins, Sanjeev Krishnan, Chuck Templeton, Aaron R., and everyone at S2G Investments for the trust and partnership! And hat’s off to the One Design team that pulled this off: Brad Nowak, David Sieren, Erick Morales, Hannah Cormier, Ian Koenig, Kyle Meyer, Matt Soria, Michael Mesker, Molly Wells, Nora Dyer (she/her), Ryan Paule, Stacey Donaldson, Will Moran, and Andrea Miller. #venturecaptial #innovation #climatetech #impact #impactinvesting #brandstrategy #branding #identitydesign #interactivedesign #communicationstrategy #transformation