Orbital Materials

A brand designed to cut bills, not corners

Kanopiworks provides residental retrofit services. The service was hidden inside Waltham Forest's Servicestore amongst the wider property services offer. With energy efficiency and government grants becoming a huge local priority, the retrofit service needed its own brand, story and identity to scale without being tangled up in everything else.

The challenge
Low visibility could lead to missed funding opportunities, weak resident engagement, and no standout narrative for investors or partners. Retrofit had the solutions, but not the spotlight, trust signals or positioning to grow at pace.

Our approach
We ran a full discovery process, including stakeholder insight and a competitor audit, to map the gaps and opportunities. The focus was to build a bold, credible identity with a clear visual language and a human, straight-talking voice that exuded credibility.

What we did /

+ Naming
+ Brand strategy
+ Brand identity
+ Design for print
+ Digital
+ Website Development

What we delivered
A scalable brand identity and strategy built around three pillars:

+ Trust first Regulation-led, safety-obsessed, no hard sell, proper discipline.
+ Social value Better homes, healthier lives, lower bills, local supply chain impact.
+ Council-owned accountability Impartial advice, empathy and value baked in.

Brand foundations
Purpose: Make Waltham Forest properties more energy efficient, save residents money, improve public health, and help the council hit EPC targets by 2030.
Mission: Deliver seamless, high-quality retrofit solutions at fair, reasonable prices, becoming the trusted provider for the region.
Vision: Set the standard for quality, tech innovation and social impact, influencing the market rather than just selling to it.

USP
We’re not led by sales. We’re led by service. Retrofit is built to help residents and businesses cut energy costs, hit net-zero, and make smart, informed choices. As a council-owned company, we bring accountability, transparency and genuine social value, minus the agency fluff and fees.

The Strategy
The core idea was solid, help people cut energy use and save money while pushing toward net-zero. The problem? No name, clear vision or narrative.

So we flipped the strategy to make it human-first and trust-led.

First, we sharpened the promise: don’t preach about the planet, lead with what actually moves people, saving cash by reducing energy consumption. Net-zero becomes the feel-good side effect, not the sermon.

Then we built the personality pillars they needed the audience to feel: credible, authoritative, trustworthy, qualified experts who know their stuff and deliver results without drama. No smoke, no mirrors, just a smart, process-driven approach that makes them feel like the safe pair of hands in a sea of energy waffle.

Finally, we wrapped it all in a clear, innovative framework that proved they’re not just talking about savings, they’re engineered for it. Process-driven becomes their proof point, not their personality. We held workshops to reveal the values and devise a name.

In short: we turned down the dial on the messaging, and turned up the trust.